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Having walked the 4 Munros West of Drumochter, in near perfect conditions, last weekend the plan was to attempt the 3 on the East....perhaps in the same glorious conditions as last weekend, not too much to ask eh
My works night out was Saturday evening and would kick off with an Indian meal at 7pm, courtesy of the Addciction medics whom our team work alongside....generous folk indeed. I very much doubted i would be back for 7pm but hoped to meet up for drinks later in town....i had to make sure this walk was done at dooters pace
I did something out of the ordinary, well for me, the day before a big walk - i went out drinking Friday night
Met a mate in Glasgows West End and had a few rums, we then headed to city centre to meet his wife who was having a works night out....a posse of females present and i get chatted up with the office gay boy/man
Appears i'm only attracting sheep and gays these days
Got home after midnight Friday night and needless to say when i surfaced at 5am, after 3hrs intoxicated sleep, i wasn't feeling my dooter best
Gordon (driving) & Graeme (ready for their 2nd winter walk - poor guys missed last weeks belter) picked Leonide and i up at 6am and we headed for Drumochter. Leonide had been on the sauce 2 nights running and was feeling not quite herself, the drive up was with Leonide and I being hypnotized with the sounds blaring out of Gordons stereo - i really did feel i should be dancing away in some smoky club playing techno music, not about to tackle 3 Munros over 25k.
We met everyone at the start and a car was put at the end of the walk. Eleven of us would be walking today.
At first the weather looked fine and promised the joys of last weekend, although the snow was soft and almost knee deep in places - i sensed a hard day ahead.
It was 4k NW to the 1st Munro - a fence line would aid navigating forthe 1st k. After the fenceline we continue NW to the summit - i led the way breaking the trail in the snow, this would turn out to have consequences for me
The hilarity and games, as always , had begaun early....
looking East
As we ascended higher the clag appeared and the views became non existent - i feared whiteout conditions would soon be with us....did i mention i was sweating out the alcohol and was very damp and cold!!
We soon reached the summit of Munro number 1 - A Bhuideanach Bheag.
The wind was up and it was freezing....
I was so cold and damp that i decided to strip to the waist ....it was -12
I've never been so cold in my life and struggled to get a warm baselayer on, my hands numb and icicles hanging from my nipples like stalactites....mountain porn had taking on a new dimension
My fellow walkers, all huddled together for warmth, found this highly amusing and had the audacity to take my picture....its far too brutal to post on here, the lady walkers may get highly aroused
Conditions had worsened, we now had the head spinning joys of navigating through a whiteout, grrreat!!
The walk to Munro number 2 was hellish and i had found myself at the back of the pack, i felt physically weak and every step was like walking with a pair of Herman Munsters boots on.....on a positive note we only had 21k to go
On route to the 2nd Munro i met fellow WH members Blackpanther and husband Kevin - they must be gutted at missing out on the porn shoot earleir
We exchanged a few words and bid a safe walk and journey home - was nice to meet you guys.
I didnt take many photos of this stretch but the video below is what we walked in for over 6-7 hours
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkcyGMBnIss[/youtube]
On reaching Carn Na Caim i was glad to see Guto was feeling it also....
We stopped at the 2nd for lunch but didnt hang around as the cold was bitter and biting.
Most folk dont combine the 3rd Munro with the 1st & 2nd as the 3rd Munro is 9k away, which for some is pushing it a tad. It would be a case of head down and just getting on with it.
Darkness would soon be with us but thankfully the clag had lifted and we got some views and a setting sun
Thankfully i was feeling human and totally refreshed.....as the next photo clearly indicates
Heading down to the bealach to the bottom of our last ascent which was 300m up Meall Chuaich - in the dark
It was here that 3 members of our 11 strong group decided that taking on the last ascent was too much and for one person this presented risks to himself. A discussion was had and the 3 took a landrover track back to the A9.
The rest of us donned our headtorches and excitedly prepared to tackle the ascent to the last Munro. By this point i was buzzing, the adrenalin had kicked in and i was raring to go.
With ice axes in hand and torches glowing we started the ascent to the 3rd Munro. Leonide (superfit lady) broke the trail and led us all the way to the summit - wonder woman
Myself and David on the Summit Cairn
Leonide
Herman
Dooterbang
Video of the final ascent....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVCspAdJSWQ[/youtube]
The views from the Summit where fantastic as we could see villages lit up for miles around.
The elation was evident by all at the summit and our spirits were high, this had turned out to be an adventue to be remembered....even though we still had an 8k walk out
.
Heading West would take us back to the A9.
We just had to descend the Munro, cross a river and pick up an icy landrover track....
At one point 2k from the A9, near the power station, we all turned our headtorches off and lay on our backs and gazed into the sky to look at the stars. This was an amazingly surreal and sublime experience as the the sky was covered in stars and you almost felt part of it.
We got back to the A9 at 8pm to find the other 3 walkers pacing up and down to keep warm -they had been waiting over an hour.
This was another epic day out and a big thanks goes to all who walked this as conditions wern't ideal.
My works night out....well i missed this due to arriving home at 11pm, damn
