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Post by BigIain on Apr 3, 2010 11:22:19 GMT
I would like to share with you a great day that I had with best mate climbing in the Highlands yesterday. We chose to climb 2 "Munros" (mountains whose peaks are over 3000ft) near Dalwhinnie which is a 2 hour drive North from Edinburgh. They have the beautiful Gaelic (the Scottish version of that language!) names of Geal-charn and A'Mharconaich which translate as White Hill and Place of The Horses respectively The car parking is at the remotest B&B in Scotland at Beul an Sporain The plan is straightforward.... climb the one on the right, cross the low ridge at the far end and then climb and return by the one on the left!! Here is a shot at the first of the lower "tops" of the first one (ie. it has mote than one top but this is not the highest of them) looking South Looking North from near the peak of #1 A feature of many of the Scottish Mountains is that they have large plateau tops like this one has, so the official peak is where the pile of stones is at the far end. This is a great shot of my fave mountain, Ben Alder. One of our remotest mountains... a 12 mile hike just to get to the base of it! The Swan is looking for sheep to punch!! Have I mentioned that it was cold and reasonably windy up there? These wonderful patterns in the snow caused us to stop for a snack and contemplate nature's art. Now on the climb up to the second mountain from the low ridge The peak of our second mountain, so now looking roughly in the direction of the car OK, so thats the way down. And it was at this time that the temperature dropped like a stone and we found ourselves on a huge sheet of ice with no crampons or axes. On the hills you can not claim to be unlucky when this happens, it is just plain stupid to be so caught. We were extremely lucky to have got down from there with no drama. Thanks again to my guardian angel... love you dude!!! Looking back up at the lower descent Totals for the day were: 7.7kms travelled (by GPS measure) 1121m of ascending in 5 hours and 4mins. We had a fantastic Indian meal in Fort William and a peaceful drive back to town.
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Post by auntieannie on Apr 3, 2010 12:54:33 GMT
gorgeous, but yes, I could feel the cold just looking at the pics!
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 3, 2010 16:02:29 GMT
It's a shame this word has been ruined for its true use, because the only way to describe those scenes is awesome. BigIain, those are gloriously beautiful photographs. What magnificent terrain, and you have captured it so well. I love how the curve shows in the photo of the stones marking one mountain's peak.
In the picture of Ben Alder, what is the canal-straight body of water? Also, are the very dark patches water as well?
Yes, the scary icy slope would be hard to maneuver, but what about all those jagged rocks in the first pictures? They look hard on the ankles. You all didn't even use some kind of climbing sticks? Is there snow and ice on the summits all year long?
Lots of questions because this is so interesting!
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Post by Jazz on Apr 3, 2010 17:16:48 GMT
Beautiful, Iain. For some odd reason, I never think of mountain climbing in Scotland. You must be in great shape to have done this in a day! Your photos give a perfect sense of clean, isolated beauty. It would be a wonderful way of clearing the clutter from your mind. I fear I might linger too long over a hot toddy at the lovely B&B.
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Post by BigIain on Apr 3, 2010 21:10:39 GMT
The long straight body of water is Loch Ericht and is purly naturally that shape. The darker patches are very densely planted woodlands on the Ben Alder Estate which are supposed to give shelter to their wild horses and also the deer which live up there. The estate is "managed" to preserve a natural balance on it. You will notice that there are no other trees in any of the pics (I imagine without checking!). We are way above the natural treeline in those pics. The car park is at around 1200ft or so. It is such a wild part of the country that there is pretty much nothing that will grow above ground level in the valleys and the tops of the mountains are like river bottom conditions. The snow will be up there till early May this year but it has been unseasonally wintry for us. It is generally just very windy and very rainy up there.
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Post by bazfaz on Apr 3, 2010 21:16:54 GMT
And you had a scary experience with the ice. It looks great. We have a friend who claimed he has climbed all the Munros - aren't there something like 300? Seeing your photos I am impressed that anyone has climbed any.
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Post by BigIain on Apr 3, 2010 21:39:35 GMT
The ice experience was genuinely terrifying, Baz. As I have said elsewhere: I was glad that the Swan and I are not panickers. We found ourselves deeply in the shit very suddenly BUT we stopped and made a plan, then double and triple checked it before carrying on. We were extremely lucky but also just plain dumb for not having taken out our ice gear with us... it was sitting happily in the car! The thing is that people die up there because they get in to such situations and then make a hasty decision in their panic. Very scary indeed. I felt myself on the very point of losing grip with both feet several times.
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Post by lola on Apr 3, 2010 23:26:05 GMT
Gorgeous, BigI. Thanks so much. How great to have someone to do those things with
Glad you lived to tell the tale. So generally how did you get over the ice?
I once went cross country skiing by myself off trail in the mountains outside Santa Fe, found myself traversing icy snow on a steep slope, and realized how dumb a thing that was to do by myself.
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Post by fumobici on Apr 4, 2010 2:35:43 GMT
Breathtaking stark beauty. Flying over Scotland as one often does crossing from Seattle, I am always astonished at how completely wild most of it looks from the air. Unimaginably huge areas unfold below with no visible roads, buildings or other signs of man's presence.
I read somewhere that Scotland was long ago largely covered with dense forests of large trees, but they were all hewn down by man and never grew back.
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Post by gertie on Apr 4, 2010 4:52:34 GMT
Thank you so much for sharing, what wonderful pictures. The natural patterns in the snow certainly show how windy it must be, I hope you had your double woolies all tucked in tightly!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2010 5:18:25 GMT
For years I have wanted to see those areas of Scotland, and they are even move lovely than I imagined, thanks to your talent and inconsiderate risk-taking, Iain. One does wonder, however, why you people go gallavanting around in kilts in that climate. Do you have to rub whisky on your knees to get out the frostbite?
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Post by BigIain on Apr 4, 2010 7:02:33 GMT
The legs never get cold for some reason Kerouac, though everything else does so very quickly as soon as you stand still for a few moments. The ice was traversed by getting body mass as low as possible and creeping down slowly by digging in the edges of our boots. There came a time when the boots were not breaking the surface of the ice and it was really just will power that kept them in place. On a couple of occasions I could feel both my feet starting to lose grip. When that happened, it was basically the slight adhesion supplied by the knees of my trousers that stopped me slipping away. I was basically lying on my side at some stages due to the steepness. happily it was only really a 150 to 200 metre stretch that was this bad. Any more than that and my thighs would have given up the fight.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 4, 2010 15:34:23 GMT
Geeez, BigIaian ~~ I was holding my breath reading your last reply! That's a graphic illustration of the need for special equipment and a cool mind, along with physical ability. It's easy to see how close you came to never writing this story or anything else ever again.
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Post by imec on Apr 4, 2010 17:58:07 GMT
Great pics of some beautiful country Iain! And so cool to think that some of that snow may find it's way into a bottle of malt one day!
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Post by BigIain on Apr 4, 2010 22:58:13 GMT
Well, Imec.... Dalwhinnie distillery is 5 miles north of where the car was parked and that is the direction that the rivers all head in, so you never know. I recommend the 15 y/o if you ever see it!
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Post by hwinpp on Apr 5, 2010 4:31:50 GMT
I was surprised to still see snow on the hills. When does it disappear, Iain?
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Post by BigIain on Apr 5, 2010 22:13:38 GMT
Normally May-ish at the latest. very little lasts in to the summer even up at that height. We do not have enough land mass to hold cold air for very long.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 5, 2010 22:41:36 GMT
BigIain, you refer to your ice gear, and from the way you describe the terrain and crossing it, it's obvious you've done a lot of this kind of mountaineering. (is that the right word?) Have you been doing it all your life, and is something you try to fit into your travel plans?
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Post by BigIain on Apr 5, 2010 23:08:23 GMT
No Bixa, I actually have not done much climbing on ice in the past. Hence our not bringing the correct gear from the car. It tends to be carried as a precaution for instances such as Friday. I guess that its like having lifejackets on a boat? You may never use them but if the boat gets in to trouble then you will be delighted to have it with you. Without being patronising, I shall explain that an axe is most commonly used for halting falls on snow, not as a climbing aid like is portrayed on TV. I personally was just too lazy to carry an axe with me as I only wanted to cary a small pack. Girlfriend tells me that would look good on my gravestone!!! Axe demands either to be carried all the way or else be on the outside of a full rucksack. We are going to fit more in to our plans this weekend, with the ice gear, before the snow goes. It was extremely exhilirating last week... well terrifying in truth...but we are both like kids wanting to go back on the roller coaster again. With crampons and axe it will be a doddle. I have done many days out on that terrain but not always in snow. I am fit enough this year to get to these tops only because I have been losing weight and blasting my legs in the gym almost every day. Its been er... a few years... since I have been back up at 3000ft level purely on fitness. I have done some climbs at that level overall but not all my life. Its a last 8 years thing really for me and I am wishing I had got the bug when younger. by the end of may the hills in the pics will be snow free and have a small amount of meadowland on the lower slopes. The tops will remain unchanged. I very occasionally make plans to climb on hols, this year is one such occasion when I shall be using a friend's appt in Alpe d Huez for a combination of mountain biking and climbing.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 5, 2010 23:22:28 GMT
Hardly patronizing -- I certainly had no idea! I can see how it might not be any good to a person unless it was actually being held, so yeah, it would be tempting not to carry it.
Beyond the exhilaration of the danger you all encountered, it must be a fantastic experience up there in the clean silence with those incredible views.
How would you train for altitudes above 3000 feet -- more cycling & gym work to build up lung power?
Thanks for the complete answers. This is something I know nothing about, but can definitely see the appeal.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 6, 2010 7:46:19 GMT
Here's a bit of coincidence ~~ I just heard of this movie for the first time ever. Figured I'd better pass it on to BigIain: www.imdb.com/title/tt0844457/
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2010 7:55:40 GMT
Did you run into any other people when you were up there, Iain?
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Post by BigIain on Apr 6, 2010 8:24:54 GMT
Bixa, 3000ft (approx 920m) is not really high enough to have altitude issues happily, its just question of having the legs to get up there. It is relatively high because we are quite a low country here. Most ski resorts are much higher than that and they are at the foot of the Alps. Huez is for example 1850m... higher than the highest point in the UK!
Kerouac, whilst we saw a few people in the car park and from a long distance on the hills, there was pretty much nobody else up on the tops last week. The isolation is a great appeal for me along with the feeling of total exposure in that wilderness.
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Post by BigIain on Apr 6, 2010 8:38:51 GMT
Oh, Fumobici I missed your question.... sorry! There are stories of the Caledon Forest from times past which suggest that a squirrel could walk coast to coast without once touching the ground. I am sure that this wouldhave been so at lower levels as even some of the remote moors have the remains of trees jutting out of the marshes. This indicates to me that yes, there was indeed a huge forest in the past. I am not sure that the tops of our mountains would ever have had woodland on them and have never seen evidence that would suggest otherwise such as logs which have pertified and become exposed after high winds. There are "ghost forests" all over Scotland where only the stumps remain. A combination of building homes, ships, making charcoal for the various revolutions has put paid to all but a few of the lowland forests. Some of the big private estates have ancient trees within their walls. I shall google caledon forest and see if there are any pics to be seen because the few remaining parts are unusual in that they are very well spaced out with surprisingly few trees. Mainly Scots pine.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2010 10:27:24 GMT
I was just thinking that it is interesting that Scotland has at least two far flung namesakes on the planet -- Nova Scotia and New Caledonia.
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Post by BigIain on Apr 6, 2010 15:02:30 GMT
both were colonised by some of those persons forced overseas during the Highland clearances. The East coast of Canada is littered with Scottish place names. One of the things that I hate most about (some) Canadians is that many of them still think that they are 1/32 Scottish or something... wankers! Why not just be happy as Canucks? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances will save me explaining how the English speaking and supporting Central and lowland Scots expelled the Gaels from the Higlands and Islands of our country.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 6, 2010 16:25:41 GMT
As a former flatlander, I know about relative altitude, so I wondered if the 3000 feet felt very high. That altitude would probably only affect someone who was out of shape.
And thanks for the historical aside. It gave me a clue as to when a set of my great-great grandparents might have left Scotland. (Which would make me what % Scottish? ;D)
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Post by onlymark on Apr 8, 2010 14:36:50 GMT
Did you take any Kendal Mint Cake with you?
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Post by BigIain on Apr 8, 2010 23:04:34 GMT
No. its crappy.
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Post by BigIain on Jun 26, 2010 6:46:36 GMT
Come on a quick trip to the top of Ben Vorlich, next to Loch Lomond. Its an hour along tarmac path to the base followed by a very steep 700m ascent to the ridge top of the mountain. Its a rare "starting from sea level Munro" and the peak is at 943m On the way up Finally on the long ridge, looking North. Along the ridge heading for the highest peak. Bitterly cold wind is now blowing. Curious white slab of rock Last part of the ridge path to the peak marked by the cairn of stones. Cairns are needed on a mountain such as this one because they identify the highest of many "tops". There is often confusion as to which "top" is the highest. On this one for instance, following a remeasure in recent years, the part with the OS trig point was found to be 2m lower than the Western part which is now the official peak. Hope that this makes sense. West (ish) On the way back along the ridge... the swan next to the OS trig point Looking back from trig point to the hihest peak Looking roughly South at the rest of the mountain group. Back along the ridge towards lovely Loch Lomond Again heading back along the ridge towards Loch Lomond before the steep descent back to the car park. A beautiful day. No sheep were harmed nor indeed even threatened with punching during the making of this photoset!
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