Carn na h-Easgainn ∞
Took advantage of the break in the weather today to get out on the hills. The original plan was to climb Beinn Liath Mhor a’Giubhasi Li to the south of Loch Glascarnoch, but as we headed across the Kessock Bridge the variable message sign warned the road was blocked past Garve. Quick change of plan saw us heading out of Inverness on the A9 in the other direction, towards Moy. We parked up at just off the A9, and walked up the road to Lynemore.
There the easy cleared path ended. We ploughed our way through the deep snow up the side of the Allt na Loinne Mór. It was hard going, with generally 0.3-0.6m depth of snow, and a bit more in some places, as Malcolm found out. As we climbed through the trees, occasionally finding the track we were supposed to be following, the snow was soft, and about 0.5m deep.
Once we got above about 500m, we saw that someone had been out in a Skidoo. Unfortunately, it had done a much better job than us of not sinking into the soft snow. Even where it had compressed the snow a bit, we were still sinking in a further 0.3m. Things got a bit easier as we climbed, as the wind had cleared the snow from the higher ground, although there were still patches of deep snow lurking.
Lunch was eaten in the bothy at the top, after clearing snow from the door to get in. At which point the weather cleared further, and we had some good views north to the Moray Firth — still shrouded in low cloud, as well as views of the hills to the east, and the Farr Windfarm to the south.
The way down was easier, but still took some effort, especially in the deeper snow lower down. Snow shoes would certainly have helped!
Time taken: 3 hours (2 to summit); Distance 6km; Height Climbed 310m; Photos Taken 57.