A Bhuidheaneach Bheag

[kevsbald]

Having been thwarted twice in February by inclement weather, I had booked 2 days near Laggan to get some Winter walking done. I thought a relatively easy day near Drumochter would be good for the Monday leading me nicely into Tuesday for the Creag Meagaidh group, weather pendingish. As I got out of the wee car park at the side of the A9, I couldn't help but notice how much bloody snow had fallen. True, I could pick out the path leading up to the col

The path up to the col

but after that I thought it would be compass work galore. Looking over to A'Mharconaich, she looked resplendent and visibility (at this level) was excellent.

A' Mharconaich with Sgairneach Mhor behind

I began the walk up the path but it wasn't long before I had to avoid thigh-deep snow and it also wasn't long before the cloud moved in and it began to snow. I pushed on to the col and while the weather wasn't great, I decided to take a compass bearing due South, look out for the fence posts and press on. I passed the cairn at A Bhuidheanach but there were no fence posts to be seen. By this point, there was little visibility and I had to trust the compass and keep heading South. Well, I felt like I had been walking for hours and seriously began to wonder if I had made the right decision. I'm not afraid to say I was a little worried as I knew I had reached the plateau out but could I find that bloody cairn or those fence posts? Thankfully, just as I was about to head West and get off the bloody hill, the weather improved, the cloud lifted and the best fence post I'd ever seen was about 100m to my left. I wasted little time and running towards it and in the distance, I could see the trig point.

The summit cairn and yon fence post

Thank f**k.

At last, the Trig Point!

I had a wee cup of coffee and then took another bearing West before setting off. The descent wasn't much better as once again the snow started and I didn't have a scooby-doo if I was going in the right direction. Trusting the compass though, I began to descend and when I walked a bit further, the welcome view of a burn was upon me. Scaring mountain hares, ptarmigan and deer, I made my way back to the A9 at Drumochter Lodge, before the last mile or so to the car. I have read that these hills are considered boring. Well, my advice is to try them in Winter, when conditions are awful as it certainly gives you a wee buzz and also reinforces how much ye need to trust thon compass.

[Paul Webster]

Good report - it really is pretty featureless up there. I was confused by the steepish descent from A Bhuidheanach

[kevsbald]

I was confused.com verging on crapping myself.co.uk.

[mountain coward]

Yeah but at least you can't fall off anything... you would just wander round and round and round... for ever!

I was thinking it would be much better in snow as it's sooooooo boring when it's not. It's such a long and dreary expanse between that and the Munro at the other end of the plateau.

Great pic of my fave hill in the area - A' Mharconaich! It also has my fave B&B under it - 'Balsporran Cottages' on it's own just in front of the railway with A' Mharconaich and Geal Charn behind...

[Paul Webster]

Balsporran Cottages (see B&B listings) is a remarkable location really - must be one of the higher B&B's!

We walked from there once and there was this great ice-castle outside. It must have taken ages to build.

[Graeme D]

I had a similar experience to that kevsbald when I did these two peaks a few months ago. It was Boxing Day and the choice was between shopping in Dundee with my wife and mother-in-law or heading for the hills! Hmmmm!

It was a dry, clear(ish) day with a fair bit of snow lying on the track up and by the time I reached the plateau by the old quarry, it was bitter. I decided to tackle Carn na Caim first and (other than a fairly close encounter with a large group of stags), I reached the summit without incident. Back at the quarry, I headed off towards A Bhuidheaneach Bheag. I knew it was a pretty bleak, featureless sort of place and the weather was really beginning to close in, although the snow was patchier here. I think I got a bit confused by the descent off A Bhuidheaneach as well and to cut a long story short, the dog and I ended up bumbling about in swirling mist and descending gloom with an increasingly vague notion of where we were. In the end I decided discretion was probably the better part of valour and abandoned my attempt on the summit. I was really **** off at what would have been my first botched Munro attempt. There was also the niggling fact that only 24 hours previously my parents had given me one of those survival bags made out of tin foil as a stocking filler (my mother especially is of the opinion that the tops of mountains are no places for sane human beings in the best of weather, let alone in the middle of winter in sub-zero temperatures). I had assured her that I would give it pack space but being the experienced walker/climber that I am, I would probably have no need to ever use it. All I could think about was how mortifying it would be if I was now eating those words and wearing the tin foil (although I was quite keen to see if a labrador dog could fit into one as well!) Then I caught site of the summit cairn and the fence posts - never have I seen a more welcome sight on a mountain! From there on it in was a dawdle and on the way back, I saw the arrow made from an old fence post and stones which I had somehow missed on the approach, pointing off to the left towards the summit!

[mountain coward]

WOW! That ice castle is stunning! I'll have to see if they'll build another one for me the week after next as I'm hoping to visit to get those Newtonmore Munros finished that I had to miss out in Feb...