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Wed 11th Jan 2012....a date I will never forget. New to Walkinghighlands and new-ish to mountain walking, I set out from the Ski Centre (8.45am) in the Cairngorms full of excitement and fear. The previous day i'd arrived from Belfast in Aviemore and hired my crampons (surely these things should be classed as lethal weapons!!) from Cairngorm Mountain Sports where a brief demo and cautionary advice on how not to stab myself was given. I'd been following the forecasts for the whole week beforehand and was pleased that the day was starting out with clear skies, albeit accompanied by a nippy breeze. I was aware of the impending strong winds for the afternoon but a local (a man probably in his early 50's with two boxer dogs - you may know him?) assured me I should make Macdui's summit in time before the worst of the weather hit.
I followed the excellent path toward Miadan Creag an Leth-choin stopping on several occasions to take photographs of the stunning scenery.
- Looking into Coire an Lochain
- Beyond Lairig Ghru (is that Braerich in distance?)
I was so glad that i'd hired the crampons as the snow and ice was quite extensive and it wasn't til later in the day, as I tired, that the trips and falls started
Anyway, long story short, about 1/2km from Macdui's summit, I met the aforementioned local on his way back. Now, who among us has failed to heed advice from those older and/or wiser than us?! His words, barely audible above the strengthening gale, suggested I should consider turning back. Well I hadn't travelled across the pond to turn back just 500m from my goal
I assured him I had time and trudged on with gritted teeth towards my target. 15 mins later I made it....
- Macdui's Summit!!
It was just before 1pm and I reached into my rucksack for a banana only to find it frozen
The wind was too strong by now to fire up my Jetboil so a gel tube and energy bar (disgusting taste but probably good for me) was my lunch. As I turned to plot my route back I was a little concerned to see....absolutely nothing, and in all directions!!
- Is this the way?!!!
Even longer story short, I spent the next hour travelling in circles without getting very far. At some stages it was white in front, behind, to the side and above! I felt like I was in a sci-fi thriller where I was in a completely white room with no defintion as to where walls, floor or ceiling were. Just before sheer panic set in (It was just simple panicking at this stage) I took the map out, looked for the nearest track marked on it and followed closely my GPS to make sure I was finally going in the right direction. A short time later my prayers were answered by several sets of footprints heading in both directions that corresponded with the approx position of the track that led to Cairngorm. Within minutes I saw a hint of blue in the sky as I rounded the edge of Stob Coire an t-Sneachda and an even more welcome sight of a bright red jacket moving in the distance
I hurried, pushed by the gale, towards it and eventually caught up at the weather station on top of Cairngorm. Sheltering on the north side was Yorus (at least I think that was his name) a guy who worked in the bar at Glenmore Lodge. (At this point i'd stopped taking photos as staying upright was my only concern).
We staggered down via Ptarmagan (closed, so I was denied a cuppa in the UK's highest restaurant
) and finally, in complete darkness, arrived back in the carpark that I'd left earlier with such excitement. My feelings? Relief because I had come close to getting into serious diffs, but also joy at having bagged not one, but two munros. Not necessarily in the manner i'd planned but in a way that i'll never forget