Steve McGarrett + 2 & me in Glen Shee !

[steven65]

The clue perhaps is in the title ? 70`s – 80`s tv cop show voyeurs should have got it ! This wee jaunt although deemed perhaps to include “lesser” hills , was to include my 50th Munro – & as such was going to be a memorable day out for me , something I would never have dreamed of doing less than 2 years ago. Despite the weather report being slightly pants I decided to head off up to Glen Shee anyway . I`m glad I did on arriving the sun was shinning strongly with clear blue skies , I parked up got ready & was off with Oskar trotting alongside me. I took the route as described here on WH - it was a much easier day out than last week up at Mayar & Driesh. I had a wee 5 min coffee on top of Carn Aosda , chatting to 2 guys who`d came up the Eastern side of the hill – more directly from the road , i`d came up between the 2 ski tows which weren`t being used due to less snow on those 2 runs.

Carn Aosda no 50
over to The Cairnwell & Carn nan Sac in the sun


Exiting Carn Asoda
They left just before me & went round Loch Vrotachan on the far western side avoiding the Carn nan Sac route to Carn a Gheoidh. I made for the bealach towards The Cairnwell & proceeded along the ridge to Carn nan Sac avoiding the snowy edge leading to Creag a Choire Dhirich.

Oskar in the sun with frozen Loch Vrotachan behind

Carn A Gheoidh looming in the background

A wee foto of Oskar at Carn nan Sac – now in a wee bit of mist , before continuing on the plateau up to Gheoidh.
The final pull then appeared -out of the mist just as it cleared nicely for the last 300 M or so. I was joined on this section by a young couple – no names sorry – forgot ! from Dunfermline , we topped out together then shared our piece before we made our way back down to the Cairnwell .

Carn A Gheoidh top in a wee bit of clag now
I think they went onto Carn Aosda as they`d came up the Cairnwell 1st .The Cairnwell was obviously different to other munro tops i`ve been on , im not going to slag it – im sure the technical equipment is there for a very good reason ?

The bealach before ascending Cairnwell looking down to Glen Shee

Creag a Choire Dhirich from Cairnwell
Looking down the car park was now full , as i`d arrived early I was in the 2nd row of cars , I continued down off the hill following the ski fence boundary in sometimes very deep snow towards the buildings , arriving at the bottom 10 mins short of a 6 hour walk. The sun had receded it was now a bit overcast , but on the run home it brightened up very much heading south.
This was my 1st day out trying my new Viewranger App on my i-phone which worked well despite operator malfunction & a battery not fully charged - which ran out after just under 3 hours. I still had a map & compass with me despite this being an “easy” walk , but I can see the value now that a GPS type tool gives you .
For me & Oskar ( & Steve McGarrett ) a great day out , heres to the next 50 !

[quoman]

excellent report steven and quaility photo's

sunday was a cracking day i was just down the road a wee bit from you on Glas Tulaichean

[Redrock]

Well done on the fifty + 2! Enjoyed seeing these hills again - with snow on them! Cheers!

[pollyh33]

Smashing report Steven

You got much better weather than I got up there, couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of me

Great photos but favourite is the one of Oskar and the walking pole

[starrynights]

Smashing report Steven

You got much better weather than I got up there, couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of me

Great photos but favourite is the one of Oskar and the walking pole

Have to agree there Polly .... great photo of the intrepid Oskar with matching collar and hat. Looking very dashing
I'd have that one framed. Superb stuff Steven.

[ChrisW]

Lovely report and pics Steven, Congratulations on passing the 50 mark.....and as no-one else has said it yet....book him Danno

[Graeme D]

Well done on the half century. There's no going back now - beyond the point of no return! These hills have given some tasty reports recently and this is another one to add.

[Johnny Corbett]

Good to see these hills getting some more good press, winter is the time to do these i think i did them in the summer on a clear day but they look much better with snow on them Pity they can't get rid of the fence posts and all the other guff required for the ski-ing

[steven65]

Lovely report and pics Steven, Congratulations on passing the 50 mark.....and as no-one else has said it yet....book him Danno

Book him Danno !! well said Chris , that made me smile !

Thanks everyone for your comments , a clear day makes it all seem more "worthwhile" & certainly more enjoyable.

Re Oskars red collar - on driving towards the M90 at Kinross i remebered i`d left his collar & lead in the kitchen Bummer . Although he`s well behaved i always keep him under control.
I wasn`t turning back so had to think of an alternative lead & collar ,after consideration - i knew there was nothing else suitable in the car. So i swung by Sainsburys at Kinross - it wasn`t opened yet , continuing on i came off the motorway & popped into Tesco at Perth & purchased a new bright red lead & collar set , along with 2 pork pies (half price - result) to supplement our 2 cheese rolls . Thank goodness for Tesco`s ongoing aim for world domination

[davetherave]

Love Oskar, not so sure about the report tho.