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- Into sunshine on the ridge up An Cabar.
Less than a dozen hours after enjoying the sunset on Carn Chuinneag, my 5 am alarm call woke me for another mountain jaunt smuggled into my work schedule. I was away from the Inverness Inshes Premier Inn before breakfast, the last the Brewers Fayre would be serving before a Coronavirus shutdown. The dawn was crisp and clear and I was keen to make the most of the limited time I had. In February, on a work trip to Kinlochewe, I had been turned back by snow drifts on Ruadh Stac Beag, and I set off westwards along the A832 in search of redemption. However at Lochluichart I u-turned – I still had half a survey to finish at yesterday’s site on the Black Isle, and an epic struggle against the clock wouldn’t be wise.
Instead I headed to Ben Wyvis. My last ascent had been tinged with frustration, a 277th Munro ascent on a November afternoon in 2012 where showers and cloud failed to clear, the summit reached in a near whiteout. It would be redemption of a sort.
- The route up An Cabar to a mist-free summit ridge
- Little Wyvis catching the early sun
Mine was the only vehicle in the car park as I set off in full winter boots, ice axe and crampons packed, at 6:40 pm. The frost-touched woodland beside the Allt a’ Bhealaich Mhoir was alive with bird song, although the sun was entirely concealed beyond the white whale-back of Wyvis. Despite my thermometer dropping below -3, there was barely a breath of wind, allowing me to shed my fleece and continue in my base-layer on the well-built path up An Cabar. I fell hopelessly into the trap of stopping every few minutes for a photograph despite knowing the views would improve with every step upwards. Although I remained in shade, the peaks of the Fannichs, An Teallach and the Beinn Dearg range illuminated in winter glory were a fantastic sight. My eye was drawn westwards towards the pointed Torridon peaks, a view spoiled by unwelcome intrusions from wind turbines. Two ptarmigan hopped into view only a few metres away, as close an encounter as I could ever recall.
- Ptarmigan up close on the ascent of An Cabar
- Dawn sunshine on Little Wyvis
- Looking south from An Cabar to Little Wyvis and beyond
- Looking beyond Little Wyvis to the Strathfarrar peaks
- Looking into the sun near the summit of An Cabar
Having looked jealously to the sun-glistened slopes of Little Wyvis, I finally enjoyed the elation of the sun warming my face for the first time as I approached snow-sculpted summit ridge of An Cabar, topping out after 2 hours of walking. The stunning views westwards kept the spirits high on the mile and a half tramp northwards across the arctic plateau. A metal pole was decorated elaborately with spikes of rime ice. Mist bubbling up on the easterly breeze from from the cauldron of Coire na Feola was an unexpected irritation. As I tip-toed close to the corniced corrie edge, I recalled how the late Martin Moran was famously avalanched here during his ascent of all the Munros in one Scottish winter.
- Enjoying the beautiful conditions on An Cabar
- Long morning shadows looking westwards from Ben Wyvis
- A cairn near the summit of An Cabar
- Looking north towards the summit of Ben Wyvis, mist beginning to bubble up from the east
- An Teallach seen from Ben Wyvis
- High peaks of the Fannaichs from Ben Wyvis
- Looking beyond Fionn Bheinn to the peaks of Torridon
- Looking to the summit of Ben Wyvis
- Looking back along the summit ridge to An Cabar
- Rime ice clinging to a metal pole looking towards Ben Wyvis summit
At 9:20 am the gradient fell away to the north, and fleeting visibility amidst the swirling mist was enough to confirm I’d reached the summit, despite no cairn or trig point protruding from the snow blanket. A few metres to the east, a finely sculptured crest of windblown powder was exactly the kind of impermanent delight winter walking offers. I hung around for 25 minutes in hope of the milky sun burning away the whisps of cloud, but – for the second time – Ben Wyvis was to deny me. Third time lucky in future I hope!
- Ski tracks appearing in the wind blown snow, cornices up ahead
- Distant snowy peaks to the south-west
- Cornices near the summit of Ben Wyvis above Coire na Feola
- Mist clearing to give views of the corries to the east
- Snow-sculpted ridge at the summit
- The summit trig point and cairn are buried under the snow here!
On the homewards tramp I passed a ski-trekker and various other climbers heading upwards, leaving me relieved at the outstanding views enjoyed earlier in the day. The staircase-constructed path was unforgiving in descent so I took to the snow and the mossiest heather. The sunshine lifted the spirits along the woodland path before I returned to the car park, at 11:30 am, with 12 other vehicles now present.
I completed my work on the Black Isle, with Ben Wyvis teasing me to the end, basking cloud free under the afternoon sun. After a pit-stop at the Inverness MacDonalds (they would be shut nation-wide soon enough) a drive over the Lecht took me home to face the oncoming Coronavirus lockdown, albeit with memories and photos from two fine hill walks to sustain me.
- Ben Wyvis from my site on the Black Isle later that afternoon
- Couldn't resist an ice axe picture at the summit