Beinn a'Chaorainn - there's two of these lumps if you didn't realise; and I didn't... I did a double take as I selected todays walk; thought I must have misread; either that; or I climbed something else yesterday....
What is with Scotland naming mountains with the same name; imagine having two Londons; eeeek...
Anyway; something shorter today; really just to walk off the hoof in the Cairngorms yesterday. Fair to say conditions weren't as nice, but what's a little wind right?
It's a decent pull up Beinn a'Chaorainn (this one anyway) and I couldn't see anything above the 600 metre contour line, so there's not a lot to say... Keep going; you'll get there in the end...
And I did...
I kept well left of the steep drops to the east on the route; it was near whiteout conditions and I'd read the stories of people coming a cropper when walking on a direct bearing...
I had some fun in deep snow skidding down to the high beallach that separates Beinn a'Charoain from his lower neighbour...
And then the ascent kicked in; not particularly enjoyable; I was being blasted in the face by snow; but there we go... It was fairly tough going in around knee deep snow for much of it, but it's not a big ascent; just 300 metres or so, and it's over before you know it...
There's two summit cairns; I've no idea which is higher though I'd wager the second one I got to; anyway doing both saves any unwanted errors and the scenery from both was stunning...
That's it really; straight down... A good healing this weekend with 46 km and four new blue pins on the map over the two days. I'm almost ready to face another week of work!!
Warning
Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.