Ben Alder in 24 hours.

[jw200]

16:22 was the time at which we finally departed from our student house in St Andrews, in order to get away on a mini adventure. Arriving at Bridge of Ericht at about 7pm, after nightfall, we found a suitable place to park the car, and the four of us donned our rucksacks and headtorches, in the hope of reaching Ben Alder Cottage some time before midnight.

The first stage of the walk was simple. That is, until we took the wrong track off into the trees. Extricating ourself from the forest after some time, we rejoined the path. After the dam at the end of the loch, the going got tougher, with much of the ground a nightmare of snow-covered bog. We eventually made it to the supposedly haunted cottage at around midnight, cracked open the whisky, enjoyed some quality chat, and hit the hay. Two of our group (one known for being slightly melodramatic), claimed in the morning that they'd heard footsteps on two separate occassions.

Ben Alder Cottage

Leaving the cottage just after 8am, we headed straight up the slope behind the cottage, along the side of a stream. Personally, the ascent of Ben Alder was one of the most difficult things I have done. This is as a result of my boots being sodden from the bog the day before, resulting in my feet being alternatively numb and very painful all the way up, through the fairly deep snow. Eventually reaching the summit a few hours later, we rested, took pictures, and enjoyed lunch, as the weather started to clear, giving us fantastic views.

Three of us just short of the summit.

Summit

View from the summit, looking East.

After massaging my feet and wrapping them in dry socks and carrier bags, we struck out due West downhill. The snow was still deep, resulting in many misplaced steps falling down holes under the snow. Reaching the footpath to the west of Ben Alder, we followed it down the valley back to the cottage, and then followed our original route (through the bog) back to Bridge of Ericht, finally arriving back at the car at 7pm, just under 24 hours after leaving it.

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[robertphillips]

Well done guys, a long walk in winter conditions.

[simon-b]

That's an adventurous outing for one of your first two Munros, JW. Some impressive photos from up above the snowline.

[mrssanta]

not heard of doing Ben Alder from that direction, looks like bog at the head of the loch there. but a great effort!