Munro 92 - 94 - Creag Meagaidh

[IamAJMiller]

Set off in good weather with a great forecast. As it was late spring I decided to leave the axe and spikes at home....a mistake really as though I didn't need them, there was warrant enough to have them. Lesson learned: always pack them in your car even if you don't get them out of the boot!

Started from Loch Laggan and started up the good path, passing the centre and looking for the cairn on the left to take me up to Carn Liath. Totally missed it as it's no longer there but plan B was to head to the window and go West to East instead which is what I did. The cairn has been removed, however there is a iron fence post there for those looking for that path.

As I rounded the corner into Coire Ardair I could see that packing the winter kit would've been a good idea as there was plenty of snow and ice higher up in Meagaidh. Just to below the window in fact. As there was a group of 3 ahead of me with axes on their packs I decided to stick close to them and see how they got on. As it turns out I ended up joining them for the rest of the day. They didn't have crampons but did have axes and were going to cut steps if need be. Their leader was form Dalwhinnie and lived in the old village shop; a very nice man and pretty knowledgeable about the surrounding hills. The visibility was good so we had a lot of fun picking out the surrounding peaks, Nevis clearly visible behind the Aonachs.

The slope up to the window was pretty slippy and we lost the path to snow which got very deep in the groove between the Munros. The North slope to the main summit was also icy but soft enough to kick in to get grip and it quickly relented to the plateau anyway. From here we retraced our steps to the window and then along the ridge easily to grab the other two munros. Great views of the Coire Ardair crags and a lot of feathering on the fence posts of the ridge. From Carn Liath we managed to find the path I was hoping to take in the morning and followed it easily, albeit steeply down to the glen path and then the carpark. I was glad of the company all day and regretted not having an axe in my hand, will know for next time.