Corrie Fee at Last

[laconic surf]

I had been attempting to visit Corrie Fee and the two munros above it for nearly six months, but the weather, other trips, cancellations, failed MOT'S etc etc had all put paid to my plans. But this tuesday Balgonie was free, the weather was promising good things and the trip was firmly on
Pulling up at the lodge, a route card was filled out and posted in the ranger's box, kit was on and off we went, really looking forward to the day ahead. The sky was blue, no wind to speak of as we headed into Glen Doll forest.

We had to stop after just a few minutes and take a layer off - the temperatures had noticebly risen since we were last out. After enjoying the stroll through the trees, there she was hiding behind the trees ahead:

Here she comes

Then a few steps later the Corrie opened up before us, magnificent in its winter glory. All we could do was just soak up the atmosphere and admire the beauty of this natural made ampitheatre.

Onwards we went through the Corrie and began the climb up by the waterfall. Spikes were donned for this section as the path is buried beneath the ice and snow and has formed at an angle so the upclimb was more precarious than it usually would have been. Below the gully there were also signs of avalance debris and whilst we were tempted to just continue up the gully we opted to er on the side of caution and move off the slope and contour round the rocks above. We paused at the top to have a final look back at Corrie Fee bathing beneath the blue winter sky.

Heading up the gully

avalanche debris

The view back

View back down the gully

From here we headed up the gentler slopes taking a direct line to the top of Mayar before reaching the summit and enjoying the views over the Cairngorms

The frozen upper slopes

looking back

Heading for the summit

View from Mayar

After soaking in the views and a bite to eat it was time to head across to Driesh. We crossed paths with a nice chap on the way to Mayar who was concerned about descending Corrie Fee without an axe or crampons. We both felt there was a couple of dodgy steps neither us would have liked to have tackled without spikes so he decided to head back down the way he'd come up - hopefully he got down safe.
We then reached the bottom of Driesh and we both admitted later it actually looked quite menacing from below, but it was one of those that look far worse from lower down, particularly as it had some pretty impressive cornices Once were were climbing up it was fine, nothing concerning at all and we made our way to the final summit of the day.

route across to Dreish

Bottom of Dreish

Nice cornice

summit

From here we headed down and now was a great opportunity for some glissading action - and what speed! Down in no time we took the path down, again pretty precarious in places as the path was covered in soft slippy snow angled towards the plummeting slopes below.

path down

We had to concentrate on careful foot placement and despite the odd wobble we got down without any drama to the forest. Then Balgonie tempts fate by saying this would be the first walk where he wouldn't need to clean his boots after - just seconds before we disappeared into a forest bog
Nice walk back to the cars reflecting on seeing Corrie Fee at last and a superb day out

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[morag1]

Nice report Laconic, I've always wanted to see Corrie Fee too, must try to get there soon.
I wont be climbing up there in the winter though

[simon-b]

I agree Fee is a superb corrie, LS. Two fine Munros that perhaps don't promise to be the most exciting, but turn out surprisingly good when you do them. As for keeping your boots clean on a frozen mountain, then coming down and finding the thaw's set in, and plunging into the mud at the final hurdle - that's a familiar story .

[Scotjamie]

Very enjoyable report LS. Makes the Corrie and the hills irresistable. Hope to meet up again when out and about.

[tina bonar]

Well done lucas,you managed to do our two "local" hills at last.some cracking photos you took but the weather was on your side! Hopefully catch up with you up north next month

[monty]

Superb LS. Great photos of Corriefee by the way. That place always look exceptional winter or summer.

[gammy leg walker]

Corrie Fee is some place.

[balgonie]

Great report laconic I'm glad I've got you as a partner you capture the moments well in your reports

[gmr82]

Great report, can't wait to do this and also the nearby walk to the Ben Tirran via Loch Brandy too. Looks such a lovely area

[laconic surf]

Nice report Laconic, I've always wanted to see Corrie Fee too, must try to get there soon.
I wont be climbing up there in the winter though

Thanks Morag. You'll love it when you see it. We met one guy who had set up his camera and tripod and was spending the morning taking different photos of the Corrie, a great way to spend a few hours outdoors.

I agree Fee is a superb corrie, LS. Two fine Munros that perhaps don't promise to be the most exciting, but turn out surprisingly good when you do them. As for keeping your boots clean on a frozen mountain, then coming down and finding the thaw's set in, and plunging into the mud at the final hurdle - that's a familiar story .

I can imagine these two are probably at their best in winter, but on a clear day at any time of the year they offer great views - with the bonus of visiting the Corrie on the way up Cheers Simon

Very enjoyable report LS. Makes the Corrie and the hills irresistable. Hope to meet up again when out and about.

Cheers Alan. Hopefully catch up with you in Torridon if you're still heading up?

Well done lucas,you managed to do our two "local" hills at last.some cracking photos you took but the weather was on your side! Hopefully catch up with you up north next month

Cheers mate, yep hopefully will have a blether with you and Colleen in Torridon (over a whisky or two )

Superb LS. Great photos of Corriefee by the way. That place always look exceptional winter or summer.

Cheers Monty, will def have to revisit it in summer sometime

Corrie Fee is some place.

It is Gammy, aye. Probably wouldn't know it was there either without this hill walking of ours

Great report laconic I'm glad I've got you as a partner you capture the moments well in your reports

Cheers mate, great day out - with many more trips to plan

Great report, can't wait to do this and also the nearby walk to the Ben Tirran via Loch Brandy too. Looks such a lovely area

Cheers. You'll love it when you get through there. So much there to explore...

[Fudgie]

Cracking pictures. I visited Corrie Fee on a cloudy day and was still blown away by it so it's good to see someone get a better view

[Sabbathstevie]

Great report Laconic! And some stunning pics of the Corrie Fee to boot - given that Mayar and the surrounding area was my first (and most frequently visited since) foray into the world of hillwalking I just can't resist the place, though have yet to see it clad so elegantly in white. Many thanks for sharing!

[Mountainlove]

Great report...The same two are on my list this year and it was great to see them in the snow...just reminds me to head up there soon

[PeteR]

Corrie Fee really is some place Looks great in the snow. As has been said, these two hills provide a better day than you might first expect. And you got some good weather there too, to get the best out of the day.

[londonwalker]

Hi LC

Great report and photos, clearly a man of many talents! . These are a couple of much underated munros - a superb hill walk in my humble opinion. love the view down the corrie when you first come out of the forest: