Meall a'Bhuachaille

We did this walk in May 2004 after a disastrous morning. we'd intended to walk from the car park at the Cairngorm Mountain Railway through the Chalamain Gap into the Lairig Ghru, and then hopefully climb Braerich.

Now those of you who know the Chalamain Gap will know that it is an appalling and, frankly, dangerous jumble of boulders in between any of which you can easily fall and break your leg. We've walked extensively in the Swiss Alps and are more than familiar with the problems of crossing boulder fields. The Chalamain Gap is something else...........

En route from the mountain railway car park to the Chalamain Gap. The hill in the centre background is Meall a'Bhuachaille with the slightly lower Creagan Gorm to its left. We climbed the hill we after we aborted our earlier plans to climb Braerich.

The path to the Gap is a pleasant enough one and as can be seen, in the photo below, well laid out. However, in the distance can be seen the beginnings of the boulders.

When we eventually arrived I was so concerned by the prospect of injury that I completely forgot to take any photos.

However, this link to John Butler's website will give you an idea of what it's like.

http://www.jbutler.org.uk/Scotland/Cairngorms/chalamain.shtml

Feeling very dispirited we returned to our car. However, the day was saved and a Corbett was ticked off by climbing Meall a'Bhuachaille. This WAS a truly enjoyable afternoon's walk. we relocated the car to near the tourist information centre at Loch Morlich and set off through the woods and up to the bealach between Creagan Gorm and Meall a'Bhuachaille.

We've just left the woods and are climbing up the easy slopes to the beallach. Behind us we see Loch Morlich.

The scar of the road up to the mountain railway station detracts somewhat from this view of Cairngorm. However, we all use it so who am I to complain?!!

At the beallach it's a simple matter of turning east to the summit at 810m. The track then climbs up easily from the bealach with Creagan Gorm beyond.

It was very windy on the domed stony summit, so we didn't linger before retunding to the valley. Whilst we hadn't achieved our objective we certainly felt that this hill was a worthwhile alternative and with great views.

I'd love to know what the hills are in the photos as at the time I didn't keep any records of what my photos were of. Any help anyone?