Sgòr Gaoith, not that you'd know it
A successful day, but not much to see or show for it. I’d looked up a few options for routes around Aviemore that we could attempt - this seemed suitable given the conditions. We would set off from near Balachroick, following the valley towards Càrn Bàn Mòr, before diverting East towards Sgòr Gaoth. Returning via the humps of Meall Buidhe and Geal-Charn.
The day started of with bright sunlight and crisp air. Some lovely colours about.
With low winds and a steady pace we kept warm as we gained altitude. The weather got progressively more gloomy and foggy.
Sgòr Gaoith is an impressive ridge on the West side of the Gleann Eanaich. Photos look incredible. Sadly the view from the top was less than ideal on our visit.
We’d originally planned to walk along the ridge towards Sgòran Dubh Mòr - but decided against it as we wouldn’t see anything. Instead we spent the afternoon practising our navigation on the way back to the car. There was thick fog, but heading West, North-West away from the ridge presented lots of safe space to practice. We picked out nav targets in turn made our way home.
In all, not the thrilling day we’d hoped for - but a successful outing in winter nonetheless. Our first year of winter mountaineering a success!