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Well bundled up at a bitterly cold camp on the Moine Mhor in the Cairngorms. February 2016.
Last week I had my first camp on snow this winter and it left me longing for more. I love winter camping! Especially when it's really winter, when there's snow and frost. Too much Scottish winter weather isn't that wintry, just grey and wet and windy and cold. I do go camping then but it's not the same as when there's snow.
On Carn na Loine, a local hill in Strathspey. I skied here from my front door. Using skis and ski poles as tent pegs! February 2009
Thinking of the winter to come and hoping for plenty of sharp frosts and snow in the hills my mind drifted back to previous camps in the snow and I started looking through my photos, which made me even more excited. Here's a selection from the last fifteen years.
Waking up to a view like this is always wonderful. Below Broad Cairn in the Southern Cairngorms. February 2010
I often use a single skin tent with a separate groundsheet in winter and only close the door if the weather is stormy. No midges to worry about. The camp below Broad Cairn again.
Below Orion on a brilliant night just below the summit of Mullach Clach a' Bhlair above Glen Feshie. February 2013.
A breezy site below Bynack More, Cairngorms. November 2013.
Melting snow for coffee as the sun rises. Often an essential winter camping task. November 2013.
Sometimes there's water, which saves time and fuel. By Loch Etchachan, Cairngorms. December 2014.
On the Moine Mhor above Glen Feshie. February 2016.
A hot drink on the Cairngorm Plateau. In an insulated mug. March 2016.
It's not always sunshine and blue skies! Misty on the Moine Mhor above Glen Feshie. December 2016.
A brilliant starry sky above the Shelter Stone Crag in the Cairngorms. The clear weather didn't last. March 2019.
Snow falling the morning after the starry sky. I closed the tent door! March 2019.
Sunrise on Tom Mor, another local hill which I walked up from home. Not enough snow lower down to ski. January 2021
Gentle snowfall in Coire Ardair, Creag Meagaidh. December 2022.
Dawn in the Cairngorms. February 2023.
A frosty night in the Cairngorms. January 2024.
An ice axe is useful for levering out frozen snow pegs. January 2024.
The theme of the January issue of The Great Outdoors is making the most of winter nights. The opening double-page spread is a lovely winter dawn photo of a snowy and misty Hope Valley in the Peak district by Verity Milligan. The dramatic cover image by David Lintern shows a hiker at a camp on the Tour des Ecrins in the Alps shining a headlamp up towards a starry sky.
In the main features there's a brilliantly illustrated photo essay by Scottish astrophotographer Stuart McIntyre describing some miraculous moments under the stars, and another well-illustrated piece by Alex Roddie in which he goes winter camping on Ben Lawers and shows how to make the step up to winter backpacking
The gear pages cover items for cold weather. Lucy Wallace reviews three sets of crampons, Peter Macfarlane and Fiona Russell test four winter sleeping bags each, David Lintern reviews PHD's Sigma synthetic insulated vest and trousers, and Francesca Donovan tests the lightweight fleece-lined Red Equipment Pursuit Robe for keeping warm after wild swimming.
Far from winter and Britain Phoebe Smith walks Japan's Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route and becomes a 'Dual Pilgrim', having already walked Spain's Camino de Santiago.
As described in this post my main contribution to this issue is a feature on my 1988 walk the length of the Canadian Rockies. I also review ScotWays impressive new edition of Scottish Hill Tracks. Also in Book Reviews Merryn Glover reviews a new edition of Linda Cracknell's interesting and thoughtful Doubling Back: Paths Trodden In Memory.
Elsewhere Andy Wasley introduces an expanded On The Lookout nature feature with a piece on the elusive bittern, Lewis Winks says the fight for wild camping rights isn't just about Dartmoor, Jim Perrin makes a pilgrimage to Ysgyryd Fawr in the Black Mountains in his Mountain Portrait, Hanna Lindon introduces her home town of Lewes as a base for cosy country walking and talks to five hill baggers on how to take on a tick list, and Emma Schroeder writes of the peace of night-time when camping - except when there are garden gnomes!
The Wild Walks in this issue run from Knoydart to Dorset with the common theme of a pub to visit. In the first James Roddie has a long walk over Ladhar Bheinn, finishing at The Old Forge in Inverie. Alex Roddie goes over Stob Coire Sgreamhach in Glencoe via the Clachaig Inn. Down in England Ian Battersby walks Nine Standard Riggs via the Black Bull in Nateby. In the Lake District Vivienne Crow starts and finishes an ascent of Lonscale Fell at the Farrier Inn in Threlkeld, James Forrest does the Coledale Round and visits the Coledale Inn, and Ian Battersby enjoys a pint in The Ruddings after an ascent of Hopegill Head. In the Yorkshire Dales Vivienne Crow tackles Whernside from Dent, finishing in the George and Dragon. Over in Wales Andrew Galloway climbs Tal-y-Fan and visits the Ty Gwyn Hotel in Rowen. Just over the border in England Lara Dun walks the long ridge of the Malvern Hills to The Wyche Inn in Great Malvern. Finally we reach Dorset where Fiona Barltrop follows the South West Coast Path over Golden Cap to the Anchor Inn at Seatown.
Freezing conditions having returned to the Cairngorms after the
big thaw brought by Storm Bert I headed up for what I hoped would be the first camp
in the snow this winter. The mountains were blanketed in cloud so I didn’t know
just how much snow remained up high or how much if any had fallen since the
cold returned.
Most of the
winter I check the Scottish Avalanche
Information Service for snow conditions as well as avalanche advice.
However detailed reports don’t start until December 12th. Before
then there are just brief reports and occasional photos. For November 26th
the report said “currently there is limited and superficial cover in the
Northern Cairngorms area with some shallow deposits in wind sheltered places”. There
were no photos.
Lurcher's Gully
The description certainly fitted the landscape as I walked
up the icy path to Miadan Creag an Leth-choin. The ground was frozen hard and
the snow patches firm and crunchy, though sometimes I went in shin deep. Looking
up Lurcher’s Gully into the mist I could see no sign of more consistent snow
cover.
Coire an Lochain
However as I reached the mist the snow patches grew bigger.
Before I was enveloped in the greyness I looked across Coire an Lochain to the
cliffs of Cairn Lochan and there was much more snow there too.
Cairn Lochan
I plodded on through the mist with just occasional glimpses
of crags high above. By the top of the ascent, at around 1000 metres, there was
complete snow cover, though thin in places. I thought of continuing on to the
Cairngorm Plateau but the idea of more walking in the mist didn’t appeal and I
decided to camp.
Close to the steep drop into the Lairg Ghru pass I found a
patch of soft deep snow where I could stamp out a platform for the tent. If the
mist cleared it would be a fine site.
There was no sign of a clearance in the evening though and I
stayed in the tent, reading, writing my journal, and melting snow for supper
and hot drinks. Whilst doing the last I thought I’d make a little video about
how I went about it and the gear I used, the stove and pot I’d brought to see
how they worked for winter camping having proved as good as I’d hoped.
I was less sure about the video than the snow melting though.
I’d never tried to film myself doing anything in a tent in the dark, let alone operating a stove and stirring snow
in a pot with the camera on a tripod wedged in the snow just outside the door,
the scene lit with my headlamp, and in a temperature of -7°C. A couple of false
starts and I’d worked out the best position for the tripod, the right angle for
the camera and realised only my hands needed to be in the video – no need to see
the rest of me. That meant the headlamp, which I’d tried unsuccessfully balancing
on the pack and on a boot, could be on my head!
The video turned out surprisingly well so I posted it on my YouTube channel. Here it is.
For those interested
in took it in 1080p on my Sony a6700 camera with Sony 10-20mm F4 lens at 10mm.
The video finished I had a mug of hot chocolate then snuggled
deep into my sleeping bag and turned off the headlamp. If the skies cleared I
planned on going to Ben Macdui the next day. If still misty I’d just go round
the rim of the Northern Corries.
Neither came to be. And it was nothing to do with the
weather. Around 2pm I woke with a streaming nose and a thick head. A cold, damn
it! Some co-codamol and I dozed off again, only to wake several more times and
fill my bandanna from my snotty nose. The latter then froze. I wasn’t bringing
it into the sleeping bag! So I used my woolly hat. The top of that froze too,
though that was mainly through contact with the tent roof as it was covered
with frost. The temperature was -9°C.
Dawn begins
After a long dark night light began to seep in. I looked
out. A crescent moon hung in the sky amongst dappled clouds. To the south a
band of bright light lay above the horizon. Maybe it would be a fine day. I
hoped so even though I wasn’t going any further feeling as I did. Just
descending seemed a challenge.
Early morning
I couldn’t resist the dawn light though so I donned all my
warm clothes and staggered outside. The band of brightness grew. To the east
the sky was blue and orange. I looked down into the Lairig Ghru, a cold tunnel
with brightness shining through the clouds that were beginning to sweep in from
the south.
The Lairig Ghru
Across the Lairig Braeriach was starting to disappear into
the mist. Soon it was all around me, visibility down to a few metres. I
retreated into the tent for breakfast and my warm sleeping bag. Staying there
was very attractive. I really didn’t want to get up again, pack my gear, take
down the frozen tent, and walk down the hill. I just wanted to stay lying down,
warm and comfortable. That not being an option – this was only a one night trip
- I had a second mug of coffee then dragged myself outside again.
Braeriach
The tent pegs having been prised out of the snow and the crunchy
icy tent stuffed away I heaved my pack on and followed my boot prints back down
the hill. I met a few walkers heading up, most of them unsure about whether it
was worth continuing.
Mist in Strathspey
I was almost back at the car park before I dropped out of
the mist. I’d soon be back in it. Not far below I could see tendrils of it
filling Glenmore and Strathspey with little hills protruding through, a
dramatic sight.
A little video from a recent camp in the Cairngorms. I was impressed at how well the MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe stove and Fire Maple heat exchanger pot worked for melting snow. A great winter combination.
I wrote about heat exchanger pots in this piece and how good I found them but hadn't yet tried this setup for snow melting. It worked as well as the much heavier MSR Reactor and Windburner stoves, other than not being quite as wind resistant. I'll be using it again.
The canister was a half-full GoSystem 2250 Powersource. Under it I put a sheet of thin foil (actually a cuppa soup packet torn in half).
The morning after I took this video the temperature was -9C and there was a breeze. This did blow the flame sideways a little but the stove still melted the ice in the pot - it was frozen solid - quickly and then boiled the water fast without need of a windshield.
The latest issue of The Great Outdoors has an eight-page feature by me about what has changed in the world of long-distance hiking since I walked the length of the Canadian Rockies in 1988. It's illustrated with photos from the new edition of High Summer, my book on the walk, which has just been published by Enchanted Rock Press. This is the first time these photos have appeared in a magazine. The book has dozens more photos that have never been published before.
