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I've walked and run (mostly down, I don't know how folk run up it - I tried once and thought I was going to be sick after five minutes) Bennachie plenty of times the past couple of years, and yesterday might have been my favourite trip so far.
I intended to be up the top for sunrise but either slept through my alarm or failed to set it, so it was almost 9am by the time I arrived. My car was registering a balmy -12C as I set off from the Back O'Bennachie car park. Not to worry, the path through the forest soon got me warmed up and stripping off layers. The snow looked lovely in the forest, and the way it had settled in places made it look more like a scene you'd expect to see from the Arctic circle.
As the path exited the forest, the snow began to get deeper and deeper. Shortly after passing Little Oxen Craig the snow was shin deep. Thankfully, there were footsteps from previous walkers and I was able to use their pre-made holes so I wasn't forging new ground entirely through the snow. After a few minutes, I debated whether I should turn around since I had never hiked in snow this deep before. It was a beautiful day, I had the right kit and it wasn't dangerous, the sun was shining making the snow sparkle, and there really wasn't anywhere else I'd rather be so I decided to carry on. The snow kept getting deeper and at points it was past my knees. At this point I spotted a guy on skis, and I'm pretty sure he was the smartest person up there. I kind of envied how easily he was gliding over the snow.
As I approached Mither Tap, the sun was casting a beautiful golden glow across the sky and the snow was sparkling. Hare prints accompanied the path I was following - I kept my eye out for one, hoping to see one, but no joy.
The path up to Mither Tap was where I came across the deepest snow, and I was so thankful someone else had left their footprints behind because I doubt if I could have remembered exactly where the path went otherwise. It was hard work dragging myself out of deep snow up to the next step, and I was so thankful for my walking pole. This was where I saw the most incredible views across the hills. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.
The last part of the ascent to the trig point was challenging as the snow had settled onto the steps in such a way that it had essentially turned into a giant slide. People had slid down either by accident or choice, which had smoothed out the snow, so going up required going off path a little. The views from the top were stunning and so peaceful. I could see for miles towards the Cairngorms, and out towards Aberdeen and the sea I could see localised snow showers. I didn't stay for too long at the top since the wind (which was relatively calm for Bennachie) was biting at my fingers. I, too, slid down part of the steps to save falling and risking an injury and it was so much fun.
I moved quickly on the descent, running in places, to get my blood flowing quickly and restore feeling to my fingers. By the time I'd got to Craigshannoch I could feel all my fingers again. By now I had gotted into a rhythm with the deep snow, and the walk back down was a breeze.
An incredibly satisfying snowy day in the hills up one of my favourite hills. I can be guilty of going further afield to explore new places, and today reminded me how fun it is to keep going back to local places to experience them in different conditions.
