Carn Glas-choire

[rob munbett]

It was a cold windy day and the Cairngorms looked a bit stormy so I headed from Aviemore to this Graham. I parked at a wide forestry road entrance on the east side of the B9007 at NH928258 and walked a few hundred metres up the road to the rough track leading through Auchterteang towards the hill.

Carn Glas-choire from the B9007 (zoomed)

The dogs barked madly in their kennel as I walked through the farm but no-one came out to speak to me. I carried on along the track making fast progress on the good surface but the hill still seemed a fair distance away.

The hill in the distance with the 'green hut' getting closer

By now the wind was picking up and it was icy! I approached the green stalkers hut and found it unlocked so I peered in to find it very clean with several tables and benches. I wasn't ready for a stop yet but I thought it might prove useful for a rest on the way out. The track steepened significantly as it approached the plateau and went on much further than is shown on the OS map. I cut off towards the summit where I though the terrain looked most solid and less riven with peat hags but it was still an awkward plod over to the trig point as the ground was covered with a pale-green lichen which seemed to slough off under every boot-step - slip-sliding away indeed!

On the plateau heading towards the summit

The wind at this point was so strong as to make it difficult to walk into and so painfully cold as to necessitate the neck gaiter being brought up to cover most of my face. I reached the cairn but lingered only to take a couple of photos and to admire the effects of the sun over the Cairngorms.

The summit cairn and trig

I was glad to head off the plateau with the wind at my back and reach the more solid ground of the track again. Then it was just a case of the pleasant gentle stroll out, stopping in at the 'green hut' for hot tea and turkey wraps on the way.

The 'green hut' on the walk out

I met the owners feeding the dogs as I walked through Auchterteang on my return trip and they were very friendly and willing to chat for a few minutes. All in all, then, not the most exciting of hills but a good enough leg-stretcher in, probably, better conditions than if I'd attempted something bigger.

[heatheronthehills]

Love the atmospheric summit shot. The weather was better than the forecast