After a biblical month of rain we saw the sun! A merry band of 21 of us met up in Braemar, with 20 staying at the wonderful Rucksacks.
Snow conditions were pretty awesome, so we came with all of the toys – snowshoes, skis, split board, crampons and axes all getting a look in, and a fair number of rosy faces by the end of the day on Saturday.
On Friday, Allan and Kate enjoyed the little Creag Choinnich outside Braemar on the way to the meet. Steve and Martha picked Gill up from the Fife Arms and headed to Morven. Gill only realised halfway down the road that Martha and Steven had planned to climb the Morven north of Ballater, rather than the one south of Braemar, but as Gill hadn’t yet been up either, no harm was done. They had a fabulous day in the snow with sunshine and blue skies for most of the day; solid névé alternating with some drifting powder – a perfect birthday present for Martha from the Universe. On the way down they met a solo walker who was crawling up the hill – wearing plimsolls and without axe, crampons or microspikes. He ensured them he was fine and answered the question for his plans to get down the hill: “I’ll just slide down on my bum!”.
We all met up at the hostel for dinner and a seemingly limitless supply of delicious birthday cake.
On Saturday Martha managed to find 6 other takers (Sarah B, Nicola, Fi, Hamish, Iain, Duncan I) for her proposed route over Conachcraig, Lochnagar, and 3 of Lochnagar’s Tops. They were rewarded with a bluebird day, stunning scenery, lots of deer, mountain hares and back grouse sightings – which at least slightly dampened Hamish’s disappointment of not being back in time for watching the rugby.
Another group of 7 headed to the delightful Carn na Drochaide (Kenny, Rhi, Gill B, Alison C, Helen, Perry and Kate) splitting into smaller groups and enjoying the sastrugi along the ridge in the sunshine and fantastic views, whilst Allan enjoyed the gorgeous Glen Quioch below.
A delighted group of four (Mike, Fiona R, Dan C, Claire H) headed out with their touring kit to Glenshee and has a fantastic day looping over the hills in all the snow.
Meanwhile Nigel went to check out the monuments in the Balmoral estate (the Prince Albert cairn is a pyramid!), and Steve R enjoyed a Corbett further afield.
Sloe gin was enjoyed by many (Thank you Sloe Steve!) and heads nodded after a fantastic day out.
By Sunday morning we were snowed into Braemar so a large group opted for a gentle walk over Creag Choinnich. Having bumped into some locals we were amused to find they thought Iain was our guide (I’m not sure what about the generally over-kitted state of the rest of us made them think we needed guiding!), and they were reassured we wouldn’t get lost or stuck on the way back to Braemar.
The roads having largely cleared, we made our way back home with clag now covering the ski resort and higher hills, and with at least two new words for snow (for me at least).
Rhi W
