February sunburn

[railton22]

Started off from Baddoch farm in minus 3 degrees C but not long before we found ourselves too warm as the sun beat down on this unseasonably warm February day.

Baddoch farm at minus 3 degrees C.

Challenging deep and very icy slippery snow

Avoided these icy patches like the plague. Very tricky

.....but easily the sunniest and possibly the warmest Munro we've climbed to date. Not a breath of wind either.

Enjoying the WARM February sun and complete lack of any breeze whatsoever

Good enough to break out the T-shirts and we rapidly peeled off three layers each.

Snowy overhang. Kept well clear of this.

Views were spectacular, incredibly clear.....could see for miles.

Walking in the direction of the Cairnwell Munros (which we bagged in the summer and it was almost as warm as February)

Saw another couple in the distance who were taking advantage of the snow by indulging in a bit of skiing.

Some cheat had taken a snowcat up there but we didn't spot them

An abundance of mountain hares sporting their winter whites were also enjoying the fine weather. A pair got a little too excited by the fine weather and went all Mad March on us. I was n't quick enough with the camera but came across a proper little poseur further on up the hill, who was more than happy to let me photograph him.

Poseur

Some very steep sections on the ascent which would have been fine in non-snowy conditions but were quite tricky in the snow. Struggled to get a foothold but stuck it out to eventually reach the broad ridge. A long but easy going walk to the summit cairn with fabulous snowy views in every direction.

The REALLY steep bit. Frozen bootprints from last walkers made great handholds

Warm enough to eat our late lunch in T-shirts at the summit.

Wind shelter on An Socach. Note smug expression because it is not needed

The descent was trickier given the conditions. Inspired by the skiers I made a makeshift sled out of the heavy duty plastic map bag. Not wise.

Okay so my back is not good (MRi due at end of March) but I couldn't resist a bit of map-bag sledding. Speeding downhill on my face was NOT part of the plan. Hubs was a gent and took no photos of my "mishap". He laughed tho'

Even on the most benign looking slopes, I went at Mach speed and managed to eventually stop by parting from my speedy map bag and hurtling headfirst on my back downwards until I hit a patch of heather.

On the plus side, I provided a little entertainment for the Hubs.

A memorable Munro bag and An Socach becomes No 35 on our tally of bagged Munros. Walked by David(35) + Sarah (35)