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Spent the night in Glen Etive with my faithful Marley the dug, oh and about 2 billion midges! Up sharp and headed for the car park on the main road, A82 opposite Buachaille Etive Mor.
- She is somewhere in the cloud
The weather was not the best as you can see, but still it was worth a crack. Left the truck at 0740 and had a good walk up to the ridge, apart from losing the dug in the mist / fog for a while that is. It was quite a good test for the navigating skills as visibility was about 5 meter on the ridge. Still you have just got to trust the compass at these times and go for it.
- Summit 1, number 10 for me, wahey!
Into double figures and very chuffed with myself given the conditions.
Now fully clad in the waterproofs I headed for summit number 2 of the day, Stob na Broige. This took about 45 mins to 1 hour due to the conditions, but I had a brief break with the mist and got a view of the mighty Buachaille, very nice but unfortunately by the time I got the camera out of the waterproof bag, the mist was back in…..doh!
- The clagg moved out.......briefly!
At this point the HEAVY rain started, it was head down and push on time, made it to summit 2, munro number 11. Had a quick bite for lunch and then decide to head down. Followed my tracks back along the ridge and walked out as I got in, through Coire na Tulaich.
- Its this way, i think!
Once we dropped below the mist, prod about 200m from the ridge the weather improved, however I did meet an American couple heading up and stopped to talk to them. They were dressed in jeans, light water proofs and light walking boots, oh and she had an umbrella. The conversation went like this….Hi there, have you had a good climb, yes sir it was great, very wet and demanding on navigation. They then asked me if I thought they should continue, I replied it’s up to you but I pay my taxes which in turn pay for the emergency services so basically….NO! Be sensible and head down…very surprisingly they did and thanked me for my advice!
- Are you sure?
All in all, it was terrible weather, but a very worthwhile walk. It has helped me gain some more confidence for what lies ahead in this growingly addictive new hobby / journey to complete the Munros.
- One mountain too many, 10 year old though!
New boots reuired! Any suggestions?