With a perfect looking forecast earlier in the week, for the hills anyway, the decision had been made to head out in favour of running and golfing; Bruce was quietly confident that the winter eclectic would not be going ahead due to the cold snap we’ve had, while I was happy to get out anywhere!
I believe the forecasters were wrong today as we ended up with a glorious hill day for our first walk of winter – no wind and lots of great views in all directions. I have to confess that B other than checking to ensure the road out wasn’t going to be snow covered I’d paid little (no) attention to what was happening on the hills. Bruce was prepared though so all was good.
Where’s the Soup?!
Driving out of Aberdeen, Bruce enquired as to whether I’d remembered various bits of my kit. I hadn’t taken my poles or ice axe as he generally packs all that as one, and had done so as usual. I initially thought he was joking when he asked if I’d taken the soup (that I’d heated and put in the flask). Turns out he wasn’t and I hadn’t taken it. Fail! Options were to turn around which would have added an unnecessary half hour onto our journey or go without so I made the call that we’d do without, secure in the knowledge that this is a relatively short walk.
Chilly Temperatures!
Heading out the road the temperature kept dropping. By the time we reached the car park outside Braemar it was extremely chilly indeed!
As a result, pretty much all of my clothes went on when we got out of the car. Two jackets, two pairs of gloves, hat, waterproof trousers, I wore the lot! It was quite a way into the walk and a reasonable effort in terms of height gain before I felt ready to begin casting anything off.
Our walk started by heading out towards Loch Callater, cutting off to head up around a mile from the gate. During this time we faffed a lot, adding extra gloves (Bruce), adjusting our water bladders as the hoses had very quickly frozen, and generally getting settled into our winter kit again. Next time out should be easier if only because we’ll be on bottles until Spring!
The temperatures must have been consistently lower here for some time as the river was very icy and frozen over to quite some degree in the shallower waters.
Heading Up
Onto the zig zags, we wove our way up to the small top of Sron Dubh, meeting another couple of walkers and their dog. Bruce found a friend for life when he gave her a bit of sausage.
Continuing on, we followed the broad ridge that led across another top before reaching Creag nan Gabhar and the second cairn that earmarks the highest point. By this point I’d worked up a decent heat and was down to one jacket, liner gloves and no hat!
This was the only point that we felt a very slight breeze, just enough to chill us when stopped, so we didn’t hang around, instead opting to leave the summit and stop just a short way down for our lunch.
Our doggy friend appeared shortly after and sat beautifully in anticipation of another treat; she was duly rewarded.
No Chance to Play
There’s a great wee slope on the way down that offers a fun place for playing with the ice axe in proper snowy conditions. It’s ideal for this as it’s a decent enough slope to pick up a wee bit of momentum, but safe enough that your never sliding into danger. Despite the chilly conditions, we’re not there yet. All we’d have succeeded in doing today would have been ripping out jackets on a boulder, so instead we avoided the icy path and cut through the heather instead.
I was very taken by the beautiful glittery patterns of snowflakes and ice on the ground, individual blades of grass and heather highlighted to perfection.
Head for the Loch
The official route curves away from the loch before heading down but in winter conditions the peat sections are easily crossed. We therefore headed straight down to come onto the path, aiming towards the bridge that would take us to Loch Callater.
Loch Callater
Stunning in any season, I always love Loch Callater in the winter. The views are stunning and with a bothy and toilets to boot you can’t go wrong!
Having stopped to admire the views and avail ourselves of the facilities, all that remained was the walk back down Glen Callater. This can sometimes feel like a trudge after the walk, but it was very pleasant today, albeit a bit chilly as the sun started to drop and the temperature declined with it. We felt content as we headed back towards the car, walk done, winter boots comfortable and spikes still in the rucksack. A final stop at The Bothy once more completed a great day out.
Clare, happiest outdoors! 