Loch Morlich

Didn't manage too much of a walk today, as I needed to head back South to go back to work tomorrow, but found time to visit Loch Morlich. The fresh snow on the Cairngorms looked good in the sunlight and made me wish that home was a bit nearer!

Nevis Range

The conditions for today looked much better in the West, so despite staying in Aviemore last night, I decided that it was worth the drive back to Aanoch Mor. The sky was grey, but the upper runs were in really good condition. I did make the mistake of trying to ski from the restaurant to the Quad and made a few imprints on my bases :(

The recent snow was obvious on the Ben (shown below) and there weren't too many people trying to climb the gullies.


There was little wind up top, and I did briefly consider walking to the summit from the top tow, but decided against it. There were a few good looking cornices around, looking like they could go at some point soon.


After a grey day on the slopes, as I got the gondola down the sun came out. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to take a few snaps, I headed round to Corpach to get a good view of the Ben from a different angle to Aanoch Mor!

Glencoe Mountain

Of all the ski resorts in the world, the one I've been most desperate to ski has been Glencoe. While I'm sure there are 100s (if not 1000s) of "better" resorts out there, it is an area that I have spent a lot of time in in the summer and has some of the most spectacular scenery I've ever seen.

I wasn't even intending to ski today as I didn't arrive until midday. I went to enquire how much a lift pass for tomorrow would be and they told me that they were £15 per day. You can't ski for an hour at Xscape for that, so I was persuaded to hand over the credit card straight away.

The 1st stage up the mountain is the access chair which is a fairly old 2 man lift. At the top of this you can normally ski across to the other lifts, but the snow cover didn't reach this low, so they were running the Argo Taxi. (For those of you who only ski the 3 Valleys, and Argo is the make of all-terrain vehicle that many of the stalkers use in the hills - you don't see too many of them in Courchevel!!). After the short drive, it was the single chair, which was a challenge when carrying skis and having a safety bar that didn't work!

Eventually I made it up to the skiable area and got going. There were 6 others sharing my resort today, so no lift queues! I think there were more people out walking than skiing. But what an amazing experience. The snow was in very good condition, and with views across Rannoch Moor, who could wish for any more.

Grantown on Spey

After yesterday I decided to play safe and stay low. Having a look through potential strolls in the area I stumbled across a section of the Speyside Way that could be made into a circular walk by returning alongside the river.

Much of the walk was through woodland which was perfect for the conditions. The paths were good underfoot and there were few other people around. Not the best day for photos though!

Glenmore

A conveniently timed 1st Aid Course at Glenmore Lodge meant that I had some time up near Aviemore during the ski season. Unfortunately, ski conditions were slightly less than perfect (okay, a lot less than perfect!) so I resorted to climbing mountains.

I set off from Glenmore to walk up Meall a Bhuachaille via Ryvoan Bothy (pictured below) in light drizzle. The bothy was a nice place to shelter while I ate lunch and I noticed that a group I had seen heading off ahead of me had stopped off too and signed the visitor book.



As I left the bothy the rain was getting heavier and soon turned to snow as I gained altitude. For muchh of the way up I could see two figures ahead of me, but they disappeared into the mist. With the snow getting heavier and heavier, and the wind getting stronger and stronger I started having second thoughts as to the wisdom of being up a mountain in the Cairngorms without having left a route card with anyone.

Reluctantly I made the decision to return by the route I'd come, rather than continue on to Craiggowrie as intended. Maybe today was a day for skiing after all?