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Finally weekend off - free two days without a work
I was looking forward to go to the mountains again, hoping in some snowy adventure after too many rainy - windy - fogy days. The weather forecast showed rain again in some places in Scotland,
but Cairngorms and the East looked promisingly
Cairngorms won, still some more Munros to do there so good to keep the Eastern three for next
Cairngorms was one option in my plan even before, when watching the forecast process during the last two weeks. Because of weekend, I wanted use maximum of the time despite, but depends, of the shorter daylight...the other options was:
Five Sisters,
The Saddle & Sgurr na Sgine,
1-2 Munros in Torridon,
Grey Corries
or Conival & Ben More Assynt.
Also decision made for the Cairngorms as there was rain expectation during the day in the rest of them.
I wanted do at least two Munros on the saturday, not sure if I will be able to do any more trip up to end of this year, because of my busy working schedule before Christmas and New Year so I wished to finish this year with the number of 141 - half way, the milestone in this trip...
Because of winter time - shorter daylight and also the shorter distance to the closer area, no very early ( night ) start time necessary, but anyway I wanted start the walk around 7:00 - 7:30 am and walk in the darkness just on the beginning, on the easy wide initial road via Glen Lui. Prepared all my stuff late evening before the trip, busy with more other things and tired after all the previous working week when I woke up between 00:15 am - 01:45 am every morning I felt that I will need sleep at least 4 hours to regenerate my body before the trip. Alarm set for 04:00 am - which is very gentle time for me comparing to my usual mountains trips with alarm between 00:05 - 02:00 am
I arrived in the Linn of Dee car park around 8:20 in the daylight...
- Linn of Dee car park ( £ 2 parking fee per car a day ), not busy on saturday morning...I started my walk at 8:34, one hour later than I originally wanted so I guessed that this trip I will enjoy the darkness on the end of my walk instead
- Glen Derry, after the long walk via Glen Lui...
- ...and 25 mins. later, the snowy narrow path and the heather covered by snow everywhere. Derry Cairngorm ahead
- Some nice scenery on the way...
- I really enjoyed the silence of the fresh morning's walk in Glen Derry
- Closer to the mountains...clear sky, good visibility and.......no wind ! Beinn Mheadhoin in the distance on the left and Beinn a'Chaorainn on the right
- The walk continues through the small forest...long, but nice walk in the Glen
- Coire Etchachan and Beinn Mheadhoin on the right. I decided to leave the path and continue straight to Beinn a'Chaorainn through the heather and deeper snow
- Ascending and looking towards West...shortcut, but no faster probably in the snow and heather...
- ...and towards South, looking back to Glen Derry
- Coire Etchachan and Beinn Mheadhoin from the higher level
- First ascent done and first Munro ahead, Beinn a'Chaorainn over the plateau
- Beinn Mheadhoin
- Coire Ethchachan and part of Derry Cairngorm ascending on the left
- Beinn Bhreac
- Beinn a'Bhuird on the left and Beinn Bhreac on the right
- The summit of Beinn a'Chaorainn, Beinn Mheadhoin in the background...
- ...and with Derry Cairngorm in the background
- Descending...towards Derry Cairngorm
- Beinn Mheadhoin closer from the edge...
- ...and Coire Etchachan, my next way up somewhere there
- Joined the snowy path back to Glen Derry...
- ...but leaving the path shortly after to make another shortcut through the snow and snowy heather heading straight to Coire Etchachan
The report continues by the post below...