Climbing Morrone: a Personal Triumph!
Corbetts: Morrone
Date walked: 17/08/2022
Time taken: 5 hours
Distance: 12.1km
Ascent: 650m
Well, I didn’t expect this! Climbing a mountain just 6 weeks since I left hospital with my third stroke. It wasn’t easy… far from it. I could definitely feel that my right leg was somewhat weaker than the left. And the weakness in my right arm certainly caused me some discomfort.
Perhaps I need to fill you in a little before I attempt to say anymore. I had a stroke in May 2007 at the age of 44. Since then, I have ‘got by with it’ – of sorts. I returned to full-time work within a year, with my speech only marginally impaired. A family holiday a few years later saw me climbing 4 Munro’s, including the mighty Ben Nevis and the towering Buachaille Etive Mor – although, to be fair, the last one did need some assistance as I reached the bealach. However, looking back through the years with hindsight, I could definitely say that the holidays we had since 2019 (through the marvellous Outer Hebrides) were less easy than they used to be.
Shoot forward a little to the beginning of January 2022. Given the state of the lockdown, I was working from home. Notwithstanding this, I looked forward to the new term, which was due to begin the following week. As I left my desk in the evening, I could tell that something was wrong. In fact, so much so that the only way I could negotiate my way downstairs was to get there on my behind. To cut a long story short, the day after saw me admitted to the local hospital with ‘a very minor’ stroke, to borrow the consultant’s words. This time, I spent 4 days in hospital – although the duration seemed much longer – and this was supported by 2 months off work. I returned to full-time work at the beginning of March. All went well until the 1st of June, when the third stroke hit me. My wife was away visiting her mother and our two sons who were living and/or working in various parts of London. As a result, I was alone on the bathroom floor for the best part of 19 hours when, due to my wife’s persistent ‘phone calling and my next-door neighbour – to whom many thanks must be raised - the police came to my rescue.
This time 4 days became 4 weeks for which I remained confined to hospital. As I said at the beginning, the problem with the stroke was that it left me with very little strength in my right arm and a weakness in my right leg. With the tremendous help of my wife, I started to move slowly but firmly for a mile and a half at the beginning of my ‘long walk’ back to some sort of fitness. This was followed by two miles… and then three… until eventually we reached 6 miles. This was a major feat! However, the problem was that this was mostly on flat land. The week before we were due to go on holiday, I travelled with a friend to Blanchland in Northumberland. There, by hook or crook, we managed to walk for 6 and a half miles over some quite undulating pieces of land.
On our holiday to Braemar 6 weeks later, I could look back at 3 days of excellent walks ranging from 3 miles to 6 miles, each of which involved some fairly steady but short climbing. However, there was nothing on the scale of climbing a mountain, which I rapidly dismissed.
Or so I thought. It became obvious that my wife had other ideas! After two fairly indifferent days in terms of the weather, we were greeted with marvellous sunshine as we walked through Braemar on our way to Morrone, a Corbett which dominates Braemar and reaches 859 metres. Our walk proceeded in the direction of the Golf course. Easy so far! Just ahead of the Golf course, we turned right and made our way steadily upwards through some birch trees and shrubs, before reaching a point at which we turned south. Already, the views were starting to open up with an impressive view of the Cairngorms to the north of us.
Now here comes the fun part. I had read somewhere that Morrone is considered as an ‘easy walk’. Hmm… I am not so sure. Let us say that it is an easy walk for some… and a challenging walk for others! We made our way steadily upwards, stopping on one occasion to let some ‘young folks’ by.
We eventually reached a point with 5 stone cairns which are placed next to each other. This was an excellent place to stop, have a drink and take in some impressive views. To the north-west we could see the unmistakable shapes of Ben Macdui, Braeriach and Cairn Toul, whilst to the east Lochnagar stood tall and proud looking out over Royal Deeside.
Shortly after this, the path flattens out somewhat and it became much easier to navigate. However, there is still a long way to go to get to the submit, which is easily seen as it is topped with a tall mast. Here, it is possible to see 360 degrees of magnificent scenery, including the Cairngorms that I have already mentioned, the pinnacles of Ben Avon, Loch Callater, and The Cairnwell and its accompanying mountains.
After pausing to eat some lunch, it was now time to descend. However, in contrast to the approach from the north-east the path to descend was much easier than on the way up. The path was nice and broad, being the route to bring vehicles up to the mast. It was quite steep, mind you. I didn’t relish the thought of driving up here with a small lorry or 4-wheel drive.
We descended quite steeply with a view of Clunie Water and the occasional vehicle on the A93 to greet us. Eventually, we made it to the bottom of the valley, with just a fine walk back to the Golf Club and onwards to Braemar, where we stopped at the Bothy café to pick up a nice afternoon cake!
So, what is it like walking up a mountain with a stroke? By the end, I was more than a little sore in my right shoulder, to be frank. But I am tremendously pleased to have made the journey – all 7.5 miles and an ascent of 650 metres of it. One thing’s for sure, I couldn’t have done it without my wife’s truly exceptional support!
Perhaps I need to fill you in a little before I attempt to say anymore. I had a stroke in May 2007 at the age of 44. Since then, I have ‘got by with it’ – of sorts. I returned to full-time work within a year, with my speech only marginally impaired. A family holiday a few years later saw me climbing 4 Munro’s, including the mighty Ben Nevis and the towering Buachaille Etive Mor – although, to be fair, the last one did need some assistance as I reached the bealach. However, looking back through the years with hindsight, I could definitely say that the holidays we had since 2019 (through the marvellous Outer Hebrides) were less easy than they used to be.
Shoot forward a little to the beginning of January 2022. Given the state of the lockdown, I was working from home. Notwithstanding this, I looked forward to the new term, which was due to begin the following week. As I left my desk in the evening, I could tell that something was wrong. In fact, so much so that the only way I could negotiate my way downstairs was to get there on my behind. To cut a long story short, the day after saw me admitted to the local hospital with ‘a very minor’ stroke, to borrow the consultant’s words. This time, I spent 4 days in hospital – although the duration seemed much longer – and this was supported by 2 months off work. I returned to full-time work at the beginning of March. All went well until the 1st of June, when the third stroke hit me. My wife was away visiting her mother and our two sons who were living and/or working in various parts of London. As a result, I was alone on the bathroom floor for the best part of 19 hours when, due to my wife’s persistent ‘phone calling and my next-door neighbour – to whom many thanks must be raised - the police came to my rescue.
This time 4 days became 4 weeks for which I remained confined to hospital. As I said at the beginning, the problem with the stroke was that it left me with very little strength in my right arm and a weakness in my right leg. With the tremendous help of my wife, I started to move slowly but firmly for a mile and a half at the beginning of my ‘long walk’ back to some sort of fitness. This was followed by two miles… and then three… until eventually we reached 6 miles. This was a major feat! However, the problem was that this was mostly on flat land. The week before we were due to go on holiday, I travelled with a friend to Blanchland in Northumberland. There, by hook or crook, we managed to walk for 6 and a half miles over some quite undulating pieces of land.
On our holiday to Braemar 6 weeks later, I could look back at 3 days of excellent walks ranging from 3 miles to 6 miles, each of which involved some fairly steady but short climbing. However, there was nothing on the scale of climbing a mountain, which I rapidly dismissed.
Or so I thought. It became obvious that my wife had other ideas! After two fairly indifferent days in terms of the weather, we were greeted with marvellous sunshine as we walked through Braemar on our way to Morrone, a Corbett which dominates Braemar and reaches 859 metres. Our walk proceeded in the direction of the Golf course. Easy so far! Just ahead of the Golf course, we turned right and made our way steadily upwards through some birch trees and shrubs, before reaching a point at which we turned south. Already, the views were starting to open up with an impressive view of the Cairngorms to the north of us.
Now here comes the fun part. I had read somewhere that Morrone is considered as an ‘easy walk’. Hmm… I am not so sure. Let us say that it is an easy walk for some… and a challenging walk for others! We made our way steadily upwards, stopping on one occasion to let some ‘young folks’ by.
We eventually reached a point with 5 stone cairns which are placed next to each other. This was an excellent place to stop, have a drink and take in some impressive views. To the north-west we could see the unmistakable shapes of Ben Macdui, Braeriach and Cairn Toul, whilst to the east Lochnagar stood tall and proud looking out over Royal Deeside.
Shortly after this, the path flattens out somewhat and it became much easier to navigate. However, there is still a long way to go to get to the submit, which is easily seen as it is topped with a tall mast. Here, it is possible to see 360 degrees of magnificent scenery, including the Cairngorms that I have already mentioned, the pinnacles of Ben Avon, Loch Callater, and The Cairnwell and its accompanying mountains.
After pausing to eat some lunch, it was now time to descend. However, in contrast to the approach from the north-east the path to descend was much easier than on the way up. The path was nice and broad, being the route to bring vehicles up to the mast. It was quite steep, mind you. I didn’t relish the thought of driving up here with a small lorry or 4-wheel drive.
We descended quite steeply with a view of Clunie Water and the occasional vehicle on the A93 to greet us. Eventually, we made it to the bottom of the valley, with just a fine walk back to the Golf Club and onwards to Braemar, where we stopped at the Bothy café to pick up a nice afternoon cake!
So, what is it like walking up a mountain with a stroke? By the end, I was more than a little sore in my right shoulder, to be frank. But I am tremendously pleased to have made the journey – all 7.5 miles and an ascent of 650 metres of it. One thing’s for sure, I couldn’t have done it without my wife’s truly exceptional support!
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Blokewithastroke
- Activity: Mountaineer
- Pub: Tyne Bar, Newcastle
- Mountain: Suilven
- Place: Plockton
- Munro rounds: 4
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- Sub 2000: 2
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- Distance: 12.1 km
- Ascent: 650m
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- Distance: 12 km
- Ascent: 607m
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- Distance: 7.9 km
- Ascent: 1411m
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- Distance: 278.9 km
- Sub2000s: 1
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- Distance: 12 km
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- Distance: 30 km
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- Distance: 23 km
- Ascent: 1340m
- Corbetts: 1
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- Joined: Oct 19, 2014
- Last visited: Jun 25, 2024
- Total posts: 61 | Search posts