2nd May 2010 - Ben Macdui & Braeriach Ski

I've been desperate to ski from Ben Macdui down into the Lairig Ghru for a while but have been too busy ticking munros, or not in the right place at the right time until now. I got the chance on Sunday 2nd May though, and although the weather wasn't great it was just as good as I'd hoped for. With a bit of extra effort I got the added bonus of Braeriach and a wonderful ski descent of the wide open snow slopes of Coire Gorm at the north end of Sron na Lairige as well.

Here's an interactive map of the days route courtesy of the newish Ordnance Survey Openspace service which I'll hopefully be making more use of (there are some compatibility issues particularly with IE8, and the route and or map might not show up unless you turn on compatibility view under the Tools menu!).

Interactive map of the route

Early morning ice in the stream draining Coire an Lochain

Morning mist over Braeriach.

Footsteps across the plateau to Ben Macdui

Me on the top of Macdui with Cairn Toul on the left and Sgor an Lochain Uaine (The Angel's Peak) above my head. I'm standing on the top of the shelter seen below towards the end of May 2008!

Ben Macdui 24th May 2008 - a little less snow about

Ben Macdui ski descent route down the Allt a' Choire Mhoir

Gentle skiing in fresh May powder off the summit before it steepened up

After the thaw at the end of April and then re-freezing, conditions in the Allt a' Choire Mhoir were a bit icey but free from avalanche danger. I wouldn't be keen on these slopes after any great amount of fresh snow. The stream gully itself looks quite steep and narrow and had a cornice on one side making escape tricky, so I made use of the broad bowl on its north side. The route of ascent to Braeriach marked on the other side of the Lairig Ghru.

Looking back up the Allt a' Choire Mhoir

Carn a' Mhaim, the southern end of the Lairig Ghru and Cairn Toul from the nameless east ridge of Braeriach, an unlikely perched granite boulder on the crest of the ridge.

The summit of Braeriach, all trace of it obliterated by snow. Some large cornices too.

Gentle wide open slopes in Sron na Lairige's Coire Gorm gave lovely skiing right down to the end of the ribbon of snow down the Allt a' Choire Ghuirm (curving to the left of the photo). With short walks in between I was able to link snow patches down to the base of the Lairig Ghru to the junction with the Chalamain Gap path.

One last plod over the moor from the Chalamain Gap to the Cairngorm Ski Centre with Coire an t-Sneachda above. A rough pathless end to the day, to be greeted by hordes of skiers and sightseers at the car park.

Coming soon: Bynack More ski

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Jason Bonniface, 15/05/2010

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20th March 2010 - Ben Hope Ski

What a difference 3 weeks makes! Between the 27/28th Feb and the 20th March a gradual thaw set in across the Highlands which picked up speed around the middle of March. The morning of the 20th March wasn't great with cloud and mizzle on the hill.

The north-west face of Ben Hope on the afternoon of the 27th Feb. I had hoped to ski Ben Hope on the 28th but the foot of snow on the single track road made me turn back in case of further snow.

The same view on the morning of the 20th March - not much left for the skis

Not until I reached the upper southern bowl of the hill anyway. In the end I got a very pleasant ski up from 700m to the summit with just a short carry of the skis and then managed a fun descent to nearly 550m, piecing together the lower snow patches with a couple of short heather sections. The weather wasn't helpful with the photos though, and I have none from this trip that get anywhere close to doing the hill justice.

There were 2 guys making their way up the hill as I descended the lower slopes and they clearly thought I was a complete crack pot as I picked my way down towards them with ski boots on and skis towering above me on my back! From their location the hill looked almost bare of snow.

In the afternoon I meandered along Strathmore, over to Altnaharra and then Kinbrace on the way back east. It turned into a beautiful spring afternoon.

Dun Dornaigil near Alltnacaillich in Strathmore - an ancient broch.

Showers shroud Ben Armine across Loch Badanloch from the Strathnaver to Kinbrace road. Ben Klibreck is rising into the cloud on the far right of the photo.

Lovely spring sun at Kinbrace with a view of the two Ben Griams - Mor and Beg

As I write the Highlands have just had another heavy fall of snow, a train has been stuck at Slochd and roads closed. So much for spring, not that late March or early April snow is uncommon though. I'm hatching plans to get to the hills for another ski but its never easy getting away with young children and lots going on!

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Jason Bonniface, 01/04/2010

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28th Feb 2010 - Ben Loyal Ski Tour

Ben Loyal is not my favourite hill, whoever suggested the description "the Queen of Scottish Hills" or some such phrase had a different outlook from me. To my mind neighbouring Ben Hope is a far superior hill, but then, I'm probably its biggest fan. There was, however, a load of snow about on the 28th Feb and I needed something close to a ploughed road, and a ski tour of Ben Loyal had crossed my mind before. Ben Loyal surely couldn't get any better than under almost complete snow cover? I decided to start from the southern end of the mountain and make for the summit, An Caisteal, via Carn an Tionail. There are photos, a map and some description of the day below:

Lettermore on the east side of Ben Loyal with the rising sun lighting the summit ridge

My starting point near Inchkinloch

My route on to and off Ben Loyal's main ridge. I skinned past Loch na Beiste making for the south-east flank of Carn an Tionail.

The summit of Ben Loyal, An Caisteal, a wonderful granite tor (despite my earlier comments)

Ben Loyal or Mont Blanc?

Ben Hope from the summit of Ben Loyal

.....and a more detailed view of Ben Hope's wild eastern corries

  I hadn't planned on visiting the 558m Cnoc nan Cuilean but on the approach from the south its snow smothered south-western slopes looked amazing and I had to ski them on the way back south from Ben Loyal. 

A pleasant descent from Carn an Tionail spoilt near the top by icey sastrugi

Cnoc nan Cuilean. Its snowy south west side on the right

Back to Ben Loyal from the foot of the Cnoc

Beautifully patterned sastrugi at just 450m altitude on Cnoc nan Cuilean

Ben Klibreck

Plenty of windslab

East from Cnoc nan Cuilean across Sutherland to Ben Griam Mor and Beg

Nice powder on the ski descent of Cnoc nan Cuilean

Ben Loyal from the Kyle of Tongue causeway later in the afternoon

All in all a very special day!

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Jason Bonniface, 23/03/2010

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31/01/10 - A Ski Tour Of Arkle

At the end of January I managed to get in a wee ski on Arkle, Northern Sutherland. Route and photos follow:

The route - The start is at the A838 just north of Achfary. A private road then track lead to Lone where paths split and the northerly one heads north-east towards the Bealach Horn. At around 200m fairly gentle slopes lead north towards Arkle's southern top (758m). Slopes either side of the stream held progressively more snow as height was gained giving good ground for a ski ascent. From the southern top a fairly steep and icey descent lead down to the col at the head of Coir Uairidh (skis carried for this descent and left at the col). To the west and then north an interesting ridge with a touch of easy scrambling leads round to the main summit of Arkle. The descent from the col was icey and wind scoured initially then on powdery windslab and then just thin powder on a firm base as the gully deepened lower down. It gave an excellent ski to 400m (300m vertical drop). Probably the top section would be black run steepness but becoming more like a red then blue lower down. After a carry of the skis across the lower moor there was just enough snow to ski back along the track all the way to the car (though I carried in in the morning).

Welcome to Arkle - a morning snow shower.

The abominable photographer on the ascent of Arkle's southern flank.

The snowfields south of Arkle's southern top at around 650m. The southern slopes would give a pleasant ski descent as well but without the interest of Coir Uairidh.

The view south with Meallan a' Chuil in the centre, Beinn Leoid to the right with Ben More Assynt & Conival rising above and behind on the right.


Foinaven from Arkle's southern top.

The route of descent taken in very strong winds with snow and spindrift whipping around. It was difficult to stand on this section, certainly not helped by skis acting as a sail on my back!

Snow showers approaching from the north-west.

.....and departing to the south-east from Arkle's main summit.

South down the summit ridge with Loch Stack glistening in the sun.

Great skiing on the descent of Coir Uairidh.


Arkle in the mid afternoon from the road at Loch Stack.


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Jason Bonniface, 10/03/2010
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