For this year’s New Year trip to the Highlands I had booked myself a private, ensuite room at Glen Nevis Youth Hostel for six nights, hoping to revisit a few of the impressive nearby Munros and tick off a few new Grahams. I set off around 9am from my parents’ house and had a good clear drive up, with a lunch stop in Tyndrum and a supermarket stop in Fort William, arriving around 3pm when check-in opened. After unloading, I took a very short stroll by the river as a prolonged temperature inversion had left the valley trees spectacularly frosted while the hillsides above were warmer and ice-free. I was surprised to be greeted ‘Hi David’ by a passing runner, which turned out to be Alex Stearn, an occasional CUHWC trip attendee now living in Kendal and married to my sister’s friend Alice. They and son Albert were also staying at the hostel for the next three nights and provided me with some welcome company in the evenings!

The forecast looked excellent for the first two days of the trip. On Monday, my walk took in the three westernmost Munros of the Mamores, which I had only visited once before. I drove a few miles up the valley and parked at Achriabhach, starting walking at around 8:40: a little before sunrise but there was plenty of light to walk by. The walk started with a steep and relentless 1000m climb up the northwest ridge of Sgurr a’ Mhaim, which certainly warmed me up despite being in the shade most of the way! I had been gradually gaining on two others ahead and they were still by the summit when I arrived. Mist was swirling around, occasionally dropping a little to give a view over an inversion to Ben Nevis.

There was a chilly breeze so I didn’t hang around for long before setting off along the so-called “Devil’s Ridge”, a name that greatly exaggerates the level of challenge, which has only a couple of easy rocky steps and barely constitutes more than an exposed walk. There were grand views of the twin pyramidal peaks of Am Bodach and Sgurr an Iubhair with inversion behind them. Soon, I was at the summit of the latter, taking in the views south over the inversion, with only the highest Munros protruding above, most obviously Bidean nam Bian and Beinn a’ Bheithir.

I followed the well-defined ridge west to the day’s next Munro, Stob Ban, which gave more inversion views and also a fine panorama of the Nevis Range and Sgurr a’ Mhaim. Another 3km via a subsidiary top brought me to my final peak of the day, Mullach nan Coirean. I passed a few other walkers on this section of ridge, including one other solo walker who was staying at the hostel, and caught up with two more pairs at the summit. We descended more-or-less together down the rather icy northeast ridge, although it did not merit spikes or crampons as the worst patches could be avoided with care.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3190803
I popped back into Fort William for more provisions before returning to the hostel for the night.

Tuesday was an even better day, with lighter winds and clearer skies expected, so I opted for the celebrated hillwalkers’ route up Ben Nevis via Carn Mor Dearg. I arrived at the North Face car park soon after 8:30 and was surprised to find it virtually full already – it seems most people start in the dark rather than going fast as I prefer to! I was able to find room to park on the verge near the entrance and was soon underway.

I followed the main path up beside the Allt a’ Mhuilinn for a couple of kilometres, overtaking a few folk heading for winter gully climbs, then took the smaller left fork up the north ridge of Carn Mor Dearg. There was a thin layer of mist hanging over the surface of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil to the west.

The hillside was very icy up to about 600m – frozen water rather than compacted snow – but it was always possible to pick a route around rather than having to don crampons. There were lots of groups ahead and I had overtaken more than 20 people by the time I reached the top of Carn Mor Dearg. There was a lot of old snow on the eastern slopes, well seen from the subsidiary peak of Carn Dearg Mheadhonach on the way up. It was also spectacular to see the sun appear from behind the peak of Carn Mor Dearg as I emerged from its shadow!

Several others were putting crampons on at the summit but the first section of the arete could be negotiated entirely on dry rock, so I delayed putting mine on until a couple of hundred metres further on, where the snow did become unavoidable. The ice axe wasn’t required as there were lots of rocks to hold onto, and the old snow was very solid and reassuring to walk on. As the ridge began to swing around more to the west, it became snow-free again, so I took the crampons back off. The final steep climb up to Ben Nevis was straightforward but did involve crossing some fairly steep snow patches – there were excellent footsteps left by those who had climbed when the snow was softer, but I did get the ice axe out this time for security.

Soon I emerged on the flat snow of the summit plateau where there were, of course, plenty of others who’d come up by the tourist path, as well as a few climbers emerging from the north face gullies. I spent a bit of time looking at the views in different directions: over the cliffs, back to CMD and Aonach Mor, and south over many mountain ridges. The very distant peaks of Ben More (Crianlarich) and Ben Cruachan were readily identifiable, as well as lots of nearer hills in the Mamores and around Glen Coe. Ardgour and Glenfinnan were also beautifully sunny to the west.

I decided to put the crampons back on for the descent of the first few zigzags, on continuous firm snow. Although it was mostly fairly grippy in just boots, I was able to walk with more confidence and speed with guaranteed traction! I had a late lunch break by the halfway lochan, which was really warm in the sunshine, then took a direct, off-path route over the moor back to the riverside to rejoin my upward route at a bridge just above the forest. I was back at the car soon after 2pm, so it had only taken about 5 and a half hours to complete the route – definitely no walking in the dark required! It had been a perfect winter day out on Britain’s highest mountain.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3191610

The weather deteriorated markedly by Wednesday morning, with milder temperatures, but lower cloud and drizzly showers. I decided Graham bagging would give the best chance of views, and drove south to Ballachulish to visit the two near there. I parked at the visitor centre and set off initially up the path towards Beinn a’ Bheithir’s ‘Schoolhouse Ridge’, which I had done with Ruth and Josh a couple of years prior. This time, though, I continued up Gleann an Fhiodh and crossed the River Laroch below the mapped cairn, as I had previously done on approach to the Corbett, Fraochaidh. The river crossing was straightforward, the stepping stones not icy, but the steep 150m climb through rough heather to the ridge was just as tough as I remembered!

On the crest of the ridge, I was surprised to find a fairly well-trodden path all the way up to the summit of Sgorr a’ Choise. The peak was in and out of the mist, but did give intermittent views back down to Loch Leven and across the corrie to the second Graham, Meall Mor. Continuing, the ridge was broader and more grassy all the way, with any boggy parts still well frozen despite the rise in air temperatures. The summit gave a bit of a view into Glen Coe but all the higher peaks were in the cloud, as expected.

I followed a rough path down the northwest ridge to the transmitter on a subsidiary peak, then a better path down the edge of the forest and around the rim of the quarry back into Ballachulish.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3192481
Due to the frequent, drizzly showers, I’d only stopped briefly for snacks and photos, so I had my lunch in the car before driving back to Fort William, with another pause at Morrison’s on the way.

Thursday and Friday were forecast to be much more wintry, with stronger summit winds and frequent snow showers blowing in from the north. I struggled to decide what to do, and went to bed with the intention of starting New Year’s Day at Fort William parkrun. But looking again at the forecast when I woke, I felt a little more optimistic and targeted a remote Graham by Loch Arkaig instead. It seemed that the freezing level would remain high enough that the road to the Chia-aig Waterfalls car park would remain clear even if snow showers came at higher level, and so it proved.

I parked at first light and set off along the track towards Invermallie in the dry. Soon the first of many light showers (of rain at low level, but snow above about 300m) blew in, and I switched from soft shell to waterproof jacket for the rest of the day. It felt a long way to the ruined house at Glenmallie, despite the good track, and it was still another 3km on a rougher path to shielings at the bottom of Coire nam Fuaran. The views were initially dominated by Beinn Bhan, then by Meall a’ Phubuill, and finally by the back (relative to the normal ascent route) of Gulvain.

I had been surprised that the guidebook route made the ascent so far up the valley, but it made sense on seeing that the slopes there offered shorter, less tussocky grass than further east. Nevertheless, it was a steep and tiring slog of 500 vertical metres in just 1.3km, which I completed in 50 minutes. A group of deer were sheltering in the back of the corrie, out of the northwesterly wind.

The summit was marked by a small cairn. I was fortunate to arrive just after the end of a sharp snow shower, and at the start of a brighter spell that lasted long enough for me to complete the exposed 4km walk east along the ridge. The wind was quite strong and gusty so it was good to have it mostly on my back. Straying north of the crest from time to time gave the best views over Loch Arkaig to Sgurr Mhurlagain (Corbett) and Meall Blair and Sgurr Choinnich (Grahams). The Munro Gairich, by Loch Quoich, also came into view for a while.

I was looking out for an ATV track that the guidebook said would lead me back down into the valley, and it turned out to be pretty obvious and improved with boards across the boggiest bits, although that was not necessary this time with the terrain being well frozen. The longest and heaviest snow-storm of the day came in as I started the descent, and was just about ending as I arrived back on the valley track, where a shepherd’s shed offered some shelter for my late lunch break.

That just left a 10km march back to Gleann Cia-aig. Sunshine returned and I had some good views of Beinn Bhan and Glas Bheinn with notably more snow on them than there had been in the morning.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3192917

I was back at the car by 3pm and so was able to drive back to the hostel in daylight. Snow began to fall at valley level in the evening, with more overnight, amounting to about 3 inches in total. I didn’t really fancy a long drive or a long solo slog through deep snow so picked a local, lower-level walk for Friday that would still take in a couple of hilltops.

Snow continued falling until about 9am, so I had a leisurely start. The Glen Nevis road is pretty flat so it was not a difficult drive out to the main road to park at the Fort William Leisure Centre. From there, I followed the popular footpaths up onto Cow Hill, already well walked since the snowfall. I visited first the north summit (by the transmitter) and second, after some bushwhacking, the slightly higher south summit (with no footprints and a small cairn). Both were fine viewpoints over Loch Linnhe.

I continued down the main track to the lane above Achintore, followed that south for a few hundred metres, then took the path up to the summit of Druim na h-Earba, a 288m Marilyn. The lower slopes were popular for sledging, it turned out, but the summit was quieter. The cloud base had been gradually rising, with longer sunny spells, and there was a superb view across the loch towards Sgurr Dhomhnuill in Ardgour. Beinn na Gucaig also looked very fine on my side of the water.

I had lunch near the top, then followed the lane back into town, picked up a few last provisions at Morrison’s, and then returned to the hostel.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3193594
A little before sunset, the top of Ben Nevis even cleared for a while. Part of me wished I’d been higher to enjoy the afternoon brightness, but I still didn’t really feel like a long slog through deep powder. After dinner, I re-packed all my kit and got an early night ready for an early start.

I was on the road at 6:30am, heading south in hope of visiting a parkrun in the Glasgow area. Another 3 inches of snow had fallen overnight, so it was a slow trundle to the A82 then more cautious miles beside Loch Linnhe in falling snow with a light dusting on the road. It seemed unlikely I’d make it to Glasgow by parkrun-time, but at Ballachulish the snow stopped and the road became black, and was then fully clear all the rest of the way. The skies cleared too, with the full moon illuminating the peaks of Glen Coe and the Black Mount.

I paused for fuel at Dumbarton and checked the facebook pages of my candidate parkruns: Erskine Waterfront had cancelled due to ice but Victoria was going ahead, so that became my destination. Jo and Dave had run there on Christmas Day, by chance! I found roadside parking right outside the park gates at 9am which gave enough time to take a few dawn photos of the frozen duckpond and do a warm-up before the 9:30 start. It was a flattish and fast course and, despite the very cold air, I managed to run a pleasing time of 18:16, achieving my best ever age grade – first time over 75%!

I didn’t hang around long before continuing my drive south. It went well as far as Penrith, then I got delayed by a couple of hours trying to find the best way around the M6 closure for a railway bridge replacement. With hindsight, I should just have accepted the signed diversion, as all better alternatives had been closed, and I ended up back on the official route anyway. Very tedious, and by the time I reached my parents’ house for a very late lunch I had had enough driving for the day. Luckily I was able to stay the night there and delay my return to Derby until Sunday morning.

Quite a memorable New Year trip to the Highlands overall: two spectacular sunny days on Munros with little snow but lots of ice, then three increasingly snowy days on lower hills (including three new Grahams). While fairly expensive, my private hostel room had provided a convenient and comfortable base and it was an excellent way to fill the time between Christmas and the return to work. You can view my full photo album here.