With the October holidays upon us, Emily and I headed to Nakiska for the week - I was hoping for an early cold snap for the Scotswinter! The weather was looking like it would be best today, with a fresh dump of snow last night. There hasn't been any cold spells to speak of so far so it looked like an early winter climb was out of the question. Instead, we set our sights on Bynack More - the most Northern Munro of the Cairngorms.
Looking at the route in from Glenmore Lodge, it looked like quite a way in so we opted to take the bikes. Some good organisation and an early breakfast, saw us getting on our bikes just after 9am. It was a chilly morning and the cloud was low and rain was threatening. Sure enough, a few minutes into our cycle, the heavens opened and we reached for our waterproofs. The track was pretty much a road through the forest and we made swift progress through the trees and arrived at An Lochan Uaine in no time at all. The rain had stopped but still threatened and there was now a fair breeze. We headed down the steps to admire the water, but were halted by a film crew who were busy making a Norwegian dance video. We weren't too put out, as the water was rather 'choppy'.
Heading on, the track quality degraded and became undulating as we rode through the Ryvoan Pass. We took the right branch of the fork and headed around the corner and up a rather steep incline - much to Emily's disgust. I think it's safe to say that she isn't the biggest fan of cycling up-hill!
After working hard, our reward was a gentle run down to the footbridge across the River Nethy where we left the bikes. Looking South through Strath Nethy, the cloud base was down to around 700 metres but the air was still and the rain still absent. Now on foot, we made quick progress on the good path and gained height quickly. Into the cloud, we stepped into winter and a fair amount of snow and frost. It was interesting to see the vegetation that was all around - it appeared as though everything had been frozen in the state of spring or possibly summer. Due to the return of winter in May this year, many of the new shoots of the plants have been late in emerging; now frozen once again.
We made swift progress in the cloud along the flat and the snow was a little deeper - possibly two inches. Randomly a woman and young boy appeared in front of us, out of the mist, and walked by. The boy looked frozen and seemed to lack any kind of appropriate clothing; only an anorak. The path then started to climb up the North ridge of the main event: Bynack More. Emily and I were commenting on how new the path looked and how good it was, when I spotted two bright orange jackets in the mist just up ahead. These two guys were braving the weather and hard at work building the rest of the path we were actually walking! We stopped to shake their hands and to thank them for all their hard work - we also commented on the frozen boy we had passed and they agreed that they had also been concerned by his unsuitable clothing - some people...
The path disappeared, visibility decreased and the snow got deeper. I lead the way up the ridge and we passed some interesting (and rather wintery!) granite tors - a welcome sight in the limited visibility. The West side of the ridge was rather blustery so we traversed left to gain shelter and continued up the East side out of the wind. At the the top, we spent a few minutes hunting in the clag for the summit cairn - which we soon found a triumphantly climbed to the top. There was a large amount of fresh snow at the top, but no sign of any ice - much to my dismay! We descended back down the ridge and found a sheltered spot for some lunch. As we set, the cloud started to thin and the sun tried hard to make an appearance... but didn't.
We headed down the same way we had ascended the ridge. The path builders had long gone, and as we walked down onto the flat once again, the clouds lifted, the sky turned blue and the sun shone down on us. We had stunning views to the West towards the crags of Stac na h-looaire - stunning. The way back down to the footbridge was extremely enjoyable and we were soon preparing to jump on the bikes. It had been tough going on the way in, but now I was reminded why I had insisted we bike into the bridge; the descent was now fast and exhilarating - much to our delight. In what seemed like a matter of moments, we were standing on the banks of An Lochan Uaine. Its turquoise waters were now completely still and we had it all to ourselves. Now we could see what all the fuss was about in the various guides and literature - this is truly a special place indeed. After snapping numerous photos, we sped back down the remainder of the track to Glenmore Lodge.
Before heading back to Nakiska, we stopped at Loch Morlich to enjoy the last of the day's light (and I also wanted to see what the Northern Corries were like!). The loch was lovely and still, as the sun disappeared behind the trees on the faraway bank. Looking up at Coire an t-Sneachda and Coire an Lochain, I could see that there had been a considerable dump of snow, but it looked like it was all melting and things were looking rather black. Nothing looked like it was in condition, so I was happy that we had made the most of the winter day. Things were now feeling rather mild, and I was pretty sure most of the snow would be gone by tomorrow.
We headed back to the car and reflected on what a great day it had been. It had certainly been a day filled with everything that Scotland in winter has to offer.