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Uill bha an t side aimsir dona an diugh
Gaoith laidir , Uisge is Sneachda . A bad forecast for today had me thinking twice whether it was worth going anywhere ..... course it was
and having missed Beinn Na Dothaidh when on Dorain i decided to try and add her to my tally.
We caught the 7.30 am ferry which was slapping around good time with the hail and rain battering the roof, i did begin to wonder whether this was a good idea and was expecting a fail. A wee stop at the Gleann Comhann filling station had the fella serving asking me if i was mad going on the hill with the wind being as bad ,i told him i lived in Ardnamurchan and if he thought this was windy then he had best come over to the real Wild West
We reached Drochaid Urchaidh at 8am and parked up at the railway station finding ourselves blowing onto the hill for 8.15am.
The ground was fluich/wet and it was a bit grim looking all round however the tops were clear between mossach showers
- An Rathad Suas
It is a quick hoof up the track and me and an Cú made the Bealach with snow and ice patches in quick time helped by the wind behind us
- Bealach na Dothaidh
In between heavy showers i could actually see the summit but the wind dia na grassain it was fierce and near lifting me off my feet at times
.... nice wee views to Loch Liomhann
- Loch Liomhan
I decided on a direct route to the East summit to try and keep out the wind a wee bit, it did help although at times it was a whiteout with spind thrift fair blasting the face. I had no need for crampons but there were stretches of ice /snow where the all fours approach was required more to keep the wind from blowing me down the icy slopes.
We soon made the height and as luck would strike the Gaidheal we had some seallaidh if we could hack the mighty wind
- Beinn na Dothaidh Ear Cárn
- Bheinn Dorain
- Beinn na Dothaid Ear anns an sneachd
We made the East cárn there was a lot of icy rocks around but no a lot of snow but due care was needed a wee bit tricky underfoot .There is some nice views to be had from the hill and considering the weather we summitted just at the right time
....so a quick coiseachd along the druim to take in all the seallaidh
- Bárr Mhais a sneachda
- Beinn Achalandair
We had a 180 viewpoint if you could stay upright long enough ,i even saw Meall Glas is Sgiath Chuil a damn sight more than i did when on these last week !
- Meall Glas is Sgiath Chuil
- Crann a'soillse , Mhanach
- Cárn a Mhullach Beinn na Dothaidh
We did not stay to long on the mullach for fear of being blown down and when the frasach came in jeez it was like being stung by hot needles ,lucky my face is kinda leather like
. On the way down we hit intermittent white out it had a dramatic effect as it cleared through.
- Mossach
- Geal a mach
As we made our way down i lost a mitt to the wind ,i did chase but it disappeared up into the air and away like something out the wizard of oz .... my third in two weeks so if you find her let me know
We arrived back at the car for 12.30 although the wind coming down the Bealach nan Dothaidh was the strongest i ve felt in a long time tis like a funnel there
Tha mi toilichte bha mi air a bheinn an diugh ..... i glad i made the effort for this nice wee quickie on Beinn Na Dothaidh although its been a long time since she was scorched
- An Cú Dubh
Cheerie an drasda