Meall Ghaordaidh
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:03 pm
After the disappointment of the no-go show on Beinn a Ghlo, Shaz and I decided to tick this solitary Munro off and test out the ice axes etc, purchased at Christmas. Meall Ghaordaidh, wasn't far from Killin and we presumed it would be quite a 'gentle' hill in Winter - while there was no snow at road level, we were soon to meet quite a bit halfway up the hill. For the last 1/3 of the hill, we were trudging through thigh-deep snow and it was quite arduous though very enjoyable. Before we reached the summit, a returning walker warned us that it was quite windy at the top. He wisnae wrang. We walked into a Northerly arctic blast and stood getting photos for all of 10 seconds before about turning and getting back below the summit.
Thank god for 'windproof' garments. A very unusual ice formation had formed on the OS trigpoint and it was quite beautiful -is this a rime ice formation? We made our way back down, me testing my ice axe and generally faffing aboot. Back to the car, a wee pint on the way back to Dunblane and then hame. Another grand day in the Scottish hills.