Category Archives: Winter climbing

24-hours on The Ben: a tale from furth of the Cairngorms

Posted on February 14, 2019 by cairngormwanderer

It was all so very long ago now. If you’d asked me I’d have ventured that it must be about 10 years ago, but a check of the guidebook shows it was longer – March 2001 in fact, when so … Continue reading →

Posted in Misadventures, Winter climbing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

50 years in the Cairngorms

Posted on August 27, 2017 by cairngormwanderer

It was  an inauspicious start: 1967, nine years old and chasing my brother through the heather. Suddenly I was doing a Wiley E Coyote impression, feet windmilling through the air as I fell into a gravel quarry at the side … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, People, Rock Climbing, Stravaiging, Winter climbing | Tagged , , , , , | 40 Comments

Farewell to the Sea Kings – a Lochnagar memory

Posted on December 30, 2015 by cairngormwanderer

Just been reading a blogpost by Heavy Whalley, a retired legend from the RAF Mountain Rescue, writing a fond farewell to the Sea King helicopters which join him in retirement on December 31. Well worth reading Heavy’s story, but it … Continue reading →

Posted in Misadventures, Winter climbing | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

The Fool on the Hill

Posted on March 17, 2015 by cairngormwanderer

Ach, it’s all been a bit serious on here the last few posts, so here’s a wee bit of  light relief – a tale from the early years of this century when I still thought I was a climber and … Continue reading →

Posted in Misadventures, People, Winter climbing | Tagged , | 24 Comments

Out in the wild – and extreme dog-walking

Posted on March 10, 2013 by cairngormwanderer

On front points of my crampons and daggering the rock-hard neve with my one ice axe there was no finer place on Saturday than on the north flank of the Devil’s Point, enjoying the sting in the tale – the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, Stravaiging, Winter climbing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Two gullies, two Munros, two white-outs = great weekend.

Posted on February 24, 2013 by cairngormwanderer

What a cracking weekend! Just got back from the Cairngorms and two cracking climbing days. Friday night was a slithery cycle into Bob Scott’s with panniers full of coal, only to find the place empty, but a good book passed … Continue reading →

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(Not quite) climbing again

Posted on February 13, 2012 by cairngormwanderer

It’s far too long since I’ve done any proper climbing and the weekend there seemed like a good chance to put things right. Only the temperature didn’t cooperate. Colin and I headed in to Bob Scott’s Bothy on Friday night, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, Stravaiging, Winter climbing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

On not getting avalanched

Posted on February 14, 2011 by cairngormwanderer

Sometimes the days where nothing happens turn out to be the good ones. Walt and I had headed up – again – with the intention of going up Central Chimney, on Creagan a Choire Etchachan, in the Cairngorms. First attempt … Continue reading →

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Living on the Edge

Posted on February 4, 2011 by cairngormwanderer

  By Neil Reid An account of a winter ascent by Colin McGregor and Neil Reid of Quartzvein Edge in the Cairngorms, in March 2002. I was sure Colin was going to fall. I was so sure that I’d picked … Continue reading →

Posted in Winter climbing | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments