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For lots of reasons I've not been able to get out in the hills over the past 8 weeks and am suffering serious withdrawal symptoms.
I'm loving seeing reports and photos of pristine snowy landscapes and in many ways this report from balmy May will be tame by comparison. But on the day we did it, it was a significant milestone and achievement. So I post it with pride in my indomitable pal who won't see this as she's currently basking in sunny California - not that I'm in the slightest bit jealous or anything!
As anyone who has read some of my other reports will know my hill walking pal Moira had a nasty fall in the Cairngorms smashing her ankle in three places and needing reconstructive surgery to put it all back together
As she lay in A & E she asked the doctor if she would be able to hill walk again - which having just been airlifted off the hill in agony I thought showed a lot of spirit and was maybe a wee bit optimistic.
Here's the brave lady 5 days later - she was 8 days in hospital
Six months later we started with short low level walks, gradually working up to the Corbett Am Bathach which gave a lot of ankle pain on the descent. By the end of May she was feeling ready to tackle her first post accident Munro and I thought a nice straighforward one would be Ben Chonzie which would give Moira a tick for her efforts. I'd done it twice before - via Loch Turrett and by the shorter route from Glen Lednock, which was the route we chose for today.
Glen Lednock looking fresh and green
We took a steady pace up the good track that follows the course of the Invergeldie Burn
Climbing out of Glen Lednock on to open hillside, the track became more rocky
Steady as she goes
Views opening up over Glen Lednock to the west
Before the track reaches the crest of the hill there is a small cairn which marks the point for turning off to the left on a path which crosses a burn. We stopped at the burn for a bite to eat and a rest for the ankle which so far was coping well.
This brought back fond memories of Easter Saturday 2000 when I came up here with a bunch of friends of all ages from Dundee and China. We stopped for lunch at the same spot before 8 of us climbed to the summit.
There was then a bit of a climb that wasn't too steep until we saw the metal fence posts which we followed right up to the summit.
One very chuffed lady!
Texting her friends in the summit shelter to say she'd done it!
Loch Turrett and the other approach to Ben Chonzie which I took in 1997
View from the top north west towards Ben Lawers
Beinn Ghlas, Ben Lawers, An Stuc and Meall Garbh
Dazzling quartzite near the top
Being a gentle gradient the descent didn't give the ankle the problems it had coming off Am Bathach
Birches in fresh green of spring
Looking back up the track - what a glorious spring day
Not having the dogs with us we were able to get quite close to these boys and girls
The black-faced hill lambs are so bonny
Almost back at the car