Hot on Braeriach

Jo has almost completed all of the Munros, with a celebration on the final one penned into the diary later this year.  Before that, she needed to complete her penultimate hill: Braeriach. For one reason or another she has never been up it-----she chose a cracker of a day to make its acquaintance! Hot sunshine all day, the most wonderful views from start to finish. Lower down the Ling heather is now properly out and looking magnificent. Higher up we had fabulous views, and what a treat to be able to sit in shirt sleeves on the top of Britain's third highest mountain. It was difficult to tear ourselves away! Thank you Jo for great company on the hill today, hope the weather shines on you again for your next and last Munro.

Braeriach

Fantastic day out guiding Nick today on mighty Braeriach, one of the finest of the Cairngorm giants, and third highest mountain in Britain. We had planned to do this earlier in the week, but the forecast of thunderstorms led to a postponement. The forecast was good for today after perhaps some initial murk, so we were somewhat nonplussed to have to put full waterproofs on at the car, with the rain finally lifting and clearing around lunchtime! Fortunately this was perfect timing for us, giving us fantastic views from the summit of Braeriach, down the Lairig Ghru, over to Ben Macdui and across to the majestic Cairn Toul etc. There was another bonus in the form of the reindeer herd---haven't seem them over here to the west of the Lairig Ghru before. Having ascended up through the wonderful pines via the Lairig Ghru path, we decided on a circuit, and dropped down into the equally lovely Gleann Einich for the homeward stretch. All in all a fantastic day on the hill---thank you Nick!
NB//camera broken today so just some phone snaps, sorry.

Size isn't everything.......

It is often the case that, in mountain areas, it is actually the smaller hills that give the better view. This is as good excuse as you could find to spend some shorter days relaxing on smaller hills, and soaking up the landscape. Ord Ban, which pokes out of the Rothiemurchus forest to a mighty 428m, is one such hill par excellence. It may be smal but it is perfectly formed, and gives fantastic 360 degree views from Badenoch up towards Strathspey, as well as to the giants of the Cairngorms,like Braeriach. Now and for the next couple of months are a perfect time of year for these heather clad hills, which in a few weeks time will be a riot if purple as far as the eye can see. 

View across Rothiemurchus 

Bell heather if full bloom, can't wait for the Ling

Looking into the jaws of the Lairig Ghru

Nice to see the sun return to the Cairngorms

Coast to Coast

There is something undeniably special about crossing the UK from coast to coast, as the many classic walking and biking routes attest to, and gives a real sense of purpose to the journey. In Scotland we are blessed with many options for coast to coasting, with most taking several days or longer by bike or foot. One that doesn't, and can be completed in a day, is linking Ullapool on the North West coast to Ardgay/Bonar Bridge on the East by means of the old drove route connecting the two. In days of yore clansmen would drive their cattle through the mountains to the markets (trysts) on the East coast. This 57km route now provides a wonderful biking route, never technical, but mostly off road on good land rover tracks.  Linear routes always present the question of how to get back to the start, but in this case there is no need.  Ullapool can be reached by the great "bike bus" service with D&E coaches from Inverness, and there is a train station at the finish to whisk you back to Inverness. Perfect! It is testament to the fun of this route that despite yesterday being wet +++, we were still smiling by the end as we posed by the Kyle of Sutherland for a photo. Although technically easy, this route takes you into remote terrain where you need to have the right equipment and the knowledge of how to use it if things go wrong. There are a couple of bothies along the route that provide a welcome temporary haven if the weather turns bad, that are worth knowing about and researching prior to your trip. If you get to Bonar Bridge I can recommend the excellent Monach House bed and breakfast to dry out, and the Bridge Hotel for a well deserved pint! 

National Navigation Award Scheme (Silver)

Over in the West Highlands around Fort William and Kinlochleven over the last couple of days running a private National Navigation Award Scheme (NNAS) Silver course for new client Heidi. Heidi had plenty of experience in less mountainous parts of the UK and had previously completed her NNAS bronze award. A good feel for the map and how it relates to the ground meant she had a strong base to build on, and it was great to see her progress over the two days. We spent two long days looking at taking a bearing from map to ground and following it accurately, measuring distance travelled using timing and/or pacing, coarse vs fine navigation and attack points, aiming off etc etc. By the end of the two days she had more than shown her ability to navigate accurately across stretches of open country. The first day we made use of the hills to the South of Roybridge and the River Spean, on the second we were in the unfrequented hills to  the east of Kinlochleven. Both of these venues were perfect for our purposes, and even the mist and drizzle was a bonus for these days, really allowing some "poor visibility" navigation. A Pass at Silver award for Heidi---well done and thanks for your company.

For more info on the NNAS scheme see our webpage:

http://www.onhighhills.com/navigation/

A mini adventure

A mini adventure on the train today. With heavy rain and possibly thunderstorms forecast for later in the day it was up with the lark and off early into th Cairngorms. The plan, to bike the old drover's route (historic cattle driving route) from Kingussie to Blair Atholl via the Gaick pass. I was keen to try out my recently serviced bike 

( thanks Mark at OrangeFox bikes!), which definitely felt a lot better post servicing! Beautiful warm day with plenty of sunshine, and after 50+km it felt good to stop and be whisked back to the start by train.

Glen Tromie in the morning light

A still day

Does it get any better?

Wonderful

Big sky----the whaleback just to the right of the cottage on the skyline is Schiehallion

Journey's end, well, the self-propelled part........

More alpine trekking and climbing

Great weather continues in the French Alps, and we have been making the most of it, with some wonderful days out in the hills. The pictures say it all and there is also a video on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/OnHighHills

Cirque de Fer a Cheval

Samoens

Arete de Doigt, Pointe Percee

Descent from Pointe Percee