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With consistently dire forecasts over the holiday period I was tempted out by a predicted 60% chance of a cloud free Munro. The fact that the same forecast mentioned 50-80 mph winds was by the by. I settled on Carn na Drochaide as it was close, not so high and a fairly short outing. Up early (as is my want) and on the road before 7am. The A93 to Braemar was fine - snow & ice free. From Braemar there was a cm of fresh snow and I was delighted with the performance of my new winter tyres. Not surprisingly I was the first car at the small Linn of Quoich parking area although there were a quite few cars in the Linn of Dee car park. On my way at the crack of dawn (8:15) with clear skies to the east. However the weather was coming from the other direction and it didn't look too good. Followed the route from this site on the way out - missed turn on the way up but it didn't really make much difference as the heather on this bit of the hillside was short and the snow was only a few cms deep. Got back on course before the Creag a'Cheirich top where the weather was still fairly benign - windy but by no stretch of the imagination a gale. The view south to Braemar and Glen Clunie was pretty good but the view north was fairly limited. In good weather the views of Ben Avon and Beinn a' Bhuird must be superb.
Allanmore SunriseA few metres up the side Carn na Drochaide of overlooking the cottage of Allanmore. View is due south with Morrone on the right. Taken one minute before sunrise.
View West From AllanmoreView west taken from the same point as previous photo. Sgòr Mòr is the nearest hill in view (to the right). As the weather was coming from this direction I was quite hopeful of further good weather but an hour later the snow set in for the rest of my day.
Glen ClunieTaken from the Creag a'Cheirich bit of Carn a Dronhaide looking south down Glen Clunie.
Meall an t-Slugain & Meall Glasail MòrAnother from the Creag a'Cheirich looking towards Ben Avon and Beinn a' Bhuird. Unfortunately you can't see either of these mountains. You have to made do with Meall an t-Slugain and Meall Glasail Mòr instead. Taken 40 minutes after sunrise (9:30am) the light was very strange as the snow clouds gathered.
Breamar And Glen ClunieAnother from the Creag a' Chlerich looking due south, taken before the snow set in for the day.
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- Large herd of red deer hinds (very poor photo)
From Creag a'Cheirich it was just a case of picking a line that gave least heather & rock. Again pretty easy going. Around the 700m mark it started snowing and that was pretty much it for the rest of the morning. It never got that heavy so visibility was too bad. However with the stiff wind goggles were soon donned and zips secured.
If Carn na Drochaide has anything it has cairns. As well as ones on the main summit and the Creag a'Cheirich & Carn na Criche tops, there was big one about 500m from the summit and then another two along the plateau. Got to the summit after exactly 2 hours and got my little anemometer thingy out. Minus 3-4C with 25-35mph winds. While nowhere near the MWIS predicted gale (I was only 100m below Munro height) the wind chill was in the region of -13C. So I didn't hang about.
The going along the top was a pleasure - there was even a path to follow. Not great views but the mild spindrift was entertaining. After the Carn na Criche top I turned south heading for path marked on the 1:50,000 OS map that takes you to the Linn of Quoich. I was pleasantly surprised to find this path around the 700m mark as the heather on this side of the hill is considerably thicker than the east side. I have since found that the 1:25,000 OS map is a lot more accurate than the 50,000 one. And so onto the wonderful Linn of Quoich and The Punch Bowl. Not the best photographing weather but it won't be long before I'm back. Back to the car by noon making a very pleasant way to start the year.
Carn na Drochaide CairnCairn at the summit of Carn na Drochaide.
Carn na Dronhaide CairnOne of many cairns on this hill. This one was west of the summit with the Carn na Criche bit of the hill ahead (there was a cairn there too).
Snowy Water Of QuoichView downstream from the footbridge at the Linn of Quoich.
Snowy Linn Of Quoich
Water Of QuoichWooden bridge at the Linn of Quoich. The public car park used to be over this bridge (to the left) but this bridge is now structurally unsound so the public are no longer allowed over this bridge. The slightly bright patch in the sky is the sun.
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