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Sgor Gaoith and Mullach Clach a' Bhlair

Sgor Gaoith and Mullach Clach a' Bhlair


Postby snowdonia7 » Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:44 am

Route description: Sgòr Gaoith, from Glen Feshie

Munros included on this walk: Mullach Clach a' Bhlàir, Sgòr Gaoith

Date walked: 30/03/2018

Time taken: 6.45 hours

Distance: 22.4 km

Ascent: 1138m

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Fifteen years after first visiting the Cairngorms Neil and I headed for Glen Fenshie to finish the munros in this area (although we didn't make a conscious decision to do the munros until 2010).
After the drive down the glen we set off from Achlean following the track east, slightly upwards into the wooded area. Despite the fact that it was freezing cold, the temperature under the tree tops was a good bit warmer and I got a sweat on - it would have been better to start with fewer layers.
Once out of the woods we followed the clear path up the hillside above the line of the Allt Fhearnagan, after a little while catching up with two ladies who said they were heading over to Cairn Toul.
At about 700 metres we hit to snow line and the stronger winds, and the extra effort to make progress helped to keep us warm.
We set off initially north and hoping to skirt round Carn Ban Mor. Visibility was really poor (often less than 20 metres), making navigation quite a challenge, but every now and again the visibility would improve, fleetingly we spotted a dark patch ahead and thought it was a pile of rocks, but it never seemed to get any closer (it proved to be a very large rocky area on the east flank of Sgor Gaoith.
Thankfully the weather cleared slightly when we reached the summit and we were able to spend a few minutes taking lunch with freezing.
Sgor Gaoith.jpg

Then we set off SSW over the top of Carn Ban Mor and on towards Mullach Clach a' Bhlair. With the visibility so poor we frequently checked our pacing until we reached the high point at 942m, then changed our bearing for the munro.
We saw a couple of people through the mist and snow, but never got close enough to talk.
Once we reached the top of Mullach Clach a' Bhlair, we struggled to find a cairn, due to the strong freezing wind and snow, thankfully spotting it before we got really cold.
Mullach Clach a' Bhlair.jpg

We then headed back on a bearing, first to the high point and then back to the head of the valley to descend back to Achlean.
Overall a challenging day, with the visibility making navigation hard work and any breaks in activity quickly leading to a drop in temperature.
User avatar
snowdonia7
 
Posts: 184
Munros:282   Corbetts:8
Fionas:1   
Hewitts:108
Wainwrights:36   
Joined: Jul 8, 2011

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