Over The Hill

It was probably too much to expect the beautiful weather we have been having to last forever, and so, right on cue, it decided to change just in time for the weekend. We were forewarned of the weather ahead as we drove up the A9 towards Killiecrankie with light snow lying on the fields around and the hills shrouded in cloud.

We parked up at the very empty and deserted looking Visitor Centre at Killiecrankie and set off up the minor road under the busy A9 and uphill towards Old Faskally Farm and then striking north on a grassy track for a short distance before taking to the open hillside and heading north east over lower pasture land towards the heather clad hillside above. An old, and rather broken, stone wall points the way ahead up the steep, trackless hillside, the transit of which is made all the more difficult because of the density and depth of the heather which now stretches around the entire hillside.

We soon started to encounter areas of steep hillside which were covered in frozen snow, which, at first we crossed by kicking steps in the hard snow, but, as we climbed higher, and the areas got steeper, longer and icier, we eventually resorted to using our ice axes to help us on our way. As we gained height and the clouds lifted briefly, we caught our first sight of a snow covered Ben Vrackie nestled beyond the lower slopes of Meall na Moine and Meall an Daimh. Unfortunately, that was the last period of brief clear visibility we were to have for the remainder of the day, for as the cloud descended once again, the forecast snow showers and flurries started to make their appearance.

By the time we reached the summit of Meall an Daimh at 722m, the visibility was extremely poor and the wind had risen considerably. We paused just long enough for those of us who were a little light on layers to don an additional top to fend off the chilly wind and snow and set off again over the snow covered ground descending slightly to the small bealach at 686m before ascending the broad and easy slopes towards the summit of Ben Vrackie.

Although the climb itself is an easy one, it was the sheer lack of visibility that demanded our concentration as we made our approach, eventually striking the cairn on the ridge some 200m north east of the summit, from there it was compass bearings along the ridge eagerly scanning ahead for any signs of the cairn and Trig Point located on the actual summit. I guess we were within a few metres before we saw the unmistakable shape of the Trig Point looming out of the gloom and covered in snow.

Fortunately we managed to huddle behind some rocks just below the Trig Point for some welcome hot drinks and some sustenance, but as on Meall an Daimh, we did not hang around too long, what was the sense, with near white-out conditions we could barely see more that a few metres, and with the wind it wasn't exactly pleasant sitting around. And so we had a good look at the maps, and decided to retrace our steps to the ridge cairn some 200m northeast of the summit as this would take us clear of the very steep crags which surround the southern face of Ben Vrackie.

From the cairn it was then a matter of another compass bearing to bring us south southeast down the broad, but steep slopes for a short distance before swinging south southwest with a bearing for the dam and Loch a'Choire nestled somewhere in the clouds and snow below us. Almost without warning, we were below the cloud base, and could clearly see the heavily frozen loch that was our objective.

These southern slopes were holding quite a substantial amount of hard packed snow, and we soon resorted to some good long "bum" slides as the quickest means of descending and getting in a little practice at ice axe arrests as a bonus - great fun, I guess we must have looked like a bunch of kids, not that there was anyone around to see our antics.

From Loch a'Choire we had a short, sharp climb, with a little scramble, to reach the summit of yet another top, Meall na h-Aodainn Moire at 633m. At this point Alan called a "committee meeting", never a good sign, it usually means more hill work, and so it was. Rather than make a descent from this top into the bealach and then pick up a good track which would take us easily back to Old Faskally Farm, Alan (or rather as it later transpired, Lawrie) had spotted that we could drop to the bealach and then make another scramble up through some grassy crags and continue along the obvious southwest ridge of Meall na h-Aodainn Moire to the 600m top of Meall Uaine,

And so it was, another scramble and an easy grassy ridge before we dropped off Meall Uaine and made out final descent over the heather slopes towards Old Faskally Farm and the short walk back to our start point at the Visitor Centre.

Another great day on the hills, although it must be said, we didn't see a lot except clouds and snow, but the challenge was the weather, and that made for an exciting day - Thanks Alan