The Drumochter Hills: Meall Chuaich (214)

Walk date: 06/10/07
My Munro #'s: 132

Pronunciations - translations - heights:
Myowl chooeech - hill of the quaich - 951m

Statistics:
Duration - 13:30-18:30
Distance - 15.5km
Weather - Muggy. Cloud at 750m on ascent, down to 500m on descent. Cold wind on top. Light to moderate rain on return along flat.
Team - with Sonia
Other hikers: 5


A simple route; head east, then some west...





This was the first Munro for quite a while, so it was nice to get into it again with a simple one. Especially seeing as this was the day after my birthday dinner out (at the recommended Creel Inn)! Indeed, we only set off from Aberdeen at 10:00, and even had a brunch of coffee and cake at the very reasonable and tasty Boogie-Woogie in Keith. Really, it was more a day-out that happened to include a Munro.


All these diversions meant we only set off from our little exposed layby on the A9 at 13:30, but progress was quickly made alone a private road heading for a Scottish Hydro Electric dam and then Loch Cuaich. Past a bothy the path rises gently but firmly north-east up heather-clad slopes first taking on Stac Meall Chuaich before heading due east for the summit. The soft start of the path and its progression to rock reminded me a little of Schiehallion, except that this path was quite boggy in places which was something Schiehallion's constructed path avoided.


Sonia leads the way towards (R) lonely Meall Chuaich:



A' Mharconaich and Creag Liath to the south:



And from the dam area:


Now that's a pipeline, plus A' Mharconaich:




Our target coming into focus, Meall Chuaich:



Sonia keeping an eye on the route as we start to rise:




A great landscape, complete with Sonia:



As soon as we take my picture, the weather turns...



Unlike Schiehallion, however, the rock returns to grass again as it flattens out on top. So much so that within cloud like today it wasn't straightforward to find the cairn. It lies on what was once a fence so if you see some metal posts stay on that line (one way or the other!).


Upon return, I just tried to take us along our previous steps by following them exactly on the GPS. Unfortunately, this did allow us to veer very slight off-route. Once I noticed this I corrected us but failed to tell Sonia, and so noticing that we were no longer heading our normal heading Sonia challenged me, to which I had a firm manly strop. Ach well, we got over it. Thank goodness there were no other hikers around to stop and ask!


Pea-soup anyone? Wonderful views on top:



Thank goodness for a cairn, the unpointy summit:



Is that it? Sonia inspects the cairn:



At least our deviation from route took in nice plantlife:



Our descent stayed in cloud right down to 500m, and leaving it only lead to a good burst of rain. However, once on the flat again we soon stomped over the remaining 4km. With our drive home including a stop at The Highlander Inn, Craigellachie for dinner and a taste of the wonderful juniper-influced Mackmyra Swedish whisky, this was a grand day out.


Interesting struts on the aqueduct:

The Drumochter Hills: Sgairneach Mhór (155) and Beinn Udlamain (119)

Walk date: 14/04/07
My Munro #'s: 104 and 105

Pronunciations - translations - heights:
Skaarnyatchvore - big stony hillside - 991m
Byn ootlaman - gloomy mountain - 1011m

Statistics:
Duration - 12:00 - 16:00
Distance - 14.6km
Weather - warm. Blue sky with fragmented cloud but with strong haze developing through day. Light winds becoming cooling on Sgairneach Mhór. Remaining snow in hollows.
Team - solo

A nice route with a change in plan on the return leg:



After another fun drive in fine weather, I parked up in the thin lay-by at the top of the Drumochter pass and assessed the days targets; Sgairneach Mhór with its impressive snow clad cliffs and the hidden mound of Beinn Udlamain. A quick cautious crossing of the railway tracks and a jumping of a fence or two gets you onto a fast wide track leading up the glen. This is followed as far as your judgement calls - my route was to take on Sgairneach Mhór first, and to take on its eastern flank ignoring the unnamed mound at 758m further east - but no obvious path revealed itself, so I left the track where I saw some thin trails leading off from a river crossing. However, these trails soon disappeared, and left me freestyling it up rough heather slopes, dodging newts and frogs jumping out of my way, as shocked to see me as I was to see them! Half of the heather at the lower levels had been burnt away, leaving an intense tar-like smell, which in the afternoon heat made me imagine I was walking through some post-apocalyptic landscape, a tragic survivor to mankind's end! You get the picture, it was bleak.

Sgairneach Mhór (L) and Beinn Udlamain (centre):

Allt Coire Dhomhain, would be very tricky if any higher:

Some of that apocalyptic landscape for you:

Fortunately, my line towards Sgairneach Mhór hit upon an actual path that must have started further up-river, and quick progress was then made onto the summit plain and a path that skirted its dramatic cliff-faced northern edge, complete with unstable snow cladding. A quick lunch at the same shelter-cairn and I returned to the edge (completely hidden at the summit) to take a few dozen more photos!

Snowballs anyone? Snow-cladding on Sgairneach Mhór:

Coire Creagach with an impressive snow-cover stream:

More cladding; where sane people fear to tread:

From there I returned to the route, heading for the low bealach between my tops, and then a good rocky path up the wide back of Beinn Udlamain. A long series of metal fence posts that apparently mark the Perthshire-Inverness-shire boundary take you straight to the impressively big cairn at the summit, complete with three separate shelter-divisions. Here I had a good sit down and food-stop, with my supplies luxuriously laid out around me. Just before I left this peak, two runners came up from the northern side, cheerfully greeting me and not looking all that tired at all, gits! There are the mad, and then there are the mad...

Despite the haze, some fine views to Ben Alder:

Sgairneach Mhór from the summit of Beinn Udlamain:

Heading north made it obvious just how close A' Mharconaich and Geal Charn were, and made me wonder whether I should have done those hills in combination with these two after all for maximum Munro efficiency, but the day I did those was particularly snowy, and the heather slopes of Sgairneach Mhór would have been seriously knackering; no point crying over spilled Munros...

Geal Charn (L) and A' Mharconaich (R):

Having viewed the eastern slopes off Beinn Udlamain earlier on, I had changed my planned descent to this route, but initially I started down the gully of an obvious stream. This turned out to be too uneven so I moved back onto the heather slopes, which worked out great as I found an obvious path that I couldn't help but run down all the way back onto the wide track in the glen. Once down and refreshed, a quick stomp back to the car was all that was required. A good day out.

The Drumochter Hills: A' Bhuidheanach Bheag (240) and Carn na Caim (232)

Walk date: 07/04/07
My Munro #'s: 102 and 103

Pronunciations - translations - heights:
A vooanach vek - the little yellow place - 936m
Caarn a kym - cairn of the curve - 941m

Statistics:
Duration - 11:45-15:30
Distance - 15.8km
Weather - warm. Blue sky with fragmented cloud. Light winds at height but pleasant throughout. Some remaining snow in hollows.
Team - solo

An extra point for spotting lovely Dalwhinnie:


Big and broad, today's targets basking in the sun:

The hiker from the black lagoon, avoid at all costs:

With fine weather forecast and the Easter break stretched out, it was time to visit the Drumochter hills again and take in some of the peaks that foul weather denied to Sonia and I when we last visited the area. This time, the poor girl was PhDing it back in The 'Deen, so I did the decent thing and left her to it!

After a great drive over, I proudly started stomping up the obvious and fast quarry path in my selection of recently obtained brand new gear; Sonia-gifted walking trousers, a new rucksack accompanied by a lovely set of water-proof inner bags, and a spiffing Theakston's Old Peculier T-shirt to finish it all off!

Within an hour I was up to height and began the 3km route over to A' Bhuidheanach Bheag. Although the path remained 'obvious', I did briefly lose it as I walked over the top of A' Bhuidheanach! From the return route it is obvious that the wide track goes more around this mound than not up it. However, with hills as flat as this, there is no real correct way so just generally follow your line and you'll soon be there.

Anyways, the top of A' Bhuidheanach Bheag is only slightly above its surrounds, so the trig point sitting neatly in place served as a handy reassurance that I was actually there! After managing to convince the friendly dog of some fellow hikers that a) I wasn't going to give it any food and b) I wasn't going to play fetch at 936m, I set about having some lunch on this peak. As I sat there I looked over ESE to Glas Mheall Mór and got quite paranoid that it was also a munro and having missed it from my book I should take it in just in case.. However, sense prevailed and a quick look once home later proved it was 'merely' a subsidiary top and I'd gladly saved 4km by not checking it out.

The top of A' Bhuidheanach looks similar to the rest of it:

Having had my fill, and with the light winds even on this fine day giving a bit of a chill, it was time to move on. Soon I was warm again and taking in fantastic views from the great mountain regions bordering these hills on all sides, not only hills but Dalwhinnie distillery too; this pair of peaks are not the most picturesque, but they do have a great vantage point!

Great snow and views over to A' Mharconaich & friends:

Hiking in view of Dalwhinnie distillery, bliss!

The approach to Carn na Caim was similar to A' Bhuidheanach Bheag, although with its defunct iron fencing, it also reminded me of Ben Chonzie. In any case, continued striding over easy dry grass soon brought the second hill home and there was little to do but start about my descent.

The approach to Carn na Caim, watch for the drops!

Grand views from the summit:

Although the usual route back would be back along to the quarry path, I opted for my book's suggestion of a steep 'heather run' down the slopes directly west from the peak. This was completely freestyle, and not for those who have concerns for their ankles or knees, but it was damn good fun!! Within half and hour I was back at the car.

Impressive gullies mark the descent route:

Being so near to Dalwhinnie distillery, I had a sneaky thought as I was taking off my boots at 15:45, that there might be a 16:00 tour! I couldn't risk not calling in to at least check, and my curiosity was rewarded as I got booked into the last tour of the day. Unfortunately my visit coincided with Dalwhinnie's annual shut-down period, so there was nothing active to see, but the tour was friendly and informative, but then again at £5 a go it should be!

One sore point however was that in the shop I saw a previously unknown expression of Lagavulin; the Lagavulin 30 year old!! This beats my megamalt Lagavulin 25 both in terms of age and price - the elder being £210 compared to the mere £173 of its younger sib. Thankfully, I am armed to resist it; the 25 is gorgeous and does beat the 16, but not by enough to justify an extra £137 - by the same rationale, I am not upping the expenditure for the expected return in taste. I salute it, but from afar!!!

I should not have seen this, new L30!

My kind of garden decoration:

Dalwhinnie's pagodas standing proud:

The Drumochter Hills: Geal-charn (279) and A' Mhanconaich (179)

Let's start by thanking Blogger once again for turning a once pleasurable pastime into a frustrating chore with their wonderful Beta-Bollocks(TM). Thanks dudes.
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Anyway...

Walk date: 03/03/07
My Munro #'s: 100 and 101

Pronunciations - translations - heights:
Gyal chaarn - white hill - 917m
A varkaneech - the horse place - 975m

Statistics:
Duration - 12:00 - 15:00
Distance - 12.2km
Weather - dry at first with light wind. Wind increasing to moderate after first peak. Snow underfoot from 700m. Hail at col between the two peaks with fast snowfall on descent from second peak and some blustery wind.
Team - solo

A quite obvious route kept me close to the blue:


Today's menu, Geal-charn (R) and A' Mhanconaich (L):



I only decided to do this hike on Friday night, as the Saturday night I thought I was having was not the same as others thought!! However, this was by no means a bad thing as this hike rocked!
With daylight hours increasing I only had to leave Aberdeen at 09:00 and made my way via Keith and Aviemore, past Dalwhinnie to Balsporran cottages where our tale begins. I knew there was going to be some snow as I passed Glenfarclas as the relatively stumpy Benrinnes was covered in the stuff. Having plenty of time and with the day's weather forecast to be ok, I was definitely of the mind to 'bring it on'.

Which was good, because I immediately went wrong, heading onto the first path I saw going up, which was headed for Creagan Mor (see map). I obviously wasn't the first as the then required crossing of Allt Beul an Sporain was evidently well used with the mud being full of footprints. To avoid this detour, stay on the track until a path forks off that you can actually see rising up Geal-charn.

Once on the path, and above the boggy sections, the way is simple enough. With the snow soon reached, the going wasn't as quick as it otherwise would have been, but for the most part it was soft and pre-used by hikers ahead, so good time was still made. Fine views soon opened up, but ahead I could see dark clouds coming from behind the peak. Not the forecast simple day coming up perhaps? Nonetheless I pressed on and an hour after setting off, I was stood chatting to fellow hikers on the rounded summit of Geal-charn.


The view ahead on Geal-charn:


To the south, the impressive A' Mhanconaich:



The view across Loch Ericht here to the imposing peaks of Beinn a' Chlachair and 'the other Geal-charn' was unexpected and superb. Some great future hills to look forward to. Also unexpected was how close Beinn Udlamain was. In that dark corner of my mind that I shouldn't listen to, whispers of plans to capture it began to circulate. However, as I made my way to the col, south west along the length of Loch Ericht and towards Ben Alder, some very dark weather could be seen coming in, which quickly brought me back to reality (no map, no plotted route? Details!) and I slapped on my coat on in readiness. Sure enough, I was soon trying to eat a sandwich with stinging hail against one side of my face, which certainly made the few pieces I could get in taste better!

Across Loch Ericht to hills I haven't tasted:



With everything being in white, I ended up starting my ascent of A' Mharconaich a litte late (see map) and that in turn meant the ascent was steeper than it should have been. Nevermind I thought, as I staunchly plodded up the snowy slopes (thick-snow, tiring to lift feet out of; thin-snow, slippery and tiring to keep balance) to finally make it onto the fine backbone of the peak. The wide gentle slope to the top provided easy walking, but it also meant that as another cloud moved in for the kill, there was nowhere to hide. Thus, the second peak of the day was hurridly bagged amongst drifting snow and fresh fall carried on a no-slouch wind.

Drifting snow on A'Mhanconaich:



A' Mharconaich has some extremely steep drops on its east face, so I stayed well away from the edge as I started my descent into clearer weather, all the time wondering which way the two hikers I seen ahead before the weather closed had gone, because now they were nowhere in sight!

Fellow hikers on A' Mhanconaich, where'd they go?


The chilly top of Munro 103:


Looking back once out of the fray:



Once below the snow line, the return route was simple, and I even got up to some of my patented 'controlled falling' descent method, which after a 'I don't give a damn' river crossing got me back at the car exactly three hours after setting out. Now that is Munro efficiency!

Back down beside Balsporran cottages, choo-choo!



On a high from my stomp, and after passing Dalwhinnie on the way to the hike, I hatched a plan to return to Aberdeen via Tomintoul, a small community high in the hills and visit the superb Whisky Castle whisky shop there. Obstentiously, I was to collect a bottle of Dalwhinnie double-matured, but the crafty whisky-pimp there steered me off it with his opinion that they should have 'left it alone'. In my defence however, I resisted his pimping of a good number of independent bottlings in the £50-70 range and opted for a fine looking bottle of Pittyvaich for only £32. Pittyvaich was a little-known Speyside distillery on the outskirts of Dufftown open only from 1975 to 1993 and was shamefully used almost exclusively in blends and I'm going to open it as soon as I finish typing this. You realise this is just for research purposes yes? Good.