Having not done any hillwalking since the 5 Sisters in June, this was not only my first winter hillwalk but the first time I'd tested my thighs in a while! And for those who read Plex81's post - I am indeed the scardycat girlfriend who was concerned about him going out on his own! Oh well if you can't beat 'em join 'em...

Arrived at Butterbridge carpark at 0845 to find a guy sleeping in his car (surely there are better places??!!) who got a bit of a rude awakening when we pulled up beside him!

Suited and booted we headed up past the ruined house and fought our way through the tree stumps and bogs towards the Bealach a' Mhargaidh, with lovely views back towards Stob Coire Creagach.



The ground became steeper and more icy as we ascended and so we sat behind a rock to get the crampons on. At last I started to feel like a proper mountaineer!! In the early morning, as a bonefide wuss, I was enjoying the benign weather, but once The Cobbler came in to view from its North side the colour of the clouds were cause for concern, although they made for nice moody photographs!




As the wind picked up and we encountered some spindrifts, Alex explained patiently that this wasn't a sign of impending avalanche since they were minor (I tend to think the worst!!) and we picked our way through the rocky outcrops towards the summit encased in cloud.



After that came the most fun part of our day as we made a quick decent by sliding on our derriers using ices axes as a rudder.
Sore butts and happy faces made their way down back the way we came, and we reflected on what turned out to be a fantastic day back out in the hills. Unfortunately as we came down through the snow line my foot fell right through the snow and landed knee deep in a freezing peaty bog, with Alex helping by rolling around laughing!! Guess the mountains wanted to remind me they could still get me!!

Back at the car park we looked up at our achievement and my first winter hillwalk before heading to the Bothy Bar for a well earned pint!