Cold Fusion Blog

Looking over the end of Loch Muick toward Broad Cairn.

Sunday 17th February. Since my psyche has been low for climbing and training at the moment it was a refreshing change to get back into the mountains with Lindsey to do some walking. Unsure about cloud cover expected out west we opted instead for east Deeside to climb Broad Cairn and Cairn Bannoch in the Lochnagar area. Our usual late start brought us to the car park at 10.30am under completely clear skies thanks to the February high pressure. The guide book description hinted at long day with a lot of distance to cover so we tried to keep up a pace flanking around the banks of Loch Muick and up towards Creag an Dubh Loch. In the spring sunshine the going was plesant, it felt more like late April than February.

The Creag an Dubh loch cliffs looking scary.	Lindsey tussling with the summit rocks of Cairn Bannoch.

We got a great view of the Creag an Dubh Loch cliffs which although mainly slabby still managed to look terrifying. Moving up to our first top I was glad to have brought the crampons as the remaining 200m to the top was steep hard snow. Now 3.30pm we raced towards the second peak of Broad Cairn stopping briefly for some snaps. After carrying heavy climbing boots through a million odd foot falls my knee started to feel really sore stepping down. Looking towards the end of Loch Muick some 10km away and 500m below us it literally ‘felt’ a long way away. With 90 minutes of light left and no head torches we made a mad dash Loch Muick. Hobbling along my knee wasn’t so bad on the flat but ached like hell on gradients under 5 degrees.

Broad Cairn victory.

As we started the steepest part of the descent we got a nasty surprise as the path disappeared under a steep section of icy snow. The 30m ice slide into the rocks below looked unthinkable. Luckily some frozen up footsteps and pole holes allowed the slope to be traversed airily. Lindsey did really well up to half way when her head decided to dish out the fear hormones and I was out of chocolate lure. The next 10 minutes was an interesting exercise in mental control for both of us, but we emerged victorious at the other side! The knee mashing decent continued in earnest as I flagged behind breathing heavily to suppress the pain.

Looking back over Loch Muick, home a long way off.

We managed to descend and find the track again before dark, but the 7 km walk out still remained. Luckily, the moon was out to light our retreat. My knee held up half the way back before getting sore again. Luckily Lindsey was an angel and carried my bag the rest of the way. The frustration of achy legs and feet hasn’t quite faded yet but we got back to the car for 7.30 feeling very thankful it was all over. After a hot pub meal all that was left was the 3hr drive home which sadly felt extremely hard, even with Mr Kiplings, 7up hiccups and a tube of Pringles. Never been so glad to fall into bed after a hot bath yet.

A break in the clouds reveals views down to loch Fannaich.

Friday 27th-29th July. This weekend Lindsey and I repeated our journey North making it to Gruinard at a more respectable hour. After checking out Inverewe gardens and relaxing for a bit I coaxed Lindsey into belaying me at Creag Nan Luch for a bit. On Saturday the weather decided walking wasn’t on so we shifted our walking day to Sunday. This turned out great for me as I got a chance to link more moves at Creag Nan Luch in the evening, after pottering around all day on wee walks and drinking coffee. On Sunday we managed to get out for a walk in the Fannaich’s to climb a couple peaks. Sadly the weather was a mixed bag of blustery showers and the paths were like a pig sty. Peaks done we headed back to the car to chomp biscuits and all sorts of crap on the way home.

Pink girl in the rain, tra la la la la.

Lindsey with the first summit of An Teallach behind us.

Friday 20th - 23rd July. This weekend I headed north with Lindsey as part one of our two part holiday to do some B&Bing, walking and maybe some climbing in the North West. A late start on Friday didn’t give us much time to spare not arriving at Gruinard untill evening. On Saturday the weather was stable enough for us to do An Teallach. The initial walk in took ages and Lindsey decided she wasn’t happy about our chosen past time together. Many cross words were exchanged on route to the ridge where moods improved for a short time. The pinnacles looked fairly challenging but I guessed Lindsey wouldn’t be psyched so we bashed on to do the peaks. Moving over the summits later we got a fairly good view of what the dangers the pinnacles held. I suppose it was right to put personal ambition aside on this occasion.

With peaks done we headed back to the pub determined to make last orders for dinner. The romp down was easy enough bouncing across the soft peak underfoot. Getting back to the car we made a charge for the Dundonnel hotel at five to nine. This time we got our burgers and beer (after missing them on the Anach Eagagh last year). Here we bumped into the same grumpy man we had met on the way up who scowled at our late start like we were incompetent school children. Declaring we were only just back down after nearly eleven hours on the hill seemed to put his noise out of joint. After I told him we had missed out the pinnacles he seemed dismissive of our ascent. In his parting words he declared he’d be doing the ‘whole’ climb tomorrow. I had words to say after. Luckily we got talking to another nice couple from down south that were much more positive and upbeat that planned on doing the same walk the next day. I felt a bit smitten myself by the end of our chat, lovely chap. Hopefully he helped swing some of Lindsey’s opinions on the outdoors.

Sunday 10th June. I’ve been so focused on projects over the spring that its been nearly three months since my last day walking with Lindsey. Between DIY and projects we’ve missed some glorious days to be out in the mountains. Aware that the year is ticking by we decided we should head out even though the forecast wasn’t great. To allow for a fairly easy day we headed back to the Ben Lawers range to complete two of our remaining unclimbed peaks here. Our indecision lead to a very late start at 4pm. Starting from the village of Lawers we made the slightly longer walk towards the mountains without the help from the higher Lawers car park. The initial climb was very humid and sweaty. Stripping off soaking tops I assured Lindsey these weren’t popular peaks. She was then slightly red faced walking in her bra when we passed the local farmer and a dozen walkers, oophs. The evening breezed saved us and we finally got back into our stride grabbing the two summits before dark.

On the summit of Meall Gardh on a damp day.

Lindsey looking devious on the summit of Meall Greigh 9.30pm.

Lindsey even managed to wipe out again jumping another bog to the cry “I’ve got a real cavalier spirit” - splat, classic… We got back to the car around 10.30pm and were lucky enough to grab some food at the local hotel after last orders. Pretty girls can be very persuading.

Sunday 1st April. Its been a while since I was last out in the hills with Lindsey. The forecast for Sunday again looked stunning so I made no hesitation in planning another Munro walk. I was a little wary over our fitness so decided to choose the two accessible peaks of Beinn Dorain and Beinn an Dothaidh near Bridge of Orchy. I could see that Lindsey was settling back into the old role off chilling out whilst I drove. She was in for a surprise when I stopped the car, declared she was insured and that she should drive the rest of the way whilst I chilled out.

Looking somewhat worried whilst Lindsey drove.

Arriving at Bridge of Orchy gave flash backs of my last visit to Beinn an Dothaidh winter climbing some four years ago. Approaching the col between the two peaks gave and excellent view over the crags on either side, looking a little less inspiring without their white winter coats. Looking over the Beinn an Dothaidh crag I could see the winter new route I had climbed with Dave called Cool Riders, named after the horseback like belay seat below the roof.

On reaching the col we could see people dotted towards the summits of both peaks. Picking the harder looking Beinn Doraih first we ascended the steep slopes to the summit ridge. Unfortunately I chose the wrong path before the top and we ended up on a sheep trail across the steeper slopes. Finally, realising my error we walked directly for the skyline and found our way to the summit.

Enjoying the spring snow on Beinn Dorain, Ben Nevis visible in the distance.

Having carried only one pork pie each I was dubious about tackling Beinn an Dothaidh fearing Lindsey’s response would be a flat NO! I must have caught her on a better day and we soldiered onward to the summit of Beinn an Dothaidh in the evening light. With so little food to keep us going for six hours the climb felt a little exhausting. Bouncing back down through the bog we fantasied about what foods we could treat our selfs on our return.

Lovely evening light over Beinn an Dothain cliffs on our return.

In all a great day, it was great to see big smiles on so many peoples faces commenting on the great spring weather. At the same time I was a little sad about being so busy over winter and not getting out for a walk in the snow. Lindsey seemed to be taking it all less seriously. The classic moment being her confident stride left knee deep into a bog, after doing likewise with the right on the way up.

On Sunday Lindsey and I went for a walk up Ben Macdui and Cairngorm. The weather was clear with a chilly wind but luckily there was very little snow on the ground. The ascent took us past Corie Lochan and I found myself remembering my cold ascent of Savage Slit with Niall McNair back in 2004. Looking beyond I could see the line of Hoarmaster another winter line I’ve been keen to climb. Hopefully this winter I will fit in a few days winter climbing. Our walk to Ben Macdui continued without any encounters with the grey man. In all it was a fairly long walk, but easy in terms of ascent by beginning at the ski centre car park.

Lindsey looking like the first Muslim on Mars on the ben Macdui plateau.

We also took in Cairngorm on our return which gave us a few spies at Sheltered Stone crag which has some good adventurous routes and bouldering at its base. We returned to the carpark directly down Corie Cas past the unsightly steelwork of the Cairngorm ski centre. Given the reducing season of such activities in Scotland surely such a unsightly mess must be struggling to justify its existence. Since snowboarding abroad in Tignes I’ve never ventured back onto these busy, Icy, overpriced and overrated slopes and definitely wont again.

Although efforts are underway to restore the Corie Cas Ecosystem this does nothing to remove the obtrusive visual impact of the ski development.