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A mid-November weather window looked just too good to miss, with no snow on the ground and generally mild temperatures and winds forecast, so I decided to set off for the heart of the Cairngorms. I planned to use the bothies over 4-5 days, but took my bivi as a back-up (which never got used). It was a wonderful experience in what feels like the wilds, despite being within half a day of civilisation. I had planned on the Braeriach traverse for the final walk-out, but high winds, looming cloud and sore legs led me to take the Lairig Ghru as the easiest, though by no means easy, exit.
Day 1: Walk-in to the Hutchinson Memorial Hut13.9 km, 5:06 h, 846 m ascent
- I intended to park in the Coire na Ciste car park, but the height restriction meant my van wouldn't fit and so I had to find a layby up the road a bit
- Early morning cloud covering the lower slopes as I made my way up the Coire na Ciste ridgeline path
- The upper Ptarmigan Station at the ski centre, which sits just below the shoulder where I turned left to make the descent into the upper reaches of Strath Nethy and traverse down to the Saddle above Loch Avon
- The magnificent Loch Avon
- The path deteriorates as you descend from the Loch towards the Fords of Avon, with some boggy patches, although most can be worked around
- The Fords of Avon Refuge, which has been recently refurbished
- The stepping stones at the Fords of Avon - a bit less 'steppy' than I'd hoped for, but I managed to teeter across without incident
- The Hutchinson Memorial Hut, which was home, as it turned out, for the next three nights - a very cosy bothy amid dramatic scenery. I had the first night to myself and planned for an early start, aiming for Ben Avon in the morning, which turned out to be quite an epic day.
Day 2: Ben Avon circuit32.3 km, 10:41 h, 1934 m ascent
- Monday dawned a bit less promising than forecast earlier in the week, with low cloud, drizzly rain and gusting winds. I made my way down to the Derry Burn then up the steep but well-marked path to Beinn Chaorainn. I arrived at the summit in the clag and drizzle for around 9am
- The cloud started to lift on the way off the summit, though the winds were still strong, and the big expanse of the plateau leading up to Beinn a' Bhuird was revealed
- And the cloud continued to lift over the next hour or so, with some beautiful autumn-gold light to highlight the scene
- It takes a circuitous path across the plateau and up the long slopes of Beinn a'Bhuird to avoid the many water features and stay on the mostly dry higher ground, though there is still quite a bit of boggy ground to negotiate. Here looking back across to the central Cairngorms
- Summit of Beinn a' Bhuird, with massive views all round, though a biting wind stopped me from lingering too long
- Looking further east towards Ben Avon, the terrain looking more like Mars than Earth. The next objective was a long way off, but at least the going is easy here, with paths intermittent but not really necessary
- The majestic Garbh Coire providing a spectacular back-drop on the traverse to Ben Avon
- Approaching the summit blocks of Ben Avon. Unfortunately I recalled the WH description of some scrambling being required, but not the specifics, like which part of the stacks were the actual high point.
- The middle blocks, with a small cairn were relatively easily reached from around the back, but from this standpoint, the more southerly blocks looked higher.
- So I climbed back down and up onto the southern blocks, which were a lot more challenging and in the strong winds required a 'high friction' climbing technique (aka crawling) and there was definitely no contemplating trying to stand up on the final block. In any case, from here I decided that the middle blocks actually looked like the higher ones. Still, belt and braces and all that. I beat a hasty retreat down to shelter in the lee for some lunch.
- Pausing briefly to admire the impressive views of the Garbh Coire from the other direction
- Coire nan Clach, from near the North Top of Beinn a' Bhuird on the return across the plateau.
- Passing to the south of the expansive North Top of Beinn a' Bhuird on the return
- The sun was getting low on the horizon by the time I was crossing the plateau over towards Beinn Bhreac and I decided to make a more direct crossing. This was a mistake - the descent towards the burn was Ok, but the slopes up to the ridgeline to Beinn Bhreac were horrifically boggy and the peat hags took some negotiating
- And it was past the best of the sunset by the time I reached the summit. I then had to negotiate the bog on the tops and the descent down the Glas Allt Mor in the dark, requiring a lot of care and so I didn't make it back to the bothy until after 6.
It was a pleasant night in the bothy, with two young women from Aberdeen, who very graciously shared the large bag of firewood they had hauled in (amazing effort!), as well as four Belgian lads to add to the fun - though they were camping outside so the bothy wasn't too crowded for the night.
Day 3: Derry Cairngorm and Beinn Mheadhoin12.2 km, 4:45 h, 983 m ascent
- The 12th dawned bright and clear with little wind, but I needed a light day after the long day the day before, so I aimed for Derry Cairngorm and Beinn Mheadhoin, a short round of about 12 km from the bothy. Here reaching the very serene Loch Etchachan around 9am
- Tantalizing first glimpses of the horizon after reaching the shoulder towards Derry Cairngorm
- Beautiful misty-morning mountain views from the summit
- I retraced my steps to the Loch and headed up the steep initial climb up towards Beinn Mheadhoin. Here looking back down Coire Etchachan
- Gorgeous views of the glassy Loch Avon from the shoulder
- Similar martian landscapes to Ben Avon, with some more summit blocks to scramble up on the Beinn Mheadhoin summit
- These blocks are a lot easier scrambling than Ben Avon (again round the back), and with no wind I was able to get up these slightly more gracefully (in my opinion anyway). Superb views all round.
- Cairn Gorm
- I was back down to the bothy for lunchtime and had a lazy afternoon of rest and recovery. That evening I was joined by a Finnish lad who had had a bit of an epic hike over from Abernethy with a full pack.
Day 4: Hutchinson Memorial Hut to Corrour13.9 km, 5:25 h, 856 m ascent
The next morning the wind and rain was back with a vengeance. I packed up early and headed back up to Loch Etchachan, which was whipped up to a frenzy in the wind and then continued on the Ben Macdui path to the shoulder. From there it was a boulder-field descent in blustery and wet conditions southwest to the head of the Allt Carn a' Mhaim.
- Dropping down out of the cloud towards the bealach with Carn a' Mhaim
- Looking down on the Corrour bothy (my next stop) in the Lairig Ghru from the Carn a' Mhaim ridgeline. The Devil's Point behind
- I never managed to catch the rainbow in full colour, but it came and went and was spectacular at times during the descent
- It was a relatively straightforward descent to the main Lairig Ghru footpath and I had the Corrour bothy to myself that night - though only with a pitiful fire from the scraps of coal left in the fireplace
Day 5: Exit via the Lairig Ghru16.4 km 5:12 h , 605m ascent
- With the high winds back and what looked like an impressive cloud front coming down from the north, early the next morning I set off up the Lairig Ghru for the return. The bad weather never materialised, apart from the high winds, I only had drizzle in the morning and the afternoon was bright and clear
- Final view of the Lairig Ghru. I ran out of phone battery shortly after this, so missed the exit via the Chalamain Gap
Overall an amazing 5 days in the Cairngorms, especially for November. Dramatic scenery and a real feeling of wilderness. Thank you to the amazing volunteers of the Mountain Bothies Association, without whom none of this would be possible (or at least a lot harder and less pleasant!).
