Ben Chonzie

Mountains, Training Runs No Responses »
Apr 062013
DateSaturday 6th April 2013 Map of Start Location
Start LocationStart of Coishavachan track, Glen Lednock
WeatherClear Skies
(Min./Max.: 1.7 °C/6.5 °C; Pressure: 1026.4 mbar; Humidity: 46.7%; Dew point: -4.2 °C; Wind Speed: 7.4 km/h; Precipitation: 0.0mm)
Distance12.85km
Time Taken1 Hour 56 minutes
Ascent715 metres
Accompanied byNo one
Munro Count Ben Chonzie
Peaks ClimbedBen Chonzie
Looking back down to Glen Lednock

Looking back down to Glen Lednock

The entry for Ben Chonzie in ‘The Ultimate Guide to the Munros’ states that Ben Chonzie is a dull mountain in dull country. Not a great endorsement for the closest Munro to my home and with over 150 down still unclimbed. I guess I have been putting this one off for a while although when we climbed Auchnafree Hill back in 2010, there was a decent view across to Ben Chonzie and it did not look that bad at all. It had been left in ‘my back pocket’ for a day like today when I only had a few hours available and was after a quick mountain fix. With snow still prevalent and blue skies it should be a decent outing.

I had to stop briefly to put on my Microspikes

I had to stop briefly to put on my Microspikes

I set off from home late morning and arrived just over an hour later. I was surprised at the amount of cars parked up but it was a decent day and I was a little later than normal. The route up to the top seemed straightforward. On the Walk Highlands website it gave a time of between four and five hours. I intended to run it up and down so was hoping to complete it in sub two hours. An hour there and back in the car would give me a total time of about four hours from home to summit and back. Continue reading »
Posted by Darren at 23:49 Tagged with:

Meall Chuaich

Dogs, Mountains, Training Runs No Responses »
Mar 302013
Date Friday 1st March 2013 Map of Start Location
Start Location Layby 94 on A9 just south of Cuaich
Weather Fine
(Min./Max.: 4.2 °C/5.2 °C; Pressure: 1032.3 mbar; Humidity: 54.8%; Dew point: -4.1 °C; Wind Speed: 7.7 km/h; Precipitation: 0.0mm)
Distance 16.22 km
Time Taken 3 hours 26 Mins
Ascent 643 metres
Accompanied by Emma, Milo and Inca
Munro Count Meall Chuaich
Peaks Climbed Meall Chuaich
Layby 94 on the A9 - The start location

Layby 94 on the A9 – The start location

When we chose the Cairngorms as our honeymoon location I would have been happy if we had managed one decent day in the mountains. By decent i mean not getting blown over but getting some semblance of a view from the tops. Hey, I am not greedy, any kind of view will do and I am not bothered if it is cloudy. Maybe this was a talk ask. The weather had been awful recently but for some unknown reason, we had had the best February weather I can remember. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were perfect; blue skies, no clouds, amazing visibility. We had took full advantage of this, nailing Cairn Gorm, Creagan a’ Chaise and Sgor Gaoith respectively. Thursday was a little overcast but a rest day did no one any harm anyway, but today was business as usual. But it was our last full day (and my birthday :) ) so we decided to take in a peak on the way home. Something close to the A9. A mountain near the Drumochter Pass

Running along the broad track towards Meall Chuaich

Running along the broad track towards Meall Chuaich

Drumochter is one of those places that feels so barren, even though the busy A9 that dissects is always busy. I have had some memorable trips in this area including an epic ‘white-out’ with Graham on Beinn Udlamain. But there is something about this area that I just do not like. It seems that even when it is sunny, it remains gloomy. None the less, there are ‘easy wins’ in close proximity to the A9 and the fact that it was directly on the route of journey home was an added bonus. We wanted something quick and fast and a peak we could run. We chose Meall Chuaich, a round and featureless hill that if I was honest, did not intill me with much enthusiasm. But the dogs needed some exercise and the weather was yet again amazing so we decided to get involved. Continue reading »
Posted by Darren at 09:32 Tagged with: , ,

Sgor Gaoith

Dogs, Hiking, Mountains 1 Response »
Mar 262013
DateWednesday 27th February 2013 Map of Start Location
Start LocationBy Allt Ruadh bridge, east side of Glen Feshie
WeatherClear Skies
(Min./Max.: 3.6 °C/8.8 °C; Pressure: 1035.9 mbar; Humidity: 49.6%; Dew point: -2.8 °C; Wind Speed: 5.8 km/h; Precipitation: 0.0mm)
Distance15.65 km
Time Taken6 Hours 2 Mins
Ascent945 metres
Accompanied byEmma, Milo and Inca
Munro Count Sgor Gaoith
Munro Top Count Sgor Gaoith - Meall BuidheSgor Gaoith - Sgoran Dubh Mor
Peaks ClimbedSgor Gaoith – Meall Buidhe | Sgor Gaoith | Sgor Gaoith – Sgoran Dubh Mor
Information Board at start of walk

Information Board at start of walk

We awoke once again to another amazing day. Frost, cloud free skies and amazing visibility. The high pressure which had dominated over the past few days was here for at least another day and whilst we intended to take it easy on our honeymoon, good mountain days have not exactly been a regular occurrence over the past few months so we decided to take full advantage. But where? Ben Nevis was mentioned and we even pondered on a trip up north to take in Suilven but after much deliberation we settled on one of the few remaining peaks in the Cairngorms I had not yet climbed, Sgor Gaoith.

Emma stands near the Allt a'Chrom Alltain

Emma stands near the Allt a’Chrom Alltain

It was a pleasant drive to the start location at Allt Ruadh bridge and within an hour we were parked up and ready to set off. We had tempted to run this one but with the decent amount of snow still on the Cairngorm plateau (see Cairn Gorm walk report) we decided to wear mountains boots and take ice axes and crampons. This seemed a bit of a shame as we set off because the trail through the plantation would have been amazing to run. Continue reading »
Posted by Darren at 10:08 Tagged with: , , ,

Creagan a’ Chaise

Dogs, Mountains, Training Runs No Responses »
Mar 212013
DateTuesday 26th February 2013 Map of Start Location
Start LocationHoliday Cottage
WeatherClear Skies
(Min./Max.: 2.4 °C/6.1 °C; Pressure: 1036.8 mbar; Humidity: 56.0%; Dew point: -4.0 °C; Wind Speed: 2.1 km/h; Precipitation: 0.0mm)
Distance9.07km
Time Taken1 Hour 31 minutes
Ascent496 metres
Accompanied byMilo
Graham Count Creagan a'Chaise
Peaks ClimbedCreagan a’Chaise
Cairn on the summit of Creagan a'Chaise

Cairn on the summit of Creagan a’Chaise

It was not intentional to book our honeymoon cottage directly at the foot of a Graham but I certainly was not going to complain and with the summit only about 4km as the crow flies, it offered the opportunity for a quick smash and grab one afternoon. Arriving back mid-afternoon from a day in Inverness (to sort the stuck handbrake on the car), I decided to have a quick blast up the hill with Milo.

Creagan a’Chaise is the highest point on the long ridge of the Cromdale Hills. The summit looked interesting, there is a huge cairn commemorating Queen Victoria’s jubilee. We left the cottage and headed straight up a track that hugged the Milton Burn. When the track ended, I took a direct line for the summit. With lots of sheep in the area, I left Milo on the harness which was a wise choice because he was certainly on fire and pulling like a steam train.

It was a little rough underfoot but I managed to run most of the ascent and once on the plateau, I picked up a small track that headed straight for the summit. The views from the top were immense and the snow-capped Cairngorms looked amazing. I was even treated to a low flying fighter plane hurtling through Strath Avon. Continue reading »
Posted by Darren at 12:00 Tagged with: ,

Cairn Gorm

Dogs, Hiking, Mountains No Responses »
Mar 032013
Date Monday 25th February 2013
Start Location Cairngorm Ski Centre Car Park
Weather Clear Skies
(0°C, 66.2% Humidity, 8.6km/h Wind Speed, Precipitation 0.0mm)
Distance 13.66km
Time Taken 5 hours 40 minutes
Ascent 824 metres
Accompanied by Emma, Milo and Inca
Munro Count Cairn
Munro Top Count Stob Coire an t-SneachdaCairn Lochan
Peaks Climbed Cairn Gorm | Stob Coire an t-Sneachda | Cairn Lochan
Emma leads the way up towards the Ptarmigan Restaurant

Emma leads the way up towards the Ptarmigan Restaurant

Back in 2001, I climbed my fourth Munro, Cairn Gorm. Not that I was keeping count or anything. Back in those days I lived in Manchester and trips to Scotland were at best an annual event. That particular day will always stick in mind because of a huge clear up operation taking place to remove the debris of two US Air Force F-15C’s that had crashed near the summit of Ben Macdui.

With Emma taking more of an interest in bagging peaks nowadays a jaunt up Cairn Gorm seemed a good way to start our week’s holiday in the Cairngorm National Park. We were staying at a cottage just near Tomintoul and with high pressure stuck over Scotland, the forecast for the week look great. Continue reading »
Posted by Darren at 08:31 Tagged with: , , ,

Broad Law from The Megget Stone

Dogs, Mountains, Training Runs No Responses »
Feb 182013
Date Sunday 19th February 2012 White Coomb Start Location
Start Location Parking Space next to Cattle Grid near The Megget Stone
Weather Sunny and cloud free summits
(5.4°C, 64.3% Humidity, 6.4km/h Wind Speed)
Distance 8.0 km
Time Taken 1 Hours 50 Mins
Ascent 389 metres
Accompanied by Emma, Milo and Inca
Corbett Count White Coomb
Peaks Climbed Broad Law
Emma and Inca run over towards the summit of Broad Law

Emma and Inca run over towards the summit of Broad Law

A couple of jaunts in the Pentland Hills withstanding, it is hard to believe that it had been close to five months since I had done any fellrunning of note. We awoke to an amazing day in Dunfermline and when Emma suggested some hill action I was keen to get involved especially as a planned trip to the Lake District had been cancelled. With a quick blast in mind I considered some of the Corbetts, Grahams or Donalds, south of Edinburgh. A quick browse on Walk Highlands and I suggested Broad Law. Only an hour or so away by car and the added benefit of an elevated start location, great stuff!

We rustled together some food (well Emma did), piled the dogs in the car and set off south. Once we left the city limits behind the views opened up and with a fresh, cold day, the visibility was awesome. This was going to be a cracker! The starting point was near The Megget Stone at the highest point of the minor road from Tweedsmuir to St Mary’s Loch. Our guide noted there is parking for just one car otherwise it is a 1km trudge up the hill from an alternate, larger parking area. No point in adding any additional work so we drove up the steep hill.

Continue reading »
Posted by Darren at 06:48 Tagged with: , ,

Munro Bagging from Loch Pattack

Mountain Biking, Mountains, Training Runs No Responses »
Jun 102012
Date Monday 4th June 2012
Start Location Car park area near level crossing, Dalwhinnie
Weather Clear Skies
(4.5°C, 49.5% Humidity, 11.4km/h Wind Speed)
Distance 65.0 km (Bike 29km, Run 36km)
Time Taken 11 hours 34 minutes
Ascent 2428 metres
Accompanied by No One
Munro Count CarnGeal-charnAonach BeagBeinn EibhinnBeinn a ChlachairCreag PitridhGeal Charn
Munro Top Count Diollaid a'ChairnSgor IutharnMeall Glas ChoireMullach Coire nan Nead
Peaks Climbed Carn Dearg | Diollaid a’Chairn | Sgor Iutharn | Geal-charn | Aonach Beag | Beinn Eibhinn | Meall Glas Choire | Mullach Coire nan Nead | Beinn a’Chlachair | Creag Pitridh | Geal Charn
The Rickety Bridge crossed the Allt a' Chaoil-reide near Loch Pattack

The Rickety Bridge crossed the Allt a' Chaoil-reide near Loch Pattack

I suspect it is the total wilderness that makes the area around Culra Bothy so amazing as Scott and I found out last winter when we ran in from Dalwhinnie in the pitch dark and slept over in Culra Bothy then the following day, nailed Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil then ran back out to Dalwhinnie (see Culra Bothy, Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil blog post). A few months later, I cycled in to Culra with Derek then ran through Bealach Dubh to Loch Ossian where we stayed in the YHA and retraced our route back the following day (see Dalwhinnie to Corrour YHA – Bike and Run blog post). It was whilst running through the pass that I noticed the beautiful looking conical summit of Sgor Iutharn. Not a Munro but a Munro Top it joins across a summit plateau to Geal-Charn which in turn joins Beinn Eibhinn and Aonach Beag further west. At the very eastern side of the ridge, directly above Culra bothy lies Carn Dearg. That is four Munros on one longish ridge and looked perfect for a running trip.

Posted by Darren at 00:19 Tagged with: ,
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