eBothy Blog

I laughed so much I cried!

RSPB GIVES SURPRISE BACKING TO GIGANTIC BIRD MINCERS

The MLTA had organised a few CPD events for members and had booked out Glenmore Lodge for the weekend, thinking that out of the 1800+ membership, they’d be able to fill the 60 odd places at the Lodge but in the end, only 12 turned up. 3 of us on the winter navigation course. There was also a winter skills and winter mountaineering course running. As the date approached I was getting a bit worried as the west coast was devoid of snow but the Lodge staff assured me there was a dump on the way, so I stopped off for a plod on the way and caught the early part of a weather shift as cold northerlies blew in with the promise of snow. Sure enough, right on cue, I woke up in the plush new wing to a very snowy Saturday morning.

I was booked on the MLTA winter navigation course at Glenmore Lodge at the weekend, so I took the Friday off and headed across to Dalwhinnie and down to Balsporran Cottages for a plod around the high moorland ahead of a horrendous forecast. It rained all the way over from Skye but the temp dropped to 2C on the high road from Laggan with large slushy flakes falling from a leaden sky. Wind was strong westerly with the forecast giving a swing to the north and increasingly wild and wintry. Just what I wanted! Plodding up from the cottages the sun came out for a bit but was then hustled out of the way by some vagrant blizzards looking to mess up spring’s handiwork, which had cleared the hills of snow recently. I took the first track on the right after the railway crossing and just followed it up, not really caring where it went as I was intentionally trying to get lost, hopefully in a whiteout, to scrape the rust from my winter nav skills. The path was a real mess though. Deep bog with basically a fence laid horizontally along it to give the estate vehicles grip on the vertical mush and it made walking very very difficult indeed. Thankfully at 625m it headed off up Creagan Mor and I headed off into the whiteness and deep snow making for the headwaters of the Allt Beul an Sporain, along the south face of Creagan Mor above a rather deep and steep gorge.

It’s spring indeed. Yesterday, while cycling to work across the Sleat moorland I passed under the first skylark of the year, up here anyway. The gorse is starting to bloom and I also met the first bee of the year, buzzing merrily along the side of the house as I basked in scorching sunshine. Very very hazy and a chill westerly, turning northerly. I gave Dawn a lift to Kyle to get the train to Inverness at 5:30 and what a sight greeted us. The half moon was bathing his face in the light from the invisible sun. It really gave you a perspective on our place in the solar system. Two planets already warming in the rising sun, although in reality it never sets up there. On the way back a vertical bar of red rose high into the dawn sky behind the hills, heralding the arrival of the spring sun and the beginning of a warm and very pleasant day. There isn’t a drop of snow to be seen anywhere. The hills are turning green and the grass is starting to grow. The forecast is for northerly gales over the coming week though, with snow to low levels and yesterday I also saw the first tourist bus of the year, trundling up from the ferry.

We had a bit of snow on the hills about a week ago:

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Excellent article on Sundogs.

Fascinating videos explaining it all. Well worth a watch.

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