We did far too much for a detailed report (cue audible sighs of relief all round) so here's a summary.
There was not much snow about, but temperatures were around freezing all week (usually well below) so the ground was frozen hard, with quite a bit of water ice, especially on paths and in the glens. A high pressure system was sat over us for the whole trip, giving mostly light winds and sunny skies. The main occasional problem was the low cloud that often came in from the east, except when it came from the west, so predicting the best direction to head in was largely down to luck. So we travelled east, west, north, and south, and occasionally stayed close to the hut. Overview on Google Maps.
Saturday 27/12. Wall-to-wall sunshine for a round of the three Munros south of Loch Laggan – Creag Pitridh, Geal Charn, and Beinn a' Chlachair – with Rob. Good views of the clouds that obscured all hills east of Ben Alder, so a lucky choice of hills. Descended by the rarely visited SW ridge of Beinn a' Chlachair in order to stay in the sun for as long as possible. Route Map.
Sunday 28/12. A big day. Cycled 8 miles from Dalwhinnie to Loch Pattack, then abandoned bikes for a walk up Ben Alder (via a scramble on the Long Leachas) and Beinn Bheoil (where we unexpectedly met 2 other walkers), before a long cycle out in the dark. Rather overcast for most of the day with the summits mainly in cloud, which made navigation across the Ben Alder plateau quite interesting. Route Map.
Monday 29/12. A shorter day round the Munros west of Drumochter Pass. In the clag all day, with a bitterly cold wind. Carmen only needed the first summit (Sgairneach Mhor), and I'd done them all before, but we made more of a day of it by carrying on to the next two (Beinn Udlamain and A' Mharconaich) before leaving Rob to add the fourth (another Geal Charn). Route Map.
Tuesday 30/01. The forecast was for sun, and it didn't disappoint. We left the Whitewell carpark (near Aviemore) at 8.25, just before sunrise, and walked down Glen Einich with the intention of climbing just Braeriach. Conditions were so good when we reached the plateau that we added on Cairn Toul and Sgor an Lochain Uaine for good measure (narrowly missing heading south towards Monadh Mor by mistake!), finally reaching the summit of Braeriach at sunset. All that remained was a 7.5 mile walk out via the Lairig Ghru, most of it in the dark, arriving at the car at about 7.10. Total distance 22 miles. Arrived back at the hut to find that the water supply (ie burn) had frozen so there were no showers for the rest of the week. Joined the others in the pub. Route Map.
Wednesday 31/01. Another forecast of sunshine. A 6.30 alarm call got us to Tulloch Station in time for the first train to Corrour, to do the 2 Munros SE of Loch Ossian (Sgor Gaibhre and Carn Dearg). Disappointingly cloudy for the long walk by the loch, with the hills obscured. But we walked up through the clag for the most magnificient inversion I can recall, peaks in all directions emerging from a sea of cloud. And it got even better on the last summit, with a series of Brocken Spectres added to the mix. It was a shame we had to descend back into the gloom to get the last train back. Route Map.
Thursday 01/01. A late start after a late night, we set off to do Geal Charn (the one in the Monadhliath this time). We left Ben's car at Garva Bridge, and started walking from the Spey Dam. We walked up via Glen Markie (interesting river crossing, luckily the ice held!) and descended via Beinn Sgiath and the SW ridge. More clouds today, and no inversion. But we did find ourselves in a gap between layers, with clouds below us, and above us, and a view of cloud-draped summits in between. Route Map.
Friday 02/01. Carmen's final Monadhliath Munro, Sgurr Dearg. A cold mist in the valley, but sadly no inversion. However the clouds did clear gradually, giving superb views of the Cairngorms which were completely clear of cloud, and then the hills to the northwest, similarly bathed in sunshine. Our hills took a little longer to clear, but did so in time to decide to extend the day, following the old fence posts for a few miles to add the two easterly Munros (Carn Sgulain and A' Chailleach). Route Map.
Saturday 03/01. Decided to head northwest to get some of the sunshine they'd been enjoying for most of the week, so drove for 90 minutes to Loch Quoich, just south of Glen Shiel to climb Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach. Unfortunately this seemed to be just about the only part of Scotland that didn't get sunshine that day. But at least the cloud base was above the summits, so we got good views of the sunny hills elsewhere! The view up Loch Quoich towards Sgurr na Ciste is a contender for the finest in the country. Route Map.
Sunday 04/01. Cloudy with light snow. Drove home.
A tiring week, we kept waiting for the weather to break so we could have a rest day, but it stayed stubbornly fine. A total of 19 Munros in 8 days, and I even managed 6 that were new to me!
Lots more photos can be found here.