free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
I had pretty much given up on any further Munro walks this year, mainly through lack of experience and winter equipment. However a hastily arranged walk invite on Friday, ironically received while halfway up Mount Blair resulted in a response of "**** it, why not!". So i set about purchasing various bits and pieces and started to make arrangements. The trickiest of which was the realisation that as i was to be staying in Arbroath, i'd be getting up at 5am, to meet one of my walking partners in Forfar. I used to come HOME at this sort of time, not get up and go out
Anyhow, onto the day's events. My phone alarm duly went off at 4:55 (thought i'd better build in 5 minutes for me to throw it across the bedroom floor in frustration, then get up and stumble about looking for it to switch the cursed thing off). Breakfast was wolfed down. I say breakfast, but a couple of slices of toast and an obscenely strong coffee may not count, and after shivering like what seemed an eternity, the car was defrosted and I was off.
There then followed a fairly amusing (or terrifying) drive through a series of backroads to reach the A9, and by 8:00am we were ready to go. We started past the B&B and headed up the path to Geal Charn. Not long into the walk, you start to remember why such early rises are worth it:
- Sunrise over the A9
- A wee look across to A'Mharconaich
- Looking ahead to Geal Charn
The pull up to Geal Charn's eventual summit isn't particularly dramatic, but some of the surrounding views were fantastic, and the snow covering really increases the "wow" factor.
After a relatively straightforward trudge through heather and snow, we reached the summit.
- Geal Charn Summit
A quick wander across to a nearby cairn allowed us to get some fantastic views across Loch Ericht to Ben Alder and the hills beyond.
- Loch Ericht
There then followed a straightforward descent to the bealach. Now, i assume in summer there's a fairly sensible path to A'Mharconaich. However we decided to follow the footsteps of the two walkers ahead of us, which resulted in a thigh burning yomp straight up the hill. The pain in my thighs and calves was eventually matched by the pleasure of reaching the plateau below the summit, and the absolutely stunning views around.
- Schiehallion
- A'Mharconaich's snow covered summit cairn
And so came the bit i was most worried about. The descent was described as a little tricky in winter conditions, and i'm still slightly worried about my ankle injury of a few months ago, so a steep, icy descent was definitely not high on my list of stuff I really wanted to do. However, the initial steepness was made much easier by the soft, fresh snow so i was able to kick my heels in and made this section with no problem at all. Looking back up towards the initial descent of the mountain was quite an impressive sight...
- A'Mharconaich descent
The rest of the descent was marked by amusement at my pal Ed's attempts to sledge down the hill and my own attempts not to break my ankle on the iced over lower, heathery slopes.
- Sledging
Finally we arrived back at the car park (not before a fun packed river crossing on icy stones) for a well earned cuppie, and the all-important task of putting fresh socks on. I believe the thermal socks i'd worn on the hills could probably have been sold to a small ex-Russian country as a weapon of mass destruction.
What have i learned from this?
Well, winter walking is perfectly accessible for a novice, when combined with a sensible head and the right equipment. It's also fantastically enjoyable. A big thanks to Magoo82 and my pal Ed for a most enjoyable day. I can't wait to get out again!