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Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.
Cairngorm Style
Cairngorm Style
by gordon l » Sun Apr 21, 2013 12:35 am
Route description: Ben Macdui and Cairngorm
Munros included on this walk: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm
Date walked: 20/04/2013
Time taken: 6.5 hours
2 people think this report is great. Register or Login free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).Why is hillwalking gear so uniformly bland? Why don't Montane or Mountain Equipment, Haglofs or Rab produce Goretex gear in zebra stripes, polka dots, faux denim, or eyeball-popping purple? How about leopard print?Walking past the multi coloured motley crew gathered at the car park of Cairngorm ski centre, the thought did occur that the options available to us who opt to explore the slopes sans skis or snowboards are seriously limited.
It was interesting to start my first sojourn into the Northern Cairngorms at a place that was so busy with folk who were there for a completely different reason. Never quite felt the attraction of skiing or snowboarding although the novelty of a pint at the bottom of the hill/ slope is nothing to be frowned at.
This pair of munros are, in the benign conditions we mainly had, totally enjoyable and straightforward. The cloud behaved and stayed above munro height all day allowing us to enjoy views over towards Braeriach and co as we walked towards Ben Macdui. Up on the plateau, harsh gusts of wind from the west momentarily created glimpses of a different environment. The highlights of the day were probably the emerging views of Coire an Lochan and the close-up sight of the top of Fingers Ridge as we headed along towards Cairngorm. The Ptarmigan restaurant/ café would no doubt be a most welcome sight to most folk but neither of us had any cash with us so we dodged past a group of snowboarders making the most of a final run down the slope and made our own way back down to the path and within a half hour or so, back down to the start point. We finished off the day with a wee drink in the café which shut at 5pm. So much for the après ski, I thought as we headed out to the benches to join the remnants of the bright bunch from earlier.
It had been an unusually simple day out: the majority of our walks this year seem to have been around ten hours long and have usually involved some sort of mishap or other. So homeward we went, stopping off to take a pic of the hills from the banks of Loch Morvich, whilst a purposeful mallard crossed the road...to get to the other side...
Last edited by gordon l on Sun Apr 21, 2013 10:45 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Cairn Gorm Style
by pollyh33 » Sun Apr 21, 2013 4:09 am
Hi Gordon,
I really enjoyed this report.
It's great to hear that there are walks out there that don't require too much grey matter or nerves of steel
Loved your photos too, especially the one with the pinnacles
I really enjoyed this report.

It's great to hear that there are walks out there that don't require too much grey matter or nerves of steel


Loved your photos too, especially the one with the pinnacles

Re: Cairngorm Style
by coachmacca » Sun Apr 21, 2013 3:30 pm
Great shots Gordon - relaly looking forward to getting into the 'Gorms in Summer then again in winter after having only a couple of days up there at Glenmore where we had limited mileage.
Your pics show how "big" the area is and these look great walks, can't disgaree about gear lol I got suck in an all black clothing rut at one point before deciding I needed to help MRT if i never needed them so move to Red !
Looks like snows are clearing on that area?
Love the shot of the duck!!
Your pics show how "big" the area is and these look great walks, can't disgaree about gear lol I got suck in an all black clothing rut at one point before deciding I needed to help MRT if i never needed them so move to Red !
Looks like snows are clearing on that area?
Love the shot of the duck!!

Re: Cairngorm Style
by gordon l » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:40 am
Thanks for the comments guys. I haven't spent enough time in this area to have a proper feel for it but I really look forward to more wanderings up here. Snow is clearing to some extent but I think another dump might be due so I wouldn't pack away the ice axe just yet. The khaki/ olive green summer gear can wait a while 

Re: Cairngorm Style
by Caberfeidh » Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:23 am
There's good eating on a duck. See my traditional medieval recipe in Ye Olde Boke of Cookerie ~
http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec73.html
http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec73.html
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Caberfeidh - Stravaiging
- Posts: 7360
- Joined: Feb 5, 2009
2 people think this report is great. Register or Login free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
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