Sgor Gaoith (NN903989; 1118m)

Thursday 17 August

Start Point: car parking area just before Allt Rhuadh bridge in Glen Feshie (approx NH853012)

Distance and Ascent: 15.5km, 880m

Weather: Sunny intervals, but with the effect of laminar flow, breezier than expected.

It’s always a risk setting out early up a big hill as to whether the morning cloud will clear before you get to the top, and this was one of those days. There were some big clear patches of sky as I drove towards Glen Feshie, with cloud just sitting over the higher summits, and with a forecast that said it would lift.

A big bank of cloud over the ridge to which I was heading

Initial signs were positive, as the cloud seemed to be rising at about the same rate as I was – a fact that I discussed with a group of five I passed not far before the ridge. We also agreed that the wind was far breezier than the forecast had suggested it should be – particularly noticeable as it was dead in our faces as we made our way up the well-trodden path.

Alas, the cloud got stuck at 980m, but with glimpses of brightness I was still optimistic that it would suddenly clear.

As I reached the low point on the ridge coated with springy moss, I opted for a minor short cut, heading on the diagonal to intersect the baggers’ path that I assumed would branch off in my direction. What I managed to do was parallel that path, not far distant, for around a kilometre, but the going was easy enough.

I followed the trodden line on the way back, so you can see how closely I paralleled it on the way out.

There had been two cars in the car park when I arrived, and I surmised that the group of five had been in the one with UK plates. The other vehicle was on NL plates, and my assessment (based on accents) is that its occupants were the two bejeaned chaps that I met within 100m of the summit.

Summit selfie

I sat at the summit for a few minutes for three reasons: 1) having battled the wind on the way up, it was calm up there (turbulent air flow caused by the crag, as opposed to the laminar flow I’d experienced up to that point was the assessment made with Mick in discussion later); 2) I was hoping the periods of brightness would develop into a sudden hole in the cloud, giving me the spectacular view down to Loch Eanaich; 3) I had some dithering to do as to my return route.

The cloud didn’t oblige my desires for a view, and that had a bearing on my decision as to whether to continue to do a circuit along the ridge to the north (another factor was speed, as I had things to do in the afternoon). It was probably fifteen minutes after I set out to retrace that I realised that I had made the wrong decision.

Had I continued along the ridge, I would have dropped below the cloud (that was still sitting at 980m), and almost certainly have had these lovely-looking sunny tops to myself.

Nowt to be done about it by then, so on I went. I can’t describe the number of people I passed ascending whilst I went down as a constant stream, but many greetings were exchanged. By the time I got back to the car park there were 15 vehicles in and around it.

The colours on my ascent/descent route were glorious

It was comforting that my last glimpse of the ridge on my descent showed it still to be in cloud, not that I would have kicked myself for the early start in any case; I’d rather have the solitude than the view. That said, if there should be a clear blue skied day whilst we’re here, I wouldn’t write off the possibility of me repeating this one, not just for the summit view but to put right my failure to do the circuit.