New Year’s Eve
31st December 2018
The only upside to the snow drought is that we at least get to go snow hunting in less familiar corners of our parish. After a tantalising glimpse yesterday of some snow patches, through cloud, on Beinn a Chlachair, I ventured up to Bealach Leamhain today in search of the white stuff. Bealach Leamhain is a high pass betwixt Glen Spean and the Ben Alder ‘Forest’ and is a well trod path for Munroists, among others, seeking to bag the peaks of Beinn a Chlachair and Creag Pitridh. The snow quest was ultimately disappointing as the patches of snow were much smaller and way more remote than anticipated. The weather didn’t help either, with visibility all but disappearing above 700m after the cloud and rain rolled in from the west. Anyway, a few photos for you.
(Above) A damp, windy day with low cloud and showers setting in during the morning. The start of the day looking west along Loch Laggan. By the looks of it the weather must have been pretty grisly for Lochaber, Glencoe and all points west and north of our area.
(Above) A view east along Lochan na Earba en route to Bealach Leamhain. Binnean Shuas to the left which possesses ‘Ardverikie Wall’, the finest ‘Severe’ summer rock route in the Scotland (allegedly). It gets many accolades and is on innumerable climbing ‘ticklists’. Interestingly, Doug Lang, the first ascensionist in 1967 graded the route Mild Severe (source: UKC crag logbook) but it appears in some guide books as Hard Severe as well as all stops in between. Grade inflation. Something I thought only afflicted ‘A’ levels and university degrees.
(Above) Creag Meagaidh and its associated peaks are over there in the cloud…somewhere.
(Above) Called in at the ‘Meggie car park in the morning. Depressingly small (and disappearing fast) patches of snow still just visible from the road. There’s more old snow patches in Coire Ardair but they’re tucked high up on N to E-facing coire rims and gully tops.
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