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So ten to go; and a forecast that didn't look great; strong winds; wind chill; but extensively dry... Hmmm well I felt like finishing of the four Fannaichs I left a couple of weeks back... A good check of the map revealed no steep slopes and no sharp ridges so I thought what the hell; let's do it; can always turn back if it's really bad...
It's an early start as it's a good 180 mile drive to the off from my home in Bridge of Allan; and by the time we're at the Cairngorms we're pretty much in Blizzard Conditions... Hmmm...
- Blizzard Conditions on Route...
We're soon at the start though; and it's cold... We're not feeling too inspired... But anyway; we get ready; an extra layer of warm clothing today and we decide to wear waterproofs as it's still snowing slightly; but more importantly it's windy; and we want the added protection from wind chill...
- Conditions at the Off...
We're soon underway; and it's fresh... A fairly good track starts the day off as it winds gently up through the young sapling forest... At the exit of the forest there are hundreds of deer who scatter... We follow the track for a while longer before taking a line off to the left toward An Coileachan... I've decided we'll do the route in reverse to the suggestion on Walk Highlands; mainly because of the wind direction, which I think will be over our right shoulder and behind us on the ridge this way, but in our faces via the suggested route... Not pleasant!!
- The Second River Crossing...
We soon reach Loch Gorm after crossing some fairly boggy ground with peat hags. I had hoped the ground would be more frozen but alas not to be so it was tiring work... We stop here for some liquid refreshment before the climb of An Coileachan...
- Smile Scraggles...
- Near the Lochan...
We need crampons after the lochan as it's now icy.. The ascent isn't too steep and we pretty much walk straight to the summit; albeit the wind starts to really pick up... At the summit the final small scramble over some rocks and we're in full on gale force wind... We can't speak; and it's seriously cold; a quick photo; and we head on hoping it's more sheltered further along the ridge...
- Me at the Summit of An Coileachan
The wind abates a little, but not much and it's fairly fierce conditions wise... Broadly the wind is over our right shoulders with some gusts that swirl and I'm feeling vindicated in the decision to reverse the route... Visibility is pretty low; it's not whiteout conditions but we can't see much much more than 20 metres; so I'm using Saint Matthew (the now patron saint of Sat Maps...) to ensure we're on track... Aside from the wind it's easy walking with no steep descents or ascents and it's broad so nothing to fall off... And we're soon at the summit of Meal Gorm...
- Interesting Ice Formations...
- Scraggles on the Summit of Meall Gorm
We don't stop for long and head on; it's around 3 km to Sgurr Mor from here... The ridge continues in much the same fashion; broad; and not too steep anywhere; though it's tiring walking in crampons; especially over the rocks and with the wind... The path keeps to the south western side of the minor top of Creachan Rairigidh and with this being a bit sheltered from the wind we decide to stop for some lunch... We don't stop long; there's various problems; the food we have (meat) is freezing pretty much instantly; by now even Lucozade Sport is frozen (I'd love to know what temperature this freezes at!!) and it's bloody cold...
We get some brief views across to the Western Fannaichs, but we're soon pushing on to Sgurr Mor...
- Some Brief Views...
- The Start of the Frozen Lucozade Problem...
It's pretty challenging on route to Sgurr Mor; the wind is properly up; feels like about 50 mph but with some gusts stronger; and it's a bit stop start... It's taking effort to breathe and turning into just the challenging type of day we were after... I love the mountains like this (though not too often!!)... It's good sometimes to take in the elements and the power of nature... Incredible stuff!!
Fortunately the wind eases on the ascent and we're not far off being wind free on the summit of Sgurr Mor which is strange being the highest hill... We've kept well left on the ascent giving a respectful berth to the cliff and cornices to the North... And the summit cairn is fairly impressive...
- Me on the Summit of Sgurr Mor...
We're soon off to Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich and in the Beallach for the first time the clouds properly lift and we get some stunning views in real winter conditions... Not surprisingly we've not seen a soul all day... It's a kind of monotone look; a little surreal; but I think the mountains are incredibly attractive like this... You feel like you're in another world...

- And some Views... Looking back to Sgurr Mor...
- The Ridge Before...
It's just a short pull to the summit of Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich where we meet Usain Bolt by the Shark Fin summit Cairn... The terrain isn't so much fun; rocky and icy; which is hard going in crampons... And that continues on the descent...
- Usain Bolt on the Summit of Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich
We make pretty short work of the track back to the car; it's good to be down and out of the worst of the elements but it's been an awesome day... We're buzzing...
So Scraggles' Munro map now has 99 blue balloons on it and I've just six left to the finish...
After 360 miles in the car; the best part of 26 km under foot; 4 more Munros it's time for a drink and we're back home in the Bridge of Allan and in the pub by 6pm... A perfect finish to an awesome day...
- And Relax with Estrella and a Mojito...
- The Stats...