walkhighlands

An afa dreich day on Driesh

Munros: Driesh, Mayar

Date walked: 12/09/2012

Distance: 13.7km

Ascent: 922m

So it was a sunday morning. Nae to early as I arrived at Steve's house. Bang on 9am in fact! I unpacked my car and stuck my gear iin the boot of Steve's car. It was a fine Aberdeen morning as we set off towards Dundee and the feeling was that it would be a nice day. We picked up Stu on our way through Aberdeen then we were off towards Glen Clova. Steve reckoned it would take us 45 minutes to get there. That quickly turned into an hour and a half!! The car park was fairly busy with a mixed bag of walkers. Today Steve was going to be the only person map reading whch I was definitely looking forward too. A days walking where I don't have to drive or map read!!

Driesh.JPG
The route


We started strolling through Glendoll forest. I couldn't help but feel positive about the blue skies and warm morning sun. The walk was easy going and the chat was great as we turned off towards Corrie of Fee. The forest opened up and we were treated to the vast bowl of Corrie of Fee.

P9090002.JPG


The walk continued up the corrie. The pace was quite fast which suits me fine. The climb up through the corrie was interesting but as I already knew it leads to a rather boggy slog up the side of the hill to the summit of Mayar. As we came out of the corrie onto the plateau the weather mak a drastic change. the wind picked up and a low sheet of cloud rolled over the hill onto us. It was still dry just blustery. Similar to the walk we had complete on Glenshee mid-week. On the summit of Mayar the wind really picked up and we had to once again get on jackets etc. Steve was busy sorting out the map so I just chilled out. Even though we could see the next summit Steve was keen to put into practice the skills I had shown the week before.

P9090003.JPG
Is the map the right way round??


Jackets on and we were off again. We trudged off the summit down onto the prominent ridge between the two hills. the wind had picked up but the weather was still dry so it was all good. As we make the walk up little Driesh some shelter was found and we were able to make ground quickly again. The summit yielded within minutes and a stone shelter was once again a refuge from the elements. Lunch today consisted of pancakes and jam and a banana. We sat for about 10 minutes then had to make a move as the wind had turned pretty chilly the early signs that winter was definitely on the way! The plan was to head off the hill via the Scorrie. As Steve was getting his bearings for the way off the hill the cloud had dropped quite low over us reducing visibility considerably. He set a bearing, we packed our bags and we headed off. I knew the way to go to get off the hill and as we left I asked Steve if we were heading the right way. He assured that we were because we were on a path. I left us heading in the direction he put us in til we reached top of a concave slope. When we hit this I asked him where we were. Map out, checked and a sudden change in direction and we were on our way towards the Scorrie... At last.

As we worked our way round the top of the winter corrie we made an attempt to climb down via the waterfall but the ground was to wet and boggy to make it safe without a rope. Tails between our legs we headed back up onto the ridge and headed down the Scorrie. The rest of the walk consisted of banter, stumbling over loose rocks and a knee jarring exercise til we hit the Glendoll forest path. The return to the car park went without any hitches and we were done for another day.

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Comments: 1



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madrock289


User avatar
Location: Ellon / Cruden Bay
Occupation: Rope Access and Inspection. Offshore and overseas
Interests: Rock climbing, Mountaineering, Running, Photography, Mountain Biking, Sky Diving, Swimming and pretty much else anything else sporty. I've spent the summer working the crags on a shunt line! Controversial I know!!!
Activity: Stravaiging
Pub: The Grill, Aberdeen
Mountain: Cairngorm
Place: Loch Avon or my bed
Gear: Five Ten Guide, shoes
Member: The Mountaineering Council of Scotland
Camera: Various Canon SLR's
Ideal day out: Crags on a mountain with plenty of sun but not too much that i get burnt. Not falling on said crags is also a bonus too. Due to my age i am also getting more keen on just trampling up hills. The down bit is not so good though. It means the day is near done.
Ambition: Compleater on a MTB

Munros: 280
Corbetts: 173
Fionas: 22
Wainwrights: 124
Hewitts: 56
Sub 2000: 32



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Statistics

2012

Trips: 4
Distance: 54.89 km
Ascent: 3204m
Munros: 15
Sub2000s: 1

2011

Trips: 1
Munros: 2

2010

Trips: 1
Distance: 30 km
Munros: 3


Joined: Jun 04, 2009
Last visited: Feb 03, 2024
Total posts: 52 | Search posts