Date: Friday 26th February 2016
Company: Myself and Cuillin
Distance: 13.1km, Ascent: 515m
Time: 3Hrs 40Mins
With only limited time available today, in between dropping my wee girl off for school and picking her up from school, I needed a close-to-home, half-day hill. One month ago, I set out under similar circumstances to ascend Corryhabbie Hill but turned back at a height of 710m as the weather was "sub-optimal". The weather today was much nicer so I opted to return to Corryhabbie with a view to summiting this time!
I parked near Nether Bellandy and set off walking along the road towards Bellandy.
Click here to see a map of the route undertaken
The weather today was pretty-good as were the underfoot conditions. There was not a breath of wind throughout the walk. The initial views are very much dominated by neighbouring Ben Rinnes, a fine Corbett that is visible from miles around.
Corryhabbie Hill:
Looking across to Ben Rinnes:
Beyond Bellandy, we made our way up a track leading to Altvallie.
Track towards Altvallie:
Beyond Altvallie, we followed a fenceline with two barking dogs at the other side of the fence. I was glad the fence was there as their barking was not friendly. After negotiating a couple of old fences, we made our way up towards a Larssen trap which is next to the start of a track.
Heading uphill towards the start of the track:
The track today was very much a mix of nice crisp neve and unconsolidated drifts.
Ascending the snow-filled track towards Corryhabbie Hill:
Ben Rinnes, Meikle Conval and Little Conval:
It was good to get views today unlike my ascent one month previous. In January, we had circa 10 feet visibility and 50-60mph winds. It was not pleasant.
Following the Morton's Way towards the summit:
I stopped today near the point we turned back on our previous ascent. Cuillin looked much happier today than he did one month ago!
Cuillin today:
Cuillin one month ago:
Ben Rinnes and hills across the Moray Firth:
Once onto the wide ridge, we followed the Morton's Way track all the way to the summit.
Snow plod towards the summit:
Cuillin:
Looking back:
As we approached the summit, the views improved substantially as we began to see the Southern Cairngorms.
The Cairngorms:
I was surprised to find so much snow at the summit. The large summit shelter and trig point were completely buried under snow. The top of the metal pyramid which sits atop the trig point could only just be seen poking through the top of the snow.
Cuillin at the summit of Corryhabbie Hill:
Cuillin at the summit of Corryhabbie Hill:
Cuillin at the summit of Corryhabbie Hill:
Cairngorms from the summit of Corryhabbie Hill:
Cairngorms from the summit of Corryhabbie Hill:
Cairngorms from the summit of Corryhabbie Hill:
After taking a number of photos at the summit, mainly of Cuillin, we returned to the car via the same route.
Looking back during the descent:
Heading back along the wide ridge:
An excellent short day out repeating a Corbett I last successfully ascended in 2004.