The Cairnwell trio.

[nathan79]

I didn't think i was going to get out until Monday so i passed on the Ben Narnain and Ben Ime walk Stretch had proposed. Turns out i could squeeze something in so i went for the Cairnwell munros, partly because i had the OS map nd partly because i knew what to expect having seen them when i did the Glas Maol circuit last month.

Got to the ski centre about 10:50 and set off at 11. nice and clear but bitterly cold. i'd donned a thermal top in place of my normal baselayer and running leggings under my trousers for the first time.

Glass Maol 3 from the ascent.

Disaster struck when i got the camera out to snap this. I was met with a card error message when i switched it on.(i foolishly don't carry a 2nd memory card) so i had to drop the quality to give me as many shots using the internal memory.

Some very icy parts to the path at the beginning, but i couldn't believe how quickly you reach the top of munro number 1.

Carn Aosda summit with the Cairnwell in the background.(and my glovede finger sneaking in at the corner of the shot)

Pressed on towards the next peak. Debated which to do first, Carn a'Gheoidh looked so far away i thought it was best to tackle that one first. A sure sign how cold ait's been up here lately is that all the lochans were either partially or totally ice-covered.

Icy Loch Vrotachan

One of the things i'd hoped to see was the hares in their winter coats. There were plenty of them to be see on the way to Carn a'Gheoidh. Only saw a few with the full white, but it's great to see how effective that inbetween stage is as camouflage. Also saw a ptarmigan with it's white plumage, but my gloved muppet hands only got my camera out and ready just at the point it flew off! Perhaps one of you heard my scream on a distant peak!

1 hare

2 hares hiding

A hadful of other walkers to be seen, the Carn a'Gheoidh summit was as busy as it got though.

Carn a'Gheoidh summit

Didn't hang about, as you can see from the pictures the sky was getting more and more overcast and gloomy as the day went on, so touched the cairn, snapped a pic and got moving again. The Cairnwell was beckoning.

The Cairnwell

The final climb was fine, the wind had picked up alot by this point and it was good to get to that albeit unattractive summit.

The Cairnwell summit.

You can see those skys were far from the bright blue i'd set out in so straight back down to the car. My gloves were clammy and my fingers were getting cold. Got back to the car at 3:45 and straight in to get the heating on and enjoy the hot coffee i'd been carrying all day but didn't want to stop to break out.

Additionally, guess what happened when i put my memory card in camera when i was getting a heat back in me? The bloody thing worked fine!

[Alan S]

Fine report there nathan,pity about the camera but there are still some stunning pics in there
I have done this circuit twice and enjoyed it considering the unimpressive views on the cairnwell

[Stretch]

Good stuff Nathan, wish you could have joined us on the Jockstar scrambling adventure . I take it this walk didn't wear you out so much that you had to get another Pizza Hut pizza?

[nathan79]

Yeah i'm disappointed i missed out on Jockstar getting his adrenaline fix.

I didn't do enough to earn a pizza hut this time. I think those two days last weekend have done a lot for my hill fitness. I'd have headed back out again today but for the weather.