Once again, I spent the long Easter weekend in the Highlands – a total of six days having taken annual leave on Maundy Thursday and with Easter Tuesday being a fixed holiday at Rolls-Royce. To get a head start on the journey north, I went as far as my parents’ house on Tuesday evening and worked remotely there on Wednesday. Then it was less than three hours to my overnight accommodation at Stirling Youth Hostel, with a stop at Sainsbury’s for petrol and a few breakfast and lunch provisions. After checking in, I walked into town for a fast-food dinner.

Snoring room mates meant it was not the best night’s sleep. Unfortunately the best of Thursday’s weather looked like it would be in the morning, and I had a few more hours to drive to reach my destination, so I was up early, and on the road soon after 7 o’clock. I arrived in Strathconon to start walking in hazy sunshine soon after 10. My objective for the day was a Graham, Carn na Coinnich, on the south side of the glen. A good track led me up the first 100m or so, then it was a clamber up rough heather to reach the northwest ridge of Meall Doire Fheara. There was snow above about 400m – patchy at first then complete coverage – and some rocky outcrops to add interest. The high ground gave excellent views across Strathconon to Sgurr a’ Mhuilinn (Corbett).

I continued past Loch an Daimh Ghlais and Loch Gruamach to reach the slightly higher summit of Carn na Coinnich, with a trig point and views of the very snowy Strathfarrar Munros. I dropped down to a good track on the east side of the hill and followed that all the way back down to Milton, and was pleased to be back at the car before any rain arrived.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3271188

Even better, the rain came later than forecast and I was able to get to my campsite in Beauly, pitch camp, pop back out to the Co-op, return to camp and cook and eat dinner in the dry! A bit of rain did fall in the evening and overnight.

Friday started bright again and I decided to head up Glen Affric for two close-together walks up Grahams. First up was Carn a’ Chaochain, south of Cougie. I had not realised that the lane to get there, marked in yellow on my map but not on the latest edition, was only a gravel track beyond Tomich, and slow going with lots of potholes. Just short of Cougie I found a digger working on track maintenance, so I had to park a little further east than intended.

The ascent started up a very waterlogged path through the forest, but got firmer as it got steeper higher up, then crossed some open moorland to reach Bealach Feith na Gamhna. The high Munros on the north side of Glen Affric looked spectacular in the sunshine!

A short, steep ascent got me onto the snow-covered summit ridge, passing a 704m trig point en route to the 706m summit. The views extended to include the Cluanie Munros to the west, and the rounded bulk of Aonach Shasuinn (Corbett) a bit closer. I descended northwest across rough moorland then down clear-felled slopes to reach the valley track back to Cougie. My plan to reach the (apparently more scenic) track on the north side of the river was thwarted by the mapped bridge no longer being there, so I stuck with the southern option!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3272025

On the drive back down the track to Tomich, I paused at the popular Plodda Falls for a quick walk around the waymarked half-mile loop. The falls had an impressive vertical drop into the Deabhag gorge and an unusual cantilevered viewing platform directly above!

I drove the few miles back up the main Glen Affric road and parked at Chisholm Bridge, beside Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin, named after my next peak. I ate my lunch in the car there as a heavy shower passed through, then set out again. The ascent started on a good path through the forest to reach the main Gleann nam Fiadh track, which I followed for a short distance before diverting onto a rather boggy ATV track that led most of the way up to the summit of Beinn a’ Mheadhoin. The view was dominated by Sgurr na Lapaich, Tom a’ Choinnich and Toll Creagach, which came in and out of sight as a few snow showers blew through (but nothing significant fell on my lower hill). The wind was cold, so I didn’t hang around long before retracing my steps back to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3272026

After dinner by the tent, I spent the rest of the evening in “Captain Faff’s” campsite bar (only open on Fridays and Saturdays) – a good place to sit in the warm and dry with electric lighting to read by!

The forecast looked daunting for Saturday with Storm Dave expected in the evening and the wind gradually building before that. It was another sunny morning though, and I started my day with a visit to the recently-established Belladrum parkrun (event number 11), just a five minute drive south of Beauly. This was an attractive three-lap course through undulating parkland with sheep grazing and views of distant snowy hills. My legs felt tired after walking through quite a bit of snow the previous two days and I was disappointed with my finish time of 19:41.

After the run, I headed off immediately to get started on the day’s walk, the chosen Graham being Carn Gorm near the bottom of Glen Cannich. I parked near Craskie and walked up the track past the house then steeply up beside the burn on faint trods to a gap in the deer fence (as described in others’ bagging logs). There was a bit of fresh snow almost down to valley level. Then I followed intermittent paths east, aiming for a prominent cairn on a rocky shoulder, which offered good views up the valley to Loch Mullardoch and the high hills that surround it.

A short distance further on, I reached an unnamed 638m top, giving improved views past the Corbett, Sgorr na Diollaid to the Strathfarrar Munros. I dropped down to Loch Coire an Uillt Ghiuthais then reascended about 150m to the fairly flat Graham summit. Cloud was gradually building but there were still glimpses of blue sky so I decided I would make the effort to include the bonus top of Sgorr na Ruadhraich, which was actually rockier and more interesting than its higher neighbour.

A flurry of fine snow was just arriving as I started my descent, so I pressed on down the easy slopes as quickly as I could, re-joining my upward route near the prominent cairn and soon getting back down to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3272879
It was actually dry again by that point, and stayed dry long enough after I got back to camp that I was able to make a cup of tea on the camp stove and get showered and changed before it started to close in for the storm. It was no evening for camp cooking, so I drove into Beauly to get fish and chips then made another visit to Captain Faff’s! The snow was coming down pretty heavily and a couple of inches had settled on the grass and tent by the time I went to bed. I shook most of it off the tent to reduce the load, and a while later noticed that it sounded more like rain hitting the canvas. Thankfully the winds never became particularly strong and my sleep was not really disturbed by the storm.

Most of the snow in the campsite, very near sea level, had melted by morning, but anywhere above 50m had a good covering, and the hills were very white indeed! It seemed that the snow at low levels was wet enough to be easily cleared by vehicle traffic so I gambled that I would be able to drive up Strathconon again for the day’s walk – a good choice as there were pretty clear tyre tracks all the way, with just a bit of slush in places. I parked on the snowy verge at the start of the track to Inverchoran.

My first objective for the day was Beinn Mheadhoin. It was quite hard work heading up the track below the slopes of Creagan a’ Chaorainn with the snow depth quickly increasing with height and and some deep drifts to cross. After that, the stalker’s path on the map could certainly not be traced on the ground and I was walking off-piste the rest of the way up the hill’s heathery and rocky northeastern slopes. The ice axe was definitely required for security in places on the steep, deep snow. Above the first steep section, I was surprised to find that there were several obvious cairns to guide the way.

It was pretty bleak on the summit, my arrival unfortunately coinciding with a squally snow shower. There were indistinct views through the spindrift and falling snow, west to Bac an Eich and south to the Strathfarrar hills. I soon headed back down, the route-finding being aided by those cairns in the temporarily reduced visibility. Further down, it brightened up again, and I was able to follow my own footsteps back to the track and road.

Checking the weather forecast as I reached the car, I saw that a significant band of snow was about to arrive, so I decided to sit in the car for lunch and let it pass before heading back up the other side of the valley to my second peak, Meall na Faochaig. Even after the shower, the wind had increased so it was colder than the morning. The route started up the long zigzag of a stalker’s path to reach the saddle behind Creag Iucharaidh, once again hard work in quite deep snow. Conditions were changing rapidly with moments of blue sky and sunshine alternating with grey clouds and light snow.

Above that, the ascent of the hill’s obvious southern spur was tough, with quite a bit of spindrift and lots of deep drifts to wade through, again making plenty of use of the ice axe. It certainly felt more than a 300m steep ascent to the ridge! There were some good views across Gleann Meinich to the Corbetts of Meallan nan Uan and Sgurr a’ Mhuilinn as I walked the final few hundred metres east to the Graham summit. Moruisg was also visible beyond the head of Strathconon, and Fionn Bheinn to the north. I could see darker grey skies approaching as I started the steep part of the descent, so I dropped down as quickly as I could. There were a few minutes of fairly heavy snowfall as I walked the final section down the stalker’s path. It had not settled at all on the road though, so the drive back to camp was straightforward.
Route map (for both hills): https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3274028

After several productive days, I only had one unbagged Graham left in the area: Beinn na Muice near the Loch Monar dam. That meant a drive up the private Glen Strathfarrar road, so I made sure I was at the gate when it opened for the day at 9am. There were only half a dozen cars waiting so no problem being within the 25 permitted per day. The website suggested that parking for the summer season was only at Mhullie Greens – convenient for the popular Munros. I suspected it was actually possible to drive much closer to my objective, and so it proved, but I decided to stick with the guidance anyway and just enjoy the extra valley walking to make a fuller day.

It took a little over an hour to cover the 7km past Braulen Lodge to the bottom of the Allt Toll a’ Mhuic track. The road and valley bottom were totally snow-free, and it was only above about 500m that I found significant snow as I climbed the east ridge of Beinn na Muice – helpful as the lower slopes required clambering up a very steep grassy and heathery gully that would have been unpleasant with soft snow added! There was much more snow to the north on Sgurr na Muice and the Strathfarrar Munros beyond that were fully white. I felt that the couple of groups setting off to do that traverse were quite ambitious in those conditions, given that there were only 8 hours available before gate closure!

I enjoyed the final section up the gentler, rockier upper ridge, with improving views of the North Mullardoch Munros. From the summit, there was a spectacular vista along Loch Monar towards the Glen Carron hills, particularly Lurg Mhor, Sgurr a’ Chaorachain and Maoile Lunndaidh, and I had quite a few photography stops!

I descended the gentler western slopes, with ice axe in hand initially for the snow and actually used as a walking stick all the way down to Monar Lodge because these were some of the most slippery, waterlogged slopes I’ve walked on! I was pleased to reach the solid, grippy ground of the valley track without falling over! I took a short detour across the dam, which was a great viewpoint back to Beinn na Muice, paused for lunch a little further down, then enjoyed the easy walking back down the road to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3274974

Back in camp, it was a much milder evening. I filled the time with the usual shower, tea and dinner routine, then packed up what I could to aid a quick getaway in the morning, and got an early night. Back up at 6am, I had broken camp and hit the road south by quarter past seven. It took about three hours, via the petrol station in Inverness, to the start point for my morning walk near Amulree in Glen Quaich. I could see that the hill was pretty much snow-free all the way to the summit, so set off without the ice axe this time. A good track led easily up Glen Lochan past Lochan a’ Mhuilinn, then I made a rising traverse up the steep grassy slopes to gain the ridge west of Creag Grianain. It was just a short climb from there up to the day’s Graham summit, Beinn na Gainimh, which offered good views over Glen Almond to Ben Chonzie and beyond. I followed the ridge around the head of Henzie Burn to Meall Mor then enjoyed an easy descent on soft but dry grass back to the track and car. The high Cairngorms in the distance were still very white and reflecting brightly in the sunshine.
Route map; https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3276410

I drove the short distance to Crieff, paused for lunch, then continued south back to my parents’ house, a motorway closure due to an accident north of Penrith unfortunately delaying me by about 30 minutes. Refreshed after dinner and a chat, I did the final 2h15 stint back home and got most of my unpacking and sorting out done before bed.

You never know what you’re going to get in the Highlands at Easter. It can be anything from full winter conditions to totally snow-free, and this year I got the former! Some days there were options to add Munros onto my Graham routes but, with the sheer amount of soft snow at high level, it wasn’t appealing and I was happy that the conditions made simply climbing these 600-700m hills more exciting and challenging than it would otherwise have been! In total, I ticked off eight Grahams over the six day trip, taking me to 146 down, 85 to go. I expect my next visit to the Highlands, with the Gentian Club to Deeside at the end of May, to be much more Munro-focussed!

You can see my full photo album on Google Photos here.

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.