walkhighlands

Share your personal walking route experiences in Scotland, and comment on other peoples' reports.
Warning Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.

Lairig Ghru Take Two - Braeriach 3/4 traverse

Lairig Ghru Take Two - Braeriach 3/4 traverse


Postby Pointless Parasite » Fri May 04, 2018 6:38 pm

Munros included on this walk: Braeriach, Cairn Toul, Sgòr an Lochain Uaine

Date walked: 27/04/2018

Time taken: 8.5 hours

Distance: 27 km

2 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).

You know when you've had a good day in the mountains when you get sun burnt nostrils :D

This was the second time I'd attempted Braeriach this year. My attempt in February was an absolute embarrassment - a terrible day lost on the Sron na Lairige, going round in circles, unable to find the summit ridge. Looking back, I've tried to work out what on earth went wrong. The problem was that I'd made a series of adjustments to my direction based on a vague sense of direction (misguided as it turned out :lol: ) rather than using the compass. When I finally did use my compass I had no idea where I was on the mountain.

So it felt like deja vu when I started to climb the Sron this time around, once again in poor visibility. There was a visible path early on, but after a short while it was buried under the snow.

Image
Sron na Lairige by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

I reached a cairn, which presumably was one of the two high points of the Sron. I figured the best thing was to take a compass bearing and head due South. I would either come to the other high point, or the Southern extent of the shoulder which leads to the upper reaches of Braeriach. Happily, the visibility improved to a couple of hundred metres, revealing the final big ascent up to the summit :D. From then on, it was a straightforward plod to the top of Britain's third highest peak. Presumably the cairn was buried under deep snow. The highest point was right on the very edge:

Image
Braeriach summit by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

It was only 10.45, three hours after setting off. The visibility wasn't great, but it seemed a shame not to continue around to the other big Munros. As I was descending South from Braeriach, the clouds started to clear a little:

Image
SaLU from Braeriach by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

This was just a well - not a good place to be wondering around in a white-out :shock:

Image
Badass cornices by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
SaLU from Carn na Criche by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

After a while, the sun started to come out. Despite a few intermittent snow showers throughout the day, I still managed to get sun burnt :roll:

Image
Carn na Criche cornices by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

The clouds were clearing, even from Braeriach:

Image
Braeriach from SaLU by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
SaLU ascent by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Carn na Criche by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Beinn Bhrotain by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

I reached the summit of Sgor an Lochan Uaine just after 12.00, around four and a quarter hours after starting 8). I was making such good time, I started to think about doing the whole traverse, taking in Devil's Point.

Looking down the NE ridge to the summit of Uaine:

Image
SaLU NE ridge by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Cairn Toul from SaLU by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Stob coire an t-Saighdeir by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

During the descent for Sgor an Lochan Uaine, the snow started again and visibility was decreased. Cairn Toul began to disappear behind clouds. Looking back though, Uaine was now back in the sun, so it looked like another passing snow shower:

Image
SaLU from Cairn Toul by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Would Cairn Toul be cloud-free by the time I reached the summit?

Yes it would! :D

Image
Cairn Toul summit by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Glen Dee from Cairn Toul by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

I was still thinking about possibly continuing to Devil's Point. This was certainly possible but would leave a huge long walk back up the glen. Plus, I had other plans. To Hell with Devil's Point :twisted:

Image
Devils point from Cairn Toul by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
SaLU from Cairn Toul descent by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Other than returning the way I came, the only other realistic option was to descend the North face/ridge of Cairn Toul. I had no idea what this would be like as I was unable to find any route descriptions or other WH reports. It didn't look too steep, so I headed off, down into the clouds:

Image
Cairn Toul descent upper by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

After the snow slope at the top, it was mainly large, immobile granite rocks and snow. Further down, the rocks became much smaller and more unstable.

Image
Cairn Toul descent mid by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Cairn Toul descent lower by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
LG from Cairn Toul by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Looking back up the descent route:

Image
Cairn Toul from Lochan Uaine by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

The one last concern was the final descent down into Garbh Choire from Lochan Uaine. Actually, it's not so bad, providing the crags directly North of the Lochan outlet are avoided. The slope is steep but manageable either side of these crags.

Image
Desent from Lochan Uaine by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

The Garbh Choire bothy, apparently under redevelopment:

Image
Ben MacDui from Garbh Choire bothy by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Cairn Toul from LG by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Carn a mhaim by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Cairn Toul upper from LG by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Angel from LG by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Normally, the way back would be along the Lairig Ghru, but I really wasn't keen on this. The last time I was down here, it was just awful. I spent ages fighting through the boulder field in deep snow, injuring myself in the process. I'd noticed a possible alternative on the map, going up onto the plateau and heading directly back to the ski centre via the Northern Corries. From down below, this looked to be pretty straightforward:

Image
Ascent to plateau by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Cairn Toul from West by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Braeriach was now cloud free. Why couldn't it have been like this when I was up there? :lol:

Image
Braeriach SE ridge by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Braeriach from plateau by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Once up on the plateau, it was plain sailing back home. I saw a figure ascending Cairn Lochan, from the West. Until then, I had not seen a single person all day, except for a possible sighting near the Chalamain Gap.

Image
Ben MacDui by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Cairn Etchachan by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

What was the best way back to the ski centre? I was planning on taking the 'goat track' between Cairn Lochan and Stob Choire an t-Sneachda (a known accident black spot). From up above, I couldn't see an route at all, no tracks, just a huge bulge of concave snow. It could have been corniced for all I knew. Sod that. I climbed a little way up an t-Sneachda to get a better look. There was a possible way down but I didn't like the look of it. No, sod it. I decided to traverse the mispronounced one and descend the Fiacaill a' Choire Chas instead. There's no point in spoiling a great day by getting avalanched :wink:

Image
an T-Sneadchda from Lochan Buidhe by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Towards the end of the traverse of Stob Choire an t-Sneachda, there was a line of footsteps extremely close to the edge of the cornices, within a metre or so. Who in their right mind gets as close as this? Poor visibility might offer some excuse, but if that was the case, you'd see the footsteps approach the edge then suddenly turn away. This prat had walked a considerable distance along the line of cornices. I wonder if it was the guy I saw on Cairn Lochan earlier? If so, he'd better not have tried this stunt up there :roll:

Image
Cairn Gorm by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

Image
Fiachaill a choire chais descent by the pointless parasite, on Flickr

The weather was starting to deteriorate as I made it back to the Ski Centre. Back down in Glenmore, there was a ferocious rain/hail shower. In fact it must have snowed a good deal overnight as the plateau was under a white blanket of snow the next morning.
Attachments

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

User avatar
Pointless Parasite
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 492
Munros:83   Corbetts:6
Fionas:5   Donalds:19+2
Sub 2000:8   Hewitts:130
Wainwrights:214   Islands:2
Joined: Apr 9, 2017
Location: Lyon

Re: Lairig Ghru Take Two - Braeriach 3/4 traverse

Postby Coop » Fri May 04, 2018 9:12 pm

Great report cheers - just what im after. Recent snow conditions help as I'm heading to Cairn Toul ftom Linn o dee during the week. Looks like you got good views eventually Cheers
Coop
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 1313
Munros:78   Corbetts:123
Fionas:68   Donalds:52+16
Sub 2000:14   Hewitts:41
Wainwrights:65   Islands:14
Joined: Jun 5, 2016
Walk wish-list

Re: Lairig Ghru Take Two - Braeriach 3/4 traverse

Postby Pointless Parasite » Mon May 07, 2018 9:26 pm

Yeah it's still winter in the Caringorms :D

This webcam is useful for judging snow conditions on Braeriach and the Laigig Ghru: http://www.winterhighland.info/cams/aviemore/
User avatar
Pointless Parasite
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 492
Munros:83   Corbetts:6
Fionas:5   Donalds:19+2
Sub 2000:8   Hewitts:130
Wainwrights:214   Islands:2
Joined: Apr 9, 2017
Location: Lyon

Re: Lairig Ghru Take Two - Braeriach 3/4 traverse

Postby Bridge » Wed May 09, 2018 10:51 am

Great report! The pictures of snow were really appreciated. We have the last 2 weeks in May booked in the Cairngorms and I am thinking my skills are not up to coping with the snow!
Bridge
Walker
 
Posts: 17
Munros:84   
Joined: May 28, 2016
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: Lairig Ghru Take Two - Braeriach 3/4 traverse

Postby Coop » Wed May 09, 2018 9:27 pm

Bridge wrote:Great report! The pictures of snow were really appreciated. We have the last 2 weeks in May booked in the Cairngorms and I am thinking my skills are not up to coping with the snow!


The snow wasn't a problem today. I did The devil's point and Cairn Toul from the Linn o dee ( long walk in and out!)
There's still large cornices but I stayed well away from them. A bit of snow in Coire Odhar as well but I went up left of the waterfall and bypassed it.

The wind was the problem today. It picked up quite a bit heading up to the summit of Cairn Toul. It was time to head back at that point and not carry on to Angels peak. ( and I fancy going back through the Chalamain gap so I'll go back )

Cheers again PP
Coop
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 1313
Munros:78   Corbetts:123
Fionas:68   Donalds:52+16
Sub 2000:14   Hewitts:41
Wainwrights:65   Islands:14
Joined: Jun 5, 2016
Walk wish-list

Re: Lairig Ghru Take Two - Braeriach 3/4 traverse

Postby Bridge » Thu May 10, 2018 11:23 am

Coop wrote:
Bridge wrote:Great report! The pictures of snow were really appreciated. We have the last 2 weeks in May booked in the Cairngorms and I am thinking my skills are not up to coping with the snow!


The snow wasn't a problem today. I did The devil's point and Cairn Toul from the Linn o dee ( long walk in and out!)
There's still large cornices but I stayed well away from them. A bit of snow in Coire Odhar as well but I went up left of the waterfall and bypassed it.

The wind was the problem today. It picked up quite a bit heading up to the summit of Cairn Toul. It was time to head back at that point and not carry on to Angels peak. ( and I fancy going back through the Chalamain gap so I'll go back )

Cheers again PP



Many thanks for the update - really appreciated
Bridge
Walker
 
Posts: 17
Munros:84   
Joined: May 28, 2016
Location: Hertfordshire

2 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).




Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Walk reports - Scotland

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Jan Matthys, ppeters, StevetheDee and 68 guests