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Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm


Postby gman » Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:11 pm

Route description: Ben Macdui and Cairngorm

Munros included on this walk: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Date walked: 18/02/2013

Time taken: 7.1 hours

Distance: 17.5 km

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ben macdui 17-2-2013 actual.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



Hadn't been to Cairngorms before so did these on Sunday, roads were pretty quiet till I got to Aviemore but the ski centre was busy and the car park was getting full (apparently ski centres are busiest when there's snow on the hills :lol: ). Left about 9am and headed across to the ridge. The one on the right is the route up but the other one looks narrower andmore interesting. Decided to stick to the WH route.
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View back to Loch Morlich:
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The other, more interesting ridge - looks tricky further up :D
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Now heading into the clag. MWIS had 70% chance of cloud-free Munros but low cloud too:
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Long walk in the cloud now, someone had considerately left footprints to follow:
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Cloud briefly broke & I got a view - thought this might have been the last of the day:
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The hills had obviously been busy with tracks going in all directions. Spotted loads of guided groups & winter skills courses. Towards the top of Macdui I started to get clear of the clag:
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Over to Derry Cairngorm, getting a lot brighter now :D
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Macdui is a bit of a mound, glad to be out of the cloud though:
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Derry Cairngorm again, from the top this time:
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Nice to be abouve the clouds for a while :D :
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Cairn:
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Same route back, this was all in clag on the way here so good to finally see it:
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Lairig Ghru:
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Next hill, Cairn Gorm:
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Back into the clag:
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Eventually cleared again, looking back:
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Winter skills group and the route to Cairn Gorm:
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Looking South East, Carn Etchachan maybe?
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Got to the cliffs, climbers on Fiacaill Buttress:
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Over to Monadhliath:
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Cairn Gorm:
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Climbers heading down the quick way :D :
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Legs got a shock when I started ascending again, nice views for frequent 'camera' breaks though:
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Cairn and snowmobiles at the top:
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View South East, cloudy over there:
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Today's route from to snowy ridge on the right to the Macdui mound on the left, then across to the cliffs and up to Cairn Gorm:
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The cairn without all the masts marks the start of the descent route, a few smaller cairns then path to the busy restaurant:
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Went to the right of the restaurant and followed the path down, didn't take long to see the car park:
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Got back at 4, fairly easy walk for a couple of the highest Munros :D
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Re: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Postby Stuart Angus » Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:16 pm

Cracking, really enjoyed that :thumbup:............especially the pics when you finally got out the clag!
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Re: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Postby gyles » Mon Feb 18, 2013 7:51 pm

Love the sun, snow and clag combination. Looks very eerie and atmospheric.
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Re: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Postby Mountainlove » Mon Feb 18, 2013 7:55 pm

Great pictures of the snow and cloud...you were really lucky even with the clag at times!!
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Re: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Postby gman » Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:44 pm

Cheers, last walk was all in clag so I was expecting the worst - sometimes the weather surprises you in a good way :D
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Re: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Postby Sunny Speyside » Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:50 pm

Enoyed your photos. I did this walk myself last September but got no views at all - so it is nice to see what I missed.
Cheers
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Re: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Postby DrMagpie » Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:50 pm

Great trip report.

Was there 24 hours earlier in nearly identical conditions. The strangest thing is I'm convinced the tracks on the "looking back" photo heading for the summit are mine :lol: . Remember walking in the mist just below 2 sets of ski tracks on my way to the top!
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Re: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Postby gman » Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:18 pm

DrMagpie wrote:Was there 24 hours earlier in nearly identical conditions. The strangest thing is I'm convinced the tracks on the "looking back" photo heading for the summit are mine :lol: . Remember walking in the mist just below 2 sets of ski tracks on my way to the top!


Cheers for the footprints to follow, and the skiers should be disqualified - that's cheating! :lol:
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Re: Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm

Postby simon-b » Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:22 pm

It looks like you had an excellent day on those two, gman. This was my very first Munro round, in summer clag. It's really good to see the views you had.

I also did the other ridge you mention, Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda, on a winter skills course. You're right, it is tricky and interesting in those conditions (it's a graded scramble).

Great report, thanks for posting.
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