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Munros: Cairngorm
Date: 24/02/2019.
Distance: 10 km.
Ascent: 830m.
Time taken: 4 hours, 45 minutes.
Weather: Sunny, mild, windy.
Day 2 or our Speyside break dawned a little chilly (well not really for February), but bright and sunny - so much so that Jackie ran around taking photos in her pyjamas
. We weren't exactly up at the crack of dawn, and by the time we'd sat out in the sun eating breakfast, it was well after 9:30am. The weather was good enough to persuade Jackie that we should get onto the plateau, injury or not, which was fine with me!
Meall a' Bhuachaille Get dressed! Mist over Aviemore Dawn over the plateau We opted for a tweaked circuit of the Northern Corries - tweaked to include Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda, which looked to be largely clear of snow from below. We were going to have a cup of tea at the café first, but the forecast was for strengthening wind later in the day, so instead we pushed on with the walking. An easy wander into the corrie was followed by the usual short flounder through the heather to gain the northern line of the Fiacaill. Here we determined that any remaining snow was best avoided as it was rock solid, and we hadn't bothered with our winter hardware.
Meall a' Bhuachaille Handy spot for a nap... Cairngorm Coire an Lochain West across Coire an Lochain Watch those boulders! Coire an t-Sneachda Cairn Lochan Cairngorm Cairngorm The ridge takes a bit of time due to the sheer number of boulders strewn around, and there were numerous guided groups trying to make the most of the warm conditions for their winter experience weekend! Up on the ridge it was quite breezy, and along with a couple of icy streaks in the crux chimney, this persuaded us to skip around the difficult bit and scrabble up the rough path to the plateau.
Crux move - bottled it today! Along the Fiacaill On the Fiacaill The wind was quite unpleasant up there - not strong enough to make walking difficult, but chilly and somewhat taking away from the pleasant warmth lower down. Still, the views were great, and despite it appearing hazy, we could see a long way - possibly further than I've seen before from the plateau. Ben Klibreck was clear to the north, as were the Caithness hills, and Ben Nevis and the Aonachs to the west.
Across the plateau to Beinn Meadhoin We diverted briefly to Cairn Lochan before traversing east along the top of the corries and admiring the crags. I suggested a wander out to Stac an Fharaidh so we could look down Loch Avon, but Jackie felt a twinge in her injured muscle, so in the end we opted for a slow ascent of Cairngorm followed by one of the short routes back down to the ski carpark.
Crags of Cairn Lochan Fiacaill The Fiacaill Looking down into Coire an t-Sneachda Almost fell! Cairn Toul and Sgor an Lochain Uaine Coire an t-Sneachda Macdui and Cairn Toul West along the Northern Corries Loch Etchachan West from Cairngorm The wind did as promised, increasing as we descended below the Ptarmigan restaurant until it was actually quite difficult walking for the last 20 minutes or so. Finally back at the car, we headed to the Winking Owl for dinner followed by another night in the tent.
Speyside Cairngorm Unlike Saturday night, the temperature didn't drop and the wind blew away to nothing, making for a lovely evening sitting outside and drinking hot chocolate. The idyll was shattered at 5:30am the following morning as we made an early start so that Jackie could be at work in Edinburgh by 9am
. That aside, a great weekend!