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Thursday looked a good day for fine weather so it was off for a walk round the CMD and onto the Ben. It was two years ago since the last visit which coincidentally was at the same time with similar weather. Unfortunately the news about the young walker who had gone missing reshaped the original plan to tackle another route.
The North Face car park was very busy when I arrived just after 0715 and it was obvious that there was a big dump of snow so it was an easy decision to head for Carn Dearg Beag and follow the ridge up to Big Ben.
The nice new path helped to get a nice pace without the high risk heart attack case the last path induced. And once again the people in the know were able to bypass this section and drive to the upper car park.
IMG_0249 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Left the woods and joined the main path up to CIC hut before turning off to engage a local resident who posed for a shot.
IMG_0044 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I headed up CBG NW flank which was a bit of a slog as the soft snow required more effort to negotiate. I met another walker on his way down. We had a quick chat and he said he had set off about 0600 and turned back as he was not feeling great. He headed back to the car and I plodded on to reach the summit ridge line at Carn Beag Dearg.
IMG_0061 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
The height provided some great views of the surrounding hills which were covered in full winter garb.
IMG_0059 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0065 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
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scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Then it was a traverse along the ridge line and up to the top of Carn Dearg Meadonach
IMG_0077 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
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scottishkennyg, on Flickr
then on to Carn Mor Dearg munro summit.
IMG_0087 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
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scottishkennyg, on Flickr
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scottishkennyg, on Flickr
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scottishkennyg, on Flickr
It was very peaceful and the conditions were great. The views across to Big Ben and Coire na Ciste were superb.
IMG_0093 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0103 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
CMD toward Mamores
IMG_0128 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0125 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I could hear a lot of echoes from the winter climbers on various routes of the East face of the Ben. Views across to the cliff faces brought back a sad memory of Mark Phillips who unfortunately died after a fall on Raeburns Buttress Feb.2013. RIP.
Some climbers across on the Ben.
IMG_0139 (2) by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I had a bite to eat and sat for a wee while enjoying the solitude before donning the crampons and setting off to negotiate the CMD ridge.
IMG_0147 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0108 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
The ridge was covered in fresh windswept snow and there were no signs of any footprints or well worn sections. The soft peaked snow reminded me of the Mr.Whippy cones the tally vans sell. It was difficult to see what was beneath the snow, rock or not.
IMG_0151 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
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scottishkennyg, on Flickr
The snow was deep in sections and my wee short legs were stretched to the under carriage.
IMG_0152 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
A view into the coire where some climbers appeared to be having a break.
IMG_0161 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0171 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
It was hard to get a good stride and progress was slow. There were a few times when the snowline sheared under my massive 13 stone, note to self to resume diet.
View down to three climbers ascending coire wall.
IMG_0172 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I reached the abseil point where I was expecting to find the man made cairn. Alas it was not there. I sat down and reloaded before the final pull. The three roped climbers appeared and we had a chat. The guide was a member of the LMR team. He explained to me that the cairn was there it was just buried beneath the snow.
View from vicinity of buried structure.
IMG_0188 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0178 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I headed off up the steep slope and kicked away to create the first path of the day. It was very tiring and I had to stop about every ten steps for a breather.
IMG_0175 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Person atop Tower
IMG_0199 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
View back down final ridge
IMG_0209 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0176 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I followed the post line to the big boulders then the gradient eased as the shelter came into view.
IMG_0213 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Summit plateau provides some superb views on a clear day.
IMG_0224 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0217 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0229 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I descended via the tourist route and then down to the waterfall, by the lochan and down to the woodland.
IMG_0219 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
IMG_0242 by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
A troop of lads passed me and made their way into the upper VIP car park to be driven away in the white van. Reckon that saves at least one hour off the route and about 800 calories.
I followed the pedestrian route to arrive safely back to the car just after 1515 to end a cracking day on Big Ben. Once again the day on these hills deserves a 10 as they do not get much better.
The next day I looked like a burned tomato with white eyelids, I wondered why my eyes were weeping during the night, clearly a combination of exposure to elements and no protection taken by the walker. Must remember to pack sunglasses and wear SPF cream.
I put together a short video highlighting some of the walk including the Carn Mor Dearg arête with virginal snow coverage, which has been muted by youtube, and can be viewed at link below;
(Can watch in HD by selecting setting on video bar and selecting HD1080p for sharper quality images)
Thanks for looking and apologies for lack of sound.