Over The Hill

The fact that the moment we parked at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel we were pelted by a mixture of rain and sleet should have forewarned us of what to expect weather wise for the rest of the day. And so, it was boots and waterproofs on and off up the well defined and very eroded track above the waters of the Allt Coire an Dothaidh on the trek up to the 744m bealach at the head of Coire an Dothaidh.

Initially, visibility was fair, and we could clearly see the bealach ahead, still dressed in a covering of snow; however, as we crossed the Allt Coire an Dothaidh at the 550m metre height, the cloud base dropped considerably, with the wind strengthening and blowing a cold sleet directly into our faces. Shortly before we made the crossing, we had chatted with two walkers who were retreating back down having found the wind on the bealach to fierce to proceed further; yet another omen we should have paid attention to!

Nevertheless, we pressed on, and on the positive side we were rewarded with clearer skies as we made our approach to the bealach, however, on the down side, we really struggled against a howling wind which grew stronger with every step towards the cairn marking the 744m bealach. As we re-grouped on a ledge of rock just beyond the bealach, we took a short break, at which point 3 of the group decided to re-cross the bealach and return to Bridge of Orchy, whilst, the remainder decided to continue, at least around the crags in the hope that when we reached the huge bowl of Coire Reidh this would dampen the effect of the wind, and allow us to continue towards the summit tops.

Fortunately for us, the wind did abate somewhat once in the bowl, but yet again, one positive also had a negative, in that the thick cloud in the bowl reduced visibility to near zero, and so it was with some close navigation and re-adjustments on the go that we made our ascent over snow covered slopes to the ridgeline and the southern 993m top.

Through gaps in the cloud base we had short glimpses of the surrounding hills, and more importantly, of the cornices lining the east and north faces of the ridgeline along which we were about to walk, giving us the opportunity to assess the safest route to ensure we stayed well clear of any snow banks and hanging cornice. Although the wind had lessened, it was still strong enough to produce quite a chill factor, and so we did not loiter for any length of time as we covered all 3 tops that make up this curving ridge - from the eastern 993m top, via the 1004m summit, and onto the 1000m western top.

Our descent from the 1000m top back towards the bealach was an interesting one; spindrift snow blown by the wind, mixed with the occasional snow flurry, and the thick cloud reduced visibility to almost white out conditions; all of this combined with the fact that we were descending into a snow covered bowl, with rising snow slopes around us, gave us very little in the way of points of reference as we constantly checked our bearings and adjusted our headings until we regained the obvious rocky track just above the 744m bealach.

Once again, we were "out of the frying pan and into the fire", as having reached the bealach and improving visibility, we were now being battered by that same wind which we had fought against on our ascent - and we endured a few unpleasant moments as we struggled to get below the bealach and into some calmer air before finally being able to simply concentrate on making our way back down Coire an Dothaidh for our return to Bridge of Orchy.

Later, over refreshments in the Bridge of Orchy Hotel, words such as "challenging", "interesting" and "exciting" were quite freely banded around to describe our day! - Thanks Ian, a day to remember.