Summer Heat in the Cairngorms

The Feith Buidhe and Lochan Buidhe on the Cairngorm Plateau

The last two days have been hot and sunny in the Cairngorms, a wonderful change from the generally dull and cool weather of the last six weeks or so. On the 17th two of us went across the Cairngorm Plateau to Ben Macdui under a rich blue sky with splendidly clear views all around. There was a fairly strong wind that meant it didn't feel too hot and which, I guess, helped keep the air so clear.

Coire Domhain, Carn Etchachan & Derry Cairngorm

Whilst the higher ground was dry and crunchy underfoot the corries looked wet and all the streams were running strongly. We saw no snow apart from a few small patches high up in An Garbh Coire across the Lairig Ghru. I can't remember when there was so little snow left at this time of year.

Cairn Toul & Sgor an Lochain Uaine

There were snow buntings around the cairn at the top of the Fiacaill a'Choire Chais and on the summit of Ben Macdui waiting for any crumbs we dropped, the males handsome in their black and white summer plumage. A ptarmigan scuttled low across the rocks, probably trying to lead us away from her chicks though we didn't see any. A young wheatear bobbed from rock to rock beside the path, its dappled brown plumage good camouflage but its white rump quite distinctive. The grasses were bright green and there were red and yellow splashes of moss in the damp areas. A bumblebee fumbled across the stones, blown up by the wind we assumed. Summer on the Cairngorm Plateau. Short-lived but glorious while it lasts. On a day like this it was hard to remember the arctic feel of winter or even the rainswept greyness of recent weeks. For today it was benign and friendly, basking in summer perfection.

Looking across the Plateau to Ben Macdui with Lochan Buidhe on the left and the headwaters of the March Burn on the right and the path crossing the narrow low watershed between the two

We met maybe a dozen or so other walkers, fewer than expected on such a fine day. The only camp we saw was in Coire an Lochain where three people were swimming in the lochan, which made my companion, a keen wild swimmer, jealous as we had no time to descend into the corrie.

Miadan Creag an Leth-choin & Cairn Lochan

Cairngorm Outliers: The First Walk of Summer

Walkers descending from the Chalamain Gap

June has arrived, stormy and unsettled. Heavy rain. Bursts of sunshine. The rich colours of early summer. The ground wet but warm. After too much time indoors in meetings (with the John Muir Trust in Fort William, judging gear for awards in Friedrichshafen) I wanted – needed - time outdoors. An afternoon beckoned. The forecast – heavy rain, some sun, breezy. Large pools on the wet road as I drove to the Sugarbowl car park showed the first was certainly true. The last would be welcome to keep off the midges. I’d already had my first bites of the year in Fort William, waiting for a bus. The sun I could hope for.

The Allt Mor

 

North of the Cairngorm Plateau a cluster of lower hills overlooks Rothiemurchus and Glenmore Forests. Little frequented these are excellent viewpoints and make for a good short walk. I went to them through the rocky chasm of the Chalamain Gap, meeting the only people I saw heading down, before turning up the steep though easy slopes of Creag a’Chalamain. 

Creag a'Chalamain

The sky was a shifting pattern of dark dense clouds backlit by the sun, patches of brilliant blue, and shafts of sunshine. I watched rain sweep across the hills in grey waves. On the path above the Allt More I walked in a strip of sunlight with clouds rushing over the high Cairngorms on one side and Strathspey on the other. I only caught the edge of the rain – and once hail – a couple of times. There was a breeze, strong on the tops, but it wasn’t cold.

Across the Lairig Ghru to Braeriach

 

The light was wonderful, constantly changing, constantly highlighting different aspects of the landscape. The wet rocks and vegetation glowed. I looked over the rich green forest to the dark eye of Loch Morlich and the tiny smudge of Aviemore then turned to look at the dark outlines of the big hills, still streaked with the last snow. 

The Allt Mor, Glenmore Forest, Meall a'Bhuachaille & the Pass of Ryvoan

Over Castle Hill and Airgiod-meall then back to the path, the Allt Mor and the car. Golden plovers whistled mournfully from the sparse heather. A cluster of grouse chicks squeaking loudly exploded upwards from under my feet. Their mother scuttled across the ground, wings held out as if broken, luring me away. Finally satisfied I was no longer a threat she took to the air and made a long low curve back to her chicks. 

The bright green vegetation, the warm sunshine, the warm rocks. It felt like summer had begun.

Heat & Snow in the Cairngorms

Air shimmering with heat above the pale, stony, desert-like terrain below a deep blue cloudless sky. Intense sunshine. Rocks warm to the touch. Not the usual image of the Cairngorm Plateau but the reality for a few days this August.

I’d climbed up onto the Plateau late one afternoon, winding my way up the steep Goat Track that breaches the great back wall of Coire an t-Sneachda. The air was still hot and the ascent tiring. On reaching the top I looked out on pale gold mountains stretching into the distance. Rarely do the Cairngorms look like this.

Wandering down the boggy upland valley of Coire Domhain I changed my plans. I had intended descending steeply into the deep cleft holding Loch Avon them climbing equally steeply up the far side. In this heat I didn’t feel like another climb. I could see too that the Loch Avon basin was already in shadow. And that would mean midges. Staying high and seeking a camp site somewhere breezy seemed a better idea.

A favourite place lay not far away too – the broad rocky shelf above the steep slabs falling down towards Loch Avon. Split by the rushing waters of the Feith Buidhe, Garbh Uisge Beag and Garbh Uisge Mor the terrain here is wonderfully complex, a tangle of boulders, slabs, pools, and grassy hollows, and has tremendous views of the cliffs round the head of Loch Avon. Much of the ground is too stony for tent pegs but there are good camp sites if you’re prepared to explore. I find a different spot each time I visit. On this occasion I found a breezy site just above the Garbh Uisge Beag with splendid views of the last big snow drifts on steeper slopes not far away and beyond them the crags of Hell’s Lum and Stag Rocks.

A red sky after sunset gave way to the cool light of the rising moon. The sky darkened, stars appeared. The scene was peaceful and magical and I spent hours watching the sky and the mountains.

Dawn came harshly with no colour in the sky, just the sudden heat of a bright sun. The tent was instantly too hot and I was soon outside, breakfasting in the sunshine. 

 

Reluctant to leave I then wandered over to the snow drifts and explored the gaps between them and the rocks. Here it was cool and damp and dark though I didn’t venture far, being alone and without any gear – shorts and sandals not really being adequate! The snow was deep, well above my head, and the drifts extensive. Some will last into the next winter unless there is much more hot weather.

Finally packing up I followed the Garbh Uisge Beag up onto the open slopes of the Plateau. Despite many previous visits I’d never followed this stream before and I was interested to find it runs for a while in a narrow rocky ravine that’s almost invisible until you’re in it.   

Next came Ben Macdui and then the walk back across the Plateau to Cairn Gorm. The sparse vegetation, gravelly ground and splintered rocks made me think of desert terrain, not a thought I’ve had before up here. Arctic tundra is what usually comes to mind.

After a summer's day

After sunset, the Cairngorms, August 15

Yesterday we returned from an entertaining time in rainy Edinburgh doing various Festival things to clearing skies. Today the sun was hot, the sky blue. A real summer's day. I walked beside the River Spey, its waters golden brown from recent rain, its banks rich with late summer flowers in yellows, purples, blues and whites. Thin clouds drifted across the sky this evening and as the sun dropped below the horizon its last rays turned the sky peach pink. Will it clear for the Perseid meteor shower later?

The River Spey & the Hills of Cromdale

A tangle of flowers and grasses

A Hot Day in the Cairngorms

Creag an Leth-choin

Finally sunshine and heat! Away with the dark clouds and the rain and the cold winds. Summer has arrived. Well, for a day anyway. Tomorrow thunderstorms and heavy rain. But that’s to come.

Enjoying this rare burst of summer in the outdoors couldn’t be missed. Real heat, high humidity and the possible early arrival of the first thunderstorm didn’t make a long high level walk sound attractive though so I decided it was time to visit a fine rocky peak that gives superb views and which I don’t climb often enough. 

The Lairig Ghru from the southern slopes of Creag an Leth-choin

 

Creag an Leth-choin (aka Lurcher’s Crag) is an outlier of the Northern Cairngorms rising high above the deep trench of the Lairig Ghru. In Munro’s Tables it’s listed as a subsidiary top of Cairn Gorm, which always strikes me as odd as there’s two other summits and some six kilometres between them. Out on a long spur jutting north from the Cairngorm Plateau it feels like a separate hill. 

The Chalamain Gap

 

Although 1053 metres high and with crags all along its west face and a rocky summit ridge Creag an Leth-choin is much easier to escape from in the case of bad weather, something in my mind as I watched the big cumulus clouds building up over the higher hills as I approached the rocky ravine of the Chalamain Gap. Once into this cleft I felt the full force of the sun as the breeze that had cooled me a little vanished. The rocks were warm, the air felt thick and stuffy. I was soon over the boulders though and out into the wind again, a deceptive wind as it was actually quite warm and whipped away sweat that was soon replaced only to be dried again. The result was a big thirst. On damp cool days I often go for many hours without drinking anything. In this heat I needed to drink every hour or so, and drink deeply too. 

Hot weather hill essentials - sunhat, sunglasses, sunscreen and water

An old little-used intermittent path led to the boulder-strewn summit ridge of Creag an Leth-choin. To one side were the great cliffs of Coire an Lochain, still splashed with snow, on the other, even more impressive, steep slopes fell away into the Lairig Ghru with mighty Braeriach rising on the other side. It’s a magnificent view point.

The summit of Creag an Leth-choin with Braeriach in the distance

I followed the edge of the crags for a while, revelling in the view down the Lairig Ghru, then turned and descended rough wet slopes down Lurchers Gully and beside the Allt Creag an Leth-choin and the Allt Mor. The tussocky ground made for hard going with only traces of old paths to follow. But the rushing stream gave clear cold refreshing water and there were flowers and birds and the hills to watch. 

Looking across the Allt Mor to Cairn Gorm and the Northern Corries

 

Back home and it’s approaching midnight now and a full moon hangs in a clear sky. It’s still 19°C outside. When will the storms arrive?