Hill: Meall Fuar-mhonaidh
Date: Saturday 15th December 2012
Company: Myself and Beinn
Distance: 9.35km, Ascent: 530m
Time: 3Hrs 15Mins

I had a few hours available today to ascend a hill while my daughter and partner went to see Mother Goose at Eden Court. This provided an ideal opportunity to ascend Meall Fuar-mhonaidh, above Loch Ness.

I drove to and parked in the small car park at the end of the minor road leading from Lewiston to Grotaig.

Click here to see a map of the route undertaken

From the car park I followed the hill footpath signs, which direct walkers away from the private road leading to Inchtellach House.

Track leading to Hill Footpath:


The hill footpath is quite pleasant - it follows a burn through a small wood, with many lichen-covered trees.

Meall Fuar-mhonaidh capped in cloud:


After passing through a couple of gates, I followed the path leading onto the North-East ridge of Meall Fuar-mhonaidh.

Track leading to North-East ridge of Meall Fuar-mhonaidh:


Looking back towards Loch Ness:


On reaching the deer fence, I used the large stile while Beinn crawled through a small gap under the fence.

Stile over deer fence:


A short distance beyond the stile, I reached the North-East ridge of Meall Fuar-mhonaidh.

Once on the ridge, I could see one set of fresh boot prints (with micro-spikes) and one set of fresh dog prints. About ten minutes later, I saw a guy descending the hill with his dog. They must have set off quite early. Thanks to the guy for breaking trail in the deeper snow higher up the hill .

Meall Fuar-mhonaidh:


The actual weather today was much nicer than the forecasted weather. Sometimes it pays to ignore the forecasts. It remained dry throughout the walk but views were somewhat limited.

Looking across to Monadh Liath hills:


Ascending Meall Fuar-mhonaidh:


As I gained height, I got increasingly good views down to Loch Ness.

Loch Ness:


Looking back along North-East ridge of Meall Fuar-mhonaidh:


On reaching a large lump of conglomerate rock, it was nice to catch a fleeting glimpse of the sun.

A glimpse of the sun:


However, just a few minutes later, visibility was greatly reduced as I entered into the cloud.

Beinn enjoying the snow:


Into the cloud:


I passed two cairns en-route to the summit cairn.

Approaching the first cairn en-route to the summit:


Approaching the summit cairn:


I spent circa ten minutes at the summit, taking some photos and enjoying some hot Ribena. It was sufficiently cold for rime ice to be forming on Beinn’s whiskers .

Beinn on the summit cairn:


Look over there:


From the summit, we returned to the car via the same route.

Back below the cloud:


A really enjoyable hill.