Day 3 of our Aviemore holiday and the one good weather day thus far, we’d been avidly checking the forecast both last night and this morning to ensure it hadn’t changed. Things looked relatively good, all the more so in light of a weekend of gales on the mountains, with blustery winds of ‘only’ around 40 – 50 mph gusts on Ben Macdui due to drop to around 20 – 30 mph as the day progressed. Not a great fan of being wind blasted, especially on cold days, this was as good a forecast as we could get.
Start at the Ski Centre
We parked up at the ski car park which was sadly pretty much deserted due to the lack of snow on the ski runs and the funicular train being out of action. Although windy it didn’t feel too chilly, temperatures still registering on the car as over 5C!
Having seen the snow capped mountains on the drive up, we opted to take our ice axes and crampons with us just in case. We set off following a good path and this continued past the corries and well along the route making for easy walking. The ground was pretty dry and there were no challenges until we had gained a fair bit of height near the top of the path.
At this point we decided to put on our microspikes to give a bit of traction. It wasn’t too much longer after this that we came upon some steeper ground with a less defined slope end (in other words, not sure where we’d stop if we had a good slide) so made the call to switch to crampons with an ice axe replacing a pole for added security. It was amazing how putting metalwork on my feet made me feel more confident on the terrain again.
Falling Down
Bruce has been trying out a pair of semi-automatic crampons, in theory a step up from our basic Tiso sets. However, he’s not been too enamoured with them as they seem to hurt the side of his foot and after a nasty fall on route to Macdui when he tripped on a rock and went down with a thud onto his knee I think they’ll be looking for a new home! After his fall he opted to switch back to his microspikes, the gradient having eased somewhat as we continued across the wide pleateau on route to Ben Macdui. Had we known what damage he’d done we may have looked for a route off at this point. Adrenaline is a great painkiller it would appear!
Ben Macdui: Further away than it looks!
The wind picked up as we crossed the plateau, Macdui looking a lot closer than it was. A series of small cairns supported with navigation, these would most definitely be welcome on cloudier days!
Legs feeling more tired it took a frustratingly long time to get there! We kept plodding on though, meeting a few folks on their way back down (who lied and told us it wasn’t far), finally reaching our goal. On reflection it probably wasn’t far, just with the previous couple of days activity still lingering in the legs it did feel tougher than it maybe should have.
It was certainly worth the effort! The views of neighbouring hills were absolutely stunning! We enjoyed a wee dram – Glenfiddich – cheers Dad! (Just to be clear, I did pass it on, Bruce chose to put it in his rucksack).
Moving Swiftly On
Despite the stunning views, the wind chill at this altitude was a factor in our decision to not hang around for too long. We met another walker heading up as we left the summit behind and chatted for a bit, conversation ending with him thanking us for breaking trail as we headed over to Cairngorm ahead of him.
It was around this point that Bruce realised his trouser leg had stuck to his skin. Not a great sign, this made us realise that he may have done more damage than we’d initially thought. A quick inspection of the knee revealed a small hole and more blood than desired. He stuck a big plaster on and we carried on our merry way.
It took a fair bit of effort to traverse the broad slopes above the Lochan on route to Cairngorm. The snow was predominantly soft, the icy cover crumbling as we stepped on it, thus progress was not particularly quick. Skirting the slope also meant walking at a slightly uncomfortable angle in the snow. We reflected that this would be a stunning walk on a fine summer’s day and a complete (insert expletive of choice) if the clag came down.
Last Ascent of the Day: Cairngorm
Having crossed the plateau and dropped down a little we were able to admire the cornices heralding the edge of Cairngorm from a safe distance. We met a couple and their dog who was put onto the lead having chased a couple of mountain hares, giving them the fear that she’d inadvertently drop off the side of the mountain!
The ascent path was clear and pretty much snow free to our delight. Microspikes and crampons were removed and stashed away for the day. We plodded on and up, a gradual pull taking us up to the summit.
Reaching the top Bruce joked that we were on the wrong hill as the weather station is reminiscent of Morrone. Joking aside, the views were so clear we could actually see Bennachie in the distance! We chatted with another couple who arrived shortly after us having come up from the ski centre. They were looking for ptarmigan, not something we’d seen on this walk.
Easy Descent
There is an easy descent back to the car park from Cairngorm. A line of cairns initially leads the way to avoid any margin of error. Thereafter the path is marked by fence posts with some good blocking to avoid further erosion down to the upper station. Had the train been running we’d have been very tempted to get on it! It wasn’t, so we continued to plod on downhill.
Beyond this the trail has been well developed due to the numbers on route with lots of large boulder steps.
Finally reaching the car it felt so good to get the boots off! I offered to drive home to avoid Bruce putting strain on his knee. Once home the true extent of the injury was revealed.
A Trip to the Hospital
Seeing the state of Bruce’s knee complete with a small hole and still bleeding a number of hours later, I suggested we phone 111 as he may need a stitch. Not sure if I was overreacting, we awaited a call back and within the hour he was along at the local community hospital. Turns out I’d not overreacted .. some anaesthetic, a wee clean up and three stitches later, he was allowed home again.
Thankfully the forecast is rain for 24 hours (snow on summits) so there’s no issue with his instruction to take it easy for a day. Here’s to recovery and healing well!
Clare, happiest outdoors! 