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Two high level stretches on this walk made it an absolute delight, with the added bonus of perfect weather and the sense of being completely surrounded by magnificent scenery and future opportunities.
The solitary early morning walk over firm frozen ground was a pleasure. While watching the shadows shift and change as the sun rose, distance and height were gained with hardly any effort and none of the squelching glutinous perils associated with wetter times.
- Coire an Dothaidh
Crampons were fixed in an ideal spot in Coire an Dothaidh - sitting on a rock in the first warmth of the sun, then stepping immediately back into the shadows to benefit from the harder snow. From the coire easy angled snow made a rising traverse up to the right possible, thus avoiding the direct route to the col - I'd be visiting it later anyway. Looking backwards and forwards when joining the wide ridge, now slightly higher than the col, revealed the rest of the day's enjoyment to come.
- North West from Beinn Dorain's ridge
The large cairn on the skyline ahead was soon in view towards the southern end of the ridge of Beinn Dorain. Usually these false summits, even when you know about them, elicit despair and disappointment: but not this time. The view across the final couple of hundred metres, with slopes sweeping steeply down on either side and the panorama of the hills to the south opening up, must be one of the finest and most enticing.
- Looking south up Beinn Dorain's north ridge
- Beinn Dorain's final summit ridge
- East from summit of Beinn Dorain
Once wrenched away from the summit, the descent back to the col gives plenty of time to scan and think about the next part of the trip that is laid out ahead. The shallow south-facing bowl of Beinn an Dothaidh's summit offers its high level circuit in full view.
- Beinn an Dothaidh
The snow on its western edge was beginning to thin and thaw so a route was traced up and across patches of emerging grass and newly exposed rocks. Surprisingly, in less than twenty minutes from the col its west top was reached and like a slightly titled saucer the rim could be followed to the central summit and then on to its eastern edge in another twenty minute stroll - taking in the expanse of Rannoch Moor below.
- Summit traverse of Beinn an Dothaidh
As I suspected, the sun had been working on the snow in the centre of this huge saucer and the descent across it back to the col became more of a slither. SIAS has a charming phrase "generaly stable, becoming moist": this stuff was definitely moist now and I felt sorry for those who had chosen this as their way up in the afternoon.
- East from col between Beinns Dorain and Dothaidh
Back at the cairn on the col it was time for a sit in the sun and to enjoy a sandwich. The day had been memorable for the final ridge to the summit of Beinn Dorain and the marvellously positioned walk round the summit rim of Beinn an Dothaidh - and the view across to Ben Cruachan has pushed it to the top of my "to do" list - prayer for equally fine weather when I do it has already begun.
