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This report is written tongue in cheek, please take it that way.
I think of munros as female.
When the weather is good (ie good mood) and you are allowed good views there is a lot of satisfaction to be had. When the weather is poor (ie a bad mood), there is a lot of suffering to be had!
There was no real plan, I was just going with the flow. A'Chalaig and Mullach Fraoch-choire then see how it goes. iPod on and Oasis and Chilli Peppers time!
I didn't fancy the straight up the front so I went along the path to Glen Affric then went up the shoulder with A'Chalaig and Mullach Fraoch-choire showing off their summits, these twins could be a lot of fun today. The route up is pathless and grassy which was hard going. 100m from the summit clag city. The summit cairn of A'Chalaig was almost the end of me as it was so icy. The path from there was obvious, albeit very slippery. Just before the summit of Mullach Fraoch-choire there was some pinnacles to scramble on but the rock had no grip and it was freezing so I just stuck to the path. The summit of Mullach Fraoch-choire was equally clagged in. I retraced my route back to an obvious cairn that marked the down path which took me to the valley floor where I popped out of the clag.
No views from either sister, I'd been teased, I'd gotten sweaty for no reason.
My legs felt ok and it was only 1200hrs so Ciste Dubh was on with a possiblity of Am Bathach.
Ciste Dubh had been described as inhospitable from the front by quite a few people, so I would try a cheeky approach from behind. As a coincidence James Blunt came on the iPod. The going was rough (no path again) but I got there in the end, albeit totally exhausted with total jelly legs.
The sisters must have been jealous as they flashed me their wares from a distance. I will retry them again in the summer, to see if they will be more accomodating then.
I felt duty bound to follow all the curves on my way down and to be honest it was quite satisfying. Near the bottom it got a bit soggy and it was clear that this way was more popular and plenty of people had covered this ground before but I persisted and kept my promise. Am Bathach was pretty much game over, I could could get myself down but I was sure that even if my life depended on it I couldn't get myself up.
I endured snow showers and freezing cold on the way down as I was thinking of doing this report....clearly I was in the bad books for telling all. Clearly there may be repercussions to follow.
Serious mode - My timings
Start walking 0730
A'Chralaig summit 0930
Mullach Fraoch-choire summit 1100
Valley floor 1200
Ciste Dubh summit 1330
Am Bathach summit 1430
Car 1600