The Fairy Hill of the Caledonians

My big objective for the weekend was an ascent of the TRAIL 100 summit of Bidean nam Bian.

But with yesterday’s walk up Glencoe’s Pap putting 800 metres of ascent into my legs, the prospect of 1,200 metres of ascent was probably a little ambitious for my lack of hill fitness.  I decided to drive over to Braes of Foss to walk up Schiehallion.  It involved a 150 mile round trip but with only about 800 metres of steady ascent I was happy to make the journey.

I had feared that the car park would be busy on a Saturday with a reasonably good weather forecast but there were plenty of spaces to choose from.

The initial path was well constructed after previous years of much use and erosion.  As we reached the first uphill section path switchbacked, making good progress through the thin covering of snow.  Other groups passed us as we walked up with most of them not burdened by winter boots, ice axes or big winter rucksacks.

As we climbed and had started walking quite late in the morning, a number of parties passed us on their way down.  They told of conditions similar to those currently underfoot with some icy patches to be negotiated.  Schiehallion has a reputation of being rocky underfoot but the snow on the ground filled the gaps between the stones and made it reasonably easy to follow the tracks of those who had gone before us despite the flat light.

There were no views at the summit but identifying the true highpoint was a challenge.  There are a number of blocks as well as the cairn that are candidates so of course I visited them all.

Although we had seen about 20 other walkers on the day, the walk down was quiet.  The snow lower down had turned to slush and we finished in drizzle.  Despite this it was an enjoyable day, even if most of it had been spent in the cloud with its base at about 2,000 feet.