Hill: The Buck o' Cabrach
Date: Monday 12th February 2018
Company: Myself, Becky and Cuillin
Distance: 4.8km, Ascent: 305m
Time: 2Hrs 30Mins
It was not my intention to ascend a hill on Monday
but on waking, looking out the window and seeing wall-to-wall blue sky, a
hill ascent was definitely in order. I therefore quickly packed a rucksack
and we were off by 7.30. With no hill plan in mind, I chose a hill which
Becky had not ascended previously. I had always been hesitant to take Becky
up the Buck o' Cabrach as it is a notoriously wet, boggy hill. However,
given the sub-zero temperature perhaps conditions would be ideal for a dry
ascent?
On arriving at the starting point we put on all our warm
clothes and set off towards the hill. The ground was frozen solid and as a
result there was no boggy ground whatsoever. Superb!
Despite the
blue skies overhead and a temperature of only -2C, it felt considerably
colder due to the strong wind and windchill.
Looking back with Tap o'
Noth in distance:
Looking back:
We had fun
during the initial ascent with the occasional snowball thrown towards
Cuillin.
Heading uphill:
During the
ascent, the initial easy going became signifcantly harder as the snow depth
changed fairly instantly from an inch or so to at least a foot deep. The
soft snow was covered with a hard crust which was not strong enough to bear
our weight. I therefore broke trail taking small steps such that Becky could
follow in my steps.
Becky:
Despite
wearing two thermal tops, two fleeces and a waterproof jacket, Becky was
still feeling the cold. I therefore stopped to give Becky my down gilet and
to put on another jacket from my rucksack. My gilet was coat-length on Becky
and it was I am told, "nice and cosy". While I was getting out my jacket, I asked
Becky to continue on ahead in order to keep warm by moving. On telling
Cuillin to go to Becky he ran ahead to join her.
Becky and Cuillin
leading the way:
I quickly
caught up with Becky (so no Colin, I am not getting slow in my auld age
) and we
progressed on towards the summit.
Just below the summit:
It was very
windy at the summit, and seriously cold, so Becky clung to the trig point
while I took a few photos before descending back to the shelter below.
Getting wind-blasted at the summit of the Buck o' Cabrach:
At the summit
of the Buck o' Cabrach:
We returned
to the car via the same route following the Aberdeenshire / Moray border
fence. On reaching the car the heating was put on full blast and we enjoyed
some food and drink having decided not to hang around at the summit.