Quick 3 From Glenshee

Route description: The Cairnwell Munros, Glenshee
Munros included on this walk: Carn Aosda, The Cairnwell & Carn a' Gheoidh
Time taken: 4.75 hours
Distance: 13 km
Ascent: 595m

After some time and effort arranging time off together, 2 work colleagues (blog debutants !) and I had managed to all have Friday 27th March off and planned to spend it in the hills. Unfortunately the forecast at the beginning of the week was not promising with more snow on the way, not good for those of us without crampons and axes! With unusual good fortune Friday's weather was actually very good and saw us leave for Glenshee under a blue sky. We knew the Munros would still be snow covered but thought the rounded lumps of the Cairnwell 3 would be a low risk option, coupled with the fact that my 2 companions had bagged these hills on a number of previous occasions, I was confident should the weather turn that we could confidently navigate our way to safety.

We parked up at the Glenshee ski centre and headed for Munro number one, Carn Aosda. With plenty snow but lack of skiers meant it was pick a path day and we kind of headed straight up through the ski runs trying to avoid the deepest of the snow drifts. Due to the high start point it seemed to take no time at all to reach the summit.

Carn Aosda summit

Looking over to The Cairnwell summit, target 2

Whilst the weather at this point was good with glimpses of blue sky and the Sun battling to break through the high clouds, a gaze beyond the Cairnwell showed an abundance of foreboding grey grounds. With little time spent at the summit we began our descent and made for the Cairnwell. When there is no snow I'm told there is a good path between the 2 summits, to be fair there were a good few patches of snow free areas which provided welcome relief from the energy sapping knee deep snow in parts.
Although it looked quite close from the summit of Carn Aosda the walk to the Cairnwell summit took longer and was harder than I'd imagined.
As we reached the summit the weather had deteriorated quite considerably, with poor visibility and wind driven snow. In all honesty given the ugliness of the summit I didn't really care! We found shelter by one of the buildings at the summit and had a quick bite to eat.

I was taken aback by just how quickly I felt the cold as we stopped. The windchill factor was certainly significant and merited another layer or 2 being added. As we began our descent in the horrible conditions I wasn't overly convinced that bagging the third summit of Carn a' Gheoidh was an entirely good idea. However as we descended the worst of the weather appeared to have been blown through and tantalising glimpses of blue sky returned. 3 from Glenshee it was then!

The route ahead to Carn a' Gheoidh by the crags of Creag a'Choire Dhirich

As I looked at the route ahead it was clear that snow cornices had formed on the crags of Creag a'Choire Dhirih. Given the vastly improved visibility I was confident we could box around them quite safely. At this point you finally had the feeling of being in the wildnerness with the ugly ski tows etc firmly behind us. The snow at this height was mostly quite solid and made the going quite easy.

Looking back down the glen

The trek over the plateau towards Carn a' Gheoidh

We reached the third summit, and number 27 for me, at around 11.30 after a final short, steep ascent over the hard packed snow, meant for a few entertaining slips and slides. This was by far the best summit with superb 360 degree views. The nearby Glas Tulaichean dominated the view to the West, which we had considered tackling on the drive up was looking good from this vantage point. The wind was quite strong now so after a few pics we headed back down the sheltering slope to find a spot for lunch.

Looking North over the Cairngorms

From the summit down the glen

Summit panorama 1

Summit panorama 2

As we descended we stopped as we reached the flat of the plateau of Carn nan Sac, much had been made on the ascent of Wullie's storm shelter which was go be 'erected' for lunch. After much hilarity and twisteresque manoeuvring we found ourselves comfortably sheltered from the still biting wind. This was the Vango four man version and was certainly cosy with 3 plus packs. Having said that, what a fantastic piece of kit. Within a few minutes of getting inside we actually started to feel very warm, to the point where we had to get out! cue more hilarity as we tried to exit the contraption with each of us experiencing some degree of pins and needles in a leg or two! I have no doubt that the shelter would be fantastic with two occupants and I'd now consider one a fantastic addition for any Munro bagger who doesn't relish eating their sarnies in the wind, rain or snow.

The storm shelter cafe

The walk back to the car park was fairly swift with the wind at our backs, our pace quickened as the skies began to darken again. We arrived back to a much busier ski centre than we'd left in a little under 5 hours. I suspect these hills could be a little underwhelming....and boggy, in the Summer time, however, a bit of snow and all was well with the world.