Border Raid…
27th January 2022
I dipped my toes over into the ‘Dark Side’ today and managed to get some photos of my ‘Northern Colleagues’ patch….I’ll wait and see if there are any reprisals!
The extremely windy conditions overnight eased a little by morning but were still fairly strong at higher elevations. There had also been trace of new snow but the effect was purely cosmetic and will disappear during the next 24 hour period as the freezing level once again rises up and over the summits. The winds are set to become seriously strong again, so caution required on exposed terrain.
There was a marked difference to the terrain at 700 metres and 900 metre. Whilst the ground and snow were soft down at the Hutchison Memorial Hut and crossing the burn line was not an issue; up at Loch Etchachan, which was iced over, the snow was firm and icy. Crossing the outflow burn was a tenuous experience with icy boulders to contend with – I often opt for slightly wet boots, using the boulders that are just under the water as these won’t have ice on them, rather that the ones which are out of the water but exposed to the elements – Slightly wet is better than full immersion in my experience !
Hutchison Memorial Hut situated below Creagan a’Choire Etchachan.
Burn crossing at 700m posed no problems. Up at Loch Etchachan the outflow burn had icy boulders to contend with.
A different world below 900m. Little snow visible looking down to the Hutchison Hut from the Loch Etchachan path.
A frozen Loch Etchachan: Definitely felt like Winter up here with a bitter wind and firm, icy snow.
Stag Rocks viewed from just North of Loch Etchachan
Long view North from Allt nan Stacan Dubha towards Coire Raibert and Cairngorm just in the cloud on the right.
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James Thacker
29th January 2022 9:04 am
Nice to see some images from a different perspective. Clearly we need to cover more ground..!