Bynack Mor, Beinn Mheadhoin, Derry Cairngorm

11.8 miles, 1240m ascent, 7 hours 30 mins

After another very poor night I was shattered and had a nap on the top of Bynack More in the lee of the cairn.  If anything, it seemed less windy on the summit than it had at the tent, an impression that was confirmed on returning to the tent.  Despite my tiredness I really enjoyed the easy walking over the tundra, stopping to look at the 'bloomin' heather' in some detail.  It was nice to get out of the wind in the tent whilst we had lunch, but there's only so long you can put off an imposing ascent like that of Beinn Mheadhoin  from Loch Avon.  The river crossing was challenging with the pack and having to lift Ben over too, but we managed, albeit with wet and icy feet.  The video which Ben took of me toiling up the slopes is a fair reflection of what it felt like.  The ruscksack must have been between 25 and 30kg, so toil is the appropriate verb.  Ben playfully scrambled up the final summit tor before facing in to what hjad become a strong wind.  On arrival at the Loch Etchachan, it was clear that a night there would be a repeat of the flapping nightmare of Ben Avon so I opted to dump the sack, bag Derry Cairngorm, then retreat the 300m to the Hutchison Memorial Hut.  Here we were greeted by a party of 15 Dutchmen and a full hut so we opted to camp outside, fortunately in a sheltered spot.  We made friends with a family from Sheffield who we later re-encountered in Austria and it was all very sociable.


Photos