Ben Macdui

Ben Macdui

Bryn

Along the way we have collected a number of pieces of important equipment from sponsors like our sleeping system Solo Tents, Sleeping bags and OMM Sleeping mats combined with Chocolate Fish Merino wool leggings and vest. An adequate system although the ground temperature last night meant I woke every few hours to turn to relieve the numbness in one side that was warm to allow me to warm the other side and let the blood flow back into the other. Definitely not the worst night I’ve had camping. A light shower in the very early hours meant we woke up to a nice morning slightly damp but none the worse for wear. We woke at 05.00 and had breakfast packed and left by 06.00 perfect.

We arrived at the Ski Centre Car park that we had chosen as our starting point of our ascent to Ben Macdui. 07.00 A brief navigation check and some last moment admin and we where away the views where stunning valleys filled with Blankets of clouds flowing over the top in to the re-enterants and dissipating as mist. As we climbed our initial pace was slightly fast and we slowed naturally as the ascent grew. We climbed the spur summiting the first hill and headed towards Miadan Creag an Leth-choin, the view to our right the side of Sron na Lairig dropping down to Lairig Ghru was stunning it was so steep that I couldn’t quite focus on it’s slopes giving me a slight sense of vertigo.

We continued on past March Burn and a beautiful pool of still mountain water heading across a open scree field in between a slight saddle as we continued we notice a row of cairns leading us along our path taking us towards the peak the cloud cover was drifting in and out varying from 100m to ½ km we still at this point had not yet glimpsed the trig point. To the right the clouds cleared and started pulling back we could see all the way to Carn na Criche stunning views enough to take our breath away and eye of the floor a stubbed toe for me back to concentrating on the route I was on. The landscape opened up to a massive boulder field looking like the moon the clouds pulled back and for the briefest of moments we could see the trig point. A few moments later we where standing on top of Ben Macdui the second highest peak in the UK.

A brief stay, a quick video and a photo or 2. We admired the view, I shook hands with Darren checked our watches and Sat Nav and we where off. The route down was slightly easier on the way up. A few of the trails vanished and had to run a on general compass bearing. We found our way with no real problem. However we motored home the views on the way back where amazing as we ran back the valleys opened up and the clouds had lifted what a memory. As we hit the final stretch we started encountering the first of the days walkers coming up who politely stepped to one side for us. Two hours fifty eight minutes and fifty seven seconds awesome. One down nine to go, come on Ben Nevis…