Blog Posts in Category: Winter

Geal-charn Mor

Alastair BegleyScotland, Winter Walking Short Link

With the weather looking significantly better in the east we chose to do another Corbett to make the most of any of the better weather. The start of the walk took us up the Burma road, which was fairly snowy from a low level. Despite the snow we were able to make good progress and enjoy the brilliant views back towards the Cairngorms. As the snow became deeper we all put on our snow shoes, which made the path easier, but I don’t think they made a significant difference. As we left the path to head up to the summit the poor weather came in, so the compass came back out. The show shoes also started to provide a significant benefit and we were certainly grateful for them. The descent was lovely and it was really great to see the Cairngorms from afar and from up high. It was really impressive seeing the vast expanse and how easy it was to identify a number of the major features of the range.

The Fara

Alastair BegleyScotland, Winter Walking Short Link

The weather forecast for the first day of our trip wasn’t brilliant, so we elected for a short day on a local Corbett called The Fara. The walk in along Loch Ericht in the morning was beautiful in the sunshine, the estate gatehouse was very impressive. After a relatively short distance we were at the start of the steep ascent up a clearing between different plantations. The start of the ascent was brutal as it involved a very steep ascent with very deep snow. As we got to the top of the plantations the gradient eased off, and the poor weather started to come in. Becky was able to make good use of her new snow shoes which made the going much easier for her. As we ascended the weather deteriorated and we were soon in the white room and unable to tell what was up from down. As we were approaching the summit we had to make a detour to avoid a slope which was fairly loaded with wind slab. After some quick lunch at the summit we made a hasty descent back down. It was fairly easy going. Read the full article…

Waun Rydd from Talybont Reservoir

Alastair BegleyWinter Walking Short Link

After the recent snow we were keen to get out into the mountains. With an excellent forecast we decided to head over to the Brecon Beacons and climb up to the Waun Rydd plateau. We decided on this route as we hadn’t climbed up this side of the Pen y Fan massive before, so thought it would provide some new viewpoints. After a slow start which involved ascent on a road and then through a forrest, we were treated to a lovely climb up to Pen y Bryn with fantastic views back towards the Black Mountains and of our descent route. Once we got to the top of Pen y Bryn we had a brilliant view of Fan y Big and Cribyn. This view just kept getting better as we climbed up to the plateau. As we climbed the wind kept getting stronger, and it was a very cold wind! After traversing the plateau via the crash memorial site we found a cairn to hide behind to provide some limited shelter for some lunch. The last bit across the plateau to the descent was a bit of a slog, but. Read the full article…

Lochnagar Circuit

Alastair BegleyWinter Walking Short Link

Having had a number of days out walking, where the snow was generally excellent we decided to make the most of the beautiful forecast on Easter Sunday by heading over to the east to complete the Lochnagar Circuit. The circuit is long with around 28km of walking which includes 5 Munros, so we didn’t want to be attempting it with deep snow. It was a very cold morning, with temperatures of -6 degrees according to the van, we had to scrape frozen condensation off the inside of the van! What the cold morning did bring, was a beautiful clear sky and hard frost. Soon after we set off we realised that the east had had far more snow than the west in the previous few days, and it became apparent that the day wasn’t going to be a quick romp along frozen high on the plateau. The walk in towards Lochnagar was beautiful in the sunshine, as there was no wind we couldn’t hear anything over than our steps in the crunchy snow and the grouse flying around. We were amazed when we got to the col before the final. Read the full article…