Blethering Blonde

Our ascent of Geal Charn Mhor had given us food for thought on what was to be our next hill target.  We'd had notions on either Braeraich or  Beinn Mheadhoin but the lack of winter equipment and uncertainty on the true extent of the snow cover put those ideas on hold for the time being. So maps were scoured and the Glen Feshie hills were winning out.  Steve had already done both Munros, Rob and I had done one (though not the same one) and Kate hadn't done any of them.  A cunning plan was hatched that meant we could all start at the same point but we would split into two groups.  Rob and Kate would head for Sgor Gaoith while Steve and I would go for  Mullach Clach a'Bhlair. The Glen Feshie Estate have done an amazing amount of path work which makes the ascent up Coire Fhearnagan to the beallach an absolute pleasure.  We hit the snow line around 700m but thankfully it wasn't too steep.   The traverse over to Mullach Cla...

We always have a week away in May with the hope of getting as many hills as we can done, weather permitting.  This year, our base is Aviemore and the target hills the Cairngorms with Kate and Rob joining us. First up was the  Corbett  Geal Charn Mor, the  southeastern most summit of the on the Monadh Liath plateau. This was to be a leg stretcher to loosen us up for the rest of the week and to hopefully see what the snow level was like on the Cairngorm plateau.  Yes that's right, SNOW - not what we had expected for our week away. So we headed out up the Burma Road ( route on Walk Highlands ) where we met some hardy mountain bikers tackling the ever increasing gradient.  Once we were clear of the tree line we were soon getting blasted by the arctic wind. We were on top within 2 hours and surveying the snowline on the vista opposite.  It was a lot lower and looked a lot more substantial than we wanted it to be.    G...

The yearly gathering of Steve's past and present work colleagues was here once more but there was a change. For the first time we were in the East. We were taking advantage of the fact that Ryan now works for Sport Scotland which gave him access (and a wee discount) to accommodation at Glenmore Lodge. It was a bit of a shock to realise that it was winter 2007 when I was last in the area. So many places not enough time and all that. With the knee still not hill fit in any way shape or form I needed to do some research before we went on what my flatish cycling options were. It turned out there are many, though not always so flat. The weather was the next thing, blustery showers were forecast. That altered the plans for the rest of the gang with them deciding to go for a wee jaunt up Meall a Bhuachaille and I decided to have a look at the trails round Loch Morlich and the Rothimurcus Estate .  Looking over Loch Morlich to Meall a Bhuachaille I wasn't sure what to expect but w...