Meall Ghaordie, Meall nan Tarmachan

9.5 miles, 1650m ascent, 6 hours 45 mins

Uncharacteristically we went for a day of pure bagging taking a route about which I would normally be somewhat disparaging.  This was dictated by the weather which was especially unkind.  First off, we made the short up and down of Meall Ghaordie before the wind rose too much.  It wasn't especially pleasant and I made the mistake of donning fell shoes which made for very cold feet.  On the descent we met other members of the CRMC.  We then opted for a hot lunch at our accommodation near Killin, a quick change of clothes, then up to the visitor centre at Ben Lawers for a quick dash up Meall nan Tarmachan.  This time the forecasted wind was accurate - its was touching 80mph at the summit.  I kept Ben on a leash and took a stilghtly unusual rouite at the very summit of Meall nan Tarmachan, going to the right then straight up to the summit via a steepish snow slope.  This kept us out of the worst of the wind until the summit itself and we could stumble back the same way.  It did mean downclimbing the steep snow slope though and even a bit lower down, the wind was strong enough to blow the sling up in the air, so we were connected by a billowing tape.  What the few other walkers must have thought, I'm not sure as speaking above the gale was impossible.  A very satisfying day nonetheless.