Crouching Bear, Gormless Deer.
31st December 2017
Quite wintry today. Snow turned to sleet at lower levels later but snowed for a few hours up high. Winds have come from most quadrants over the past 24 hrs so snow has accumulated in a variety of places. More ‘normal’ airflow pattern expected over the next day, that is South or West.
(Above) A view up to the top end of Coire Ardair from the entrance to Balloon Gully, which is a good-sized re-entrant on the side of Coire Ardair. The main footpath and Lochan a Choire just visible(?)….if you squint or tilt your screen a bit. Quite snowy and blowy weather.
(Above) Disturbed 3 itinerant locals ‘enjoying’ the unique ambience of a fairly mingin’ winter’s day high on the side of Coire Ardair. Making their mind up whether I was friend or foe. They kicked off quite a lot of rollerballs down onto me in Balloon Gully as they moved to higher ground…..which was maybe not the best bit of decision-making given the fairly horrible weather conditions on the plateau. (The deer on the left looks like it’s about to be set upon by a crouching bear. Tell me I’m wrong!)
(Above) Looking south down onto the mature birch trees from the Carn Liath plateau. Aberarder in the far distance, the lower NE flank of Sron a Ghoire to the right, and the footpath just visible. Can just make out drifting snow in the right foreground. General cover is improving but the ground looks whiter than it actually is.
(Above) A photo from the path on the return leg this afternoon. The sun struggling to make a brief appearance over the eastern flank of Sron a Ghoire.
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Kate Gilliver
31st December 2017 6:20 pm
Fingers crossed for more build up of snow. Happy New Year!
meagaidhadmin
31st December 2017 6:47 pm
Hey, thanks, Kate! Hoping for a snowy but safe 2018 winter.
StanWygladala
31st December 2017 6:32 pm
The bear is actually an abysmal presence from the void that was more commonly glimpsed in the 60âs widely across the area. Often the only sign of its presence was a mitt that would go missing, sucked spinning into the void, or the spectral manipulation of a compass resulting in the decent into the wrong valley. One of my companions once had a fully laminated map torn from his grasp as it materialised nearby in a whiteout, while another had a full flask cup of coffee tipped into his open rucksack when its icy breath froze and numbed his fingers.
You should be safe if you keep your dog close to hand as the bear has flashbacks about being treed by my two Rhodesian ridgebacks in 1962. By the time I reached the tree to find out what the fuss was about it had morphed into a squirrel to achieve its escape.
Have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
Regards,
Stan
meagaidhadmin
31st December 2017 6:44 pm
Methinks the New Year celebrations have started a little early in the House of Stan… Make mine a double!
With very best wishes from the ‘Meggie guys.