January Bivvy

I'd high hopes that this would have been a snowy one and it could have been if I'd headed north. However the prospect of making my way across the Cairngorm Plateau or any other unknown high ground in the dark didn't appeal. Maybe it was because of having just read an account of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team's operations over many years ('Cairngorm John, A Life in Rescue' - well worth a read), most involving winter, crap weather and darkness.

Anyway after some thought I decided to head for a spot I'd scoped out the previous weekend in the Ochills. I did a (snowy) January bivvy in Glen Quey a year ago so this seemed appropriate. I departed at 4 into the fading light and made my way by various trails and back roads to the hills. It had been frosty that morning but the sun had thawed most of it so there was a fair bit of mud in evidence. I took it easy not wanting to spray mud all over the bike only to have it freeze. Eventually as I started the long climb up to Innerdownie hill I was on firm, frozen ground.

This is a solid push but about the quickest way to my destination. After Innerdownie the trail follows a wide ridge line and passes a small plantation. I had a quick look for a plan B bivvy if my destination proved too drafty. The wind had got up substantially as I gained height and with the just below zero temps it was chilly.

I was aiming for a lone spruce tree which I'd discovered on one of my ski expeditions up here in 2018 and had become a lunch spot on the several other ski trips I made that year. I'd stopped off the previous week on the bike to shelter from a brief snow shower and noted that in amongst the branches there was space to lie down, hidden (hopefully) from the weather. I got to roughly where the tree is and headed off path to find it, conscious that I wasn't totally sure where I was going in the dark. After a couple of false starts the tree loomed suddenly in front of me.

A bit of a kit faff ensued, thanks to this being the first bivvy I've done for a while, but eventually I was settled into my bivvy bag (no tarp!) A groundsheet strung between two branches provided a bit of a wind break but it was pretty bloody chilly. I fired up the stove - a petrol soto which I've hardly used but I wanted something more controllable than my mini meths burner - and made tea. I then lay back reading and drinking the two beers I'd hauled up with me, finishing with a dram or three of whisky from the hip flask. Despite the noise of the wind I went out like a light. I woke briefly at one point to note the wind had dropped then flaked out again. Next thing I knew it was 8am and dawn was breaking.

Morning view, sleeping in the middle of a tree is a new one on me but highly recommended...

Hmm. The stove wasn't playing, I'd just about managed to bring water to the boil when I knocked the pan over. Grinding my teeth I ate a cold breakfast, packed up and got out of there.

The tree. Its self seeded from a large plantation a hundred yards downhill which Ironically has now been clear felled so its all alone.... I've never really seen a sitka on its own as they are usually in the middle of thousands of other ones. They grow much wider and the lower branches are huge.

Looking down to Glen Sherup. There was an inversion which was lifting as I departed leading to much view obscuring cloud appearing.....

In light of my stove incompetence and lack of my usual morning cuppa I headed for Whitewisp hill and an oft used descent down towards Dollar, turning off to pick up my outward route (now frozen solid) back to the house for a much needed breakfast and tea. Total distance only 30 odd miles in about 4 3/4 hours but not bad for a season opener. Hopefully I'll be in the snow next month!

The Plateau

The Cairngorm plateau is the biggest area of terrain above 1000m in Britain and has an accordingly grim reputation thanks to the severity of the weather it experiences. I've been up there a few times on feet and boards but I've always fancied it on the fatty. A couple of weeks before xmas I was thinking of what rides I wanted to do over the holiday. One day in particular was occupying most of my thoughts - my annual run up to my pals place in Speyside. On the way you pass through various mountain ranges and a high level fatbike ride seemed like just the thing to finish the year off. Since then the weather went all over the place - heavy snow, low temps, high temps, high winds, rain, more snow, more wind, finally with rain at all levels on the Monday 30th December. But the forecast for the Monday night was clear skies, lower temps and a clear forecast for the Tuesday. So, Glas Maol or Cairngorms......

A final check of the Mountain Weather Information Service (www.mwis.org.uk - a very useful resource if you are planning on going up high) clinched it - 90% plus chance of clear munroes all day, light winds, sub zeroes in the morning but a steady climb all day. I've twice been up Ben Macdui on shanks pony, both times in the pishing rain, high winds and zero viz. So today was the day. I cruised up the A9 in the early morning and was ready to go at 9am in the Cas car park.

My route would take me up a good path across the bottom of the northern corries and up the long ridge above Coire an Lochan. The biggest surprise was the number of walkers - literally dozens. I'm not used to such numbers on my rides so this came as a shock. Despite Aviemore being fat bike central and despite many people having ridden the plateau, I got many of the old 'check out the tyres on that' comments. In return I checked out what kit people were carrying. Many were carrying the full monty - axes, jaggy feet and plenty of gear. Others had minimal kit, jeans, cheap jackets and no sharp metal things. Given the reputation of this area, especially in winter, this seemed somewhat baffling. As usual I'd totally over thought it, with plenty of warm gear, plenty of food, a bivvy bag, GPS, phone, map and nous. I rode most of the way to the ridge on the path that was extensively upgraded a few years ago, the only cause for concern were the rime ice covered stepping stones across two burns. Eventually on the steady climb up the ridge above the coire, I ran out of leg and settled into a steady push up onto the shoulder at 1000m.

Coire an Lochan with a snow free 'Great Slab' This famous terrain feature typically gains a substantial covering of snow throughout the winter which often then avalanches spectacularly.

After this the riding was a joy - a nice easy gravel path climbing steadily. Soon after I hit my first snow patch. Thanks to the freeze / thaw cycles it was as hard as iron and thanks to the previous nights frost very grippy. I was passing walkers rapidly now and often diverting off the path to link up the snowfields for easy riding over a smooth, firm surface. On the final steep I rode most of it on another patch of snow which covered the boulder field that is the summit of Ben Macdui.

1309m, Britains second highest peak.

I stood a while checking out the views which were stunning with pretty much all of the Highlands visible. Redemption! I could even see my own hills (The Ochills) far to the south.
 

After photos and a snack I retraced my route but picked up further snow fields and was able to really let rip down some of the slopes, hitting 30 plus mph at one point. Large areas of hard water ice were of concern but it was still sub zero so these could be ridden with care. Turning off my outward route to head for Cairngorm, I finally left the crowds behind and was able to link several large patches of snow en-route.

Looking back to Ben Macdui, I noted many more snow patches which could have amused me for a couple of hours. I was on a bit of a deadline however as I wanted to get back in time to do some shopping and head to my pals place in plenty of time for the evenings drinking....
 

Following the route along the rim of the northern corries was the most demanding bit of the ride as its one big boulder field. Much riding of beach rock fields helped me here and I rode most of it to the summit cone of Cairngorm itself. Again, a bit of nosing around could have missed this section out and picked up some more snow. Next time..... One hard push got me to the top (more crowds) and then I faced over 600m of vertical descent.

Summit of Cairngorm and the (broken) weather station

I avoided the main drag up and instead descended by the Marquis Well route, bagging some more snow time before hitting the top of the ski area. I was able to stay mostly on snow to the ptarmigan and down the M2 piste until I had to pick up the path for the final section. This is a bit steppy but highly entertaining for all that. Total distance only 12 miles but with 1000m of climbing and some top class riding. I guess doing the circuit backwards would probably be better although the climb up would be hard work.....


As a year end route this ranks as one of my best of 2019. Hopefully next time I'm up here I'll be on the skis....