Merry Christmas & a blissful New Year

At this time of the year I always like to reflect on the things I've done and experienced during the year. While looking back I realise how quickly this year has flown by and how amazing it was. It was filled with beautiful trips and inspirational and creative events! You can read more about that in my latest newsletter.

I would like to thank you for supporting me by following this blog, giving me commissions, participating in my workshops, collaborating with me, teaching me new skills and encouraging me in my artistic journey.

Merry Christmas and a blissful New Year!

Serene Loch Duich

Last weekend our kayak club had a trip planned to Loch Duich near Kintail, West of Scotland, a 4-hour drive from our house. It's a long way for just two days but it was worth it as we couldn't have had any better weather. High pressure, freezing, wall to wall sunshine and no wind on the Saturday. Kintail Outdoor Centre was our base for the weekend.

Map of our kayak route on Loch Duich ©Fenfolio2017

We launched our kayaks at the bridge of Dornie, just around the corner from iconic Eilean Donan castle. From the moment we arrived, most of us were more involved in taking photos of the stunning scenery in golden light than preparing all our equipment!

Eilean Donan Castle at dawn ©Fenfolio2017

Eilean Donan Castle at dawn ©Fenfolio2017

Eilean Donan Castle at dawn ©Fenfolio2017

Getting ready to launch ©Fenfolio2017

A perfect start of the day! ©Fenfolio2017

 
It was actually more of a photography trip on the water than a kayak trip. Well, at least for me! I had to pinch myself regularly because it was as if we were paddling in a fantasy world.

Paddling towards Eilean Donan castle ©Fenfolio2017

Dornie bridge ©Fenfolio2017

Inspecting Eilean Donan Castle from Loch Duich ©Fenfolio2017

Is this for real? ©Fenfolio2017

Loch Duich and the five sisters of Kintail ©Fenfolio2017

Splendid scenery from Loch Duich ©Fenfolio2017

Approaching Heaven ©Fenfolio2017

The tops of the 5 sisters of Kintail can been seen in the background
©Fenfolio2017

Synchronicity ©Fenfolio2017

Happy paddlers on Loch Duich ©Fenfolio2017

The perfect reflection ©Fenfolio2017

Pure bliss! ©Fenfolio2017

The 5 sisters of Kintail ©Fenfolio2017

Paddlers in Paradise ©Fenfolio2017

Breaking the thin layer of ice was fun and noisy! ©Fenfolio2017

Ice layer ©Fenfolio2017

On our way back again ©Fenfolio2017

View of Eilean Donan castle from other side of Loch Duich ©Fenfolio2017

Paddling underneath bridge that leads to castle ©Fenfolio2017

Last winter trip of the season

The weekend of the 18th of March we had booked ourselves on one of the ski club (ESTC) meets at Laggan, south of Newtonmore, in The Cabin, one of Edinburgh JMCS huts. It had been quite warm recently so most snow had already disappeared. Well, at least on the east side where we live but The Cairngorms had still plenty!

On Saturday early morning we started at Cairngorm upper car park and skinned up Fiacaill a' Choire Chais. The weather forecast gave us negligible wind but very thick, low cloud. We were hoping that if we got high enough we would be above it. And we were right because when we approached the steep bit of the ridge, we could see the sun appearing. A few steps more and we were witness of a beautiful cloud inversion in the valley.

Skinning up Fiacaill a' Choire Chais through clouds ©Fenfolio2016

Skinning up Fiacaill a' Choire Chais through clouds ©Fenfolio2016

Above cloud inversion ©Fenfolio2016

Skinning up Fiacaill a' Choire Chais in spring weather ©Fenfolio2016

Skinning up the steepest bit of Fiacaill a' Choire Chais  ©Fenfolio2016

After we took in the stunning scenery and soaked up some vitamin D, we headed towards Cairn Lochan, back into the thick cloud. It was constantly changing so it didn't last long until the sun was back again. Initially we planned to skin further to Ben Macdui but most of us preferred to ski down the very appealing slopes here. The snow on our first run back to the saddle at Coire Cais was so good that we did this a few times!

Taking in the views towards Ben Macdui ©Fenfolio2016

Making our way to Cairn Lochan ©Fenfolio2016

Making our way to Cairn Lochan ©Fenfolio2016

View from Cairn Lochan ©Fenfolio2016

Then we skied down Coire Raibert and skinned up the top of Cairngorm, skiing downhill on the groomed slopes back to the carpark. Down here there was not much snow left so we really had to circumnavigate carefully around the heather. Luckily the Fiacaill ridge poma was not open and it still had lots of snow so we had the opportunity to ski down here. Again, the snow quality was fantastic so I went first showing the 9 guys how you really ski, haha!! It was the perfect last run of the season.

On Sunday, we made a walk to A'Mharconaich, one of the mountains along the Drumochter Pass. Although I could still feel my muscles from the day before, it was great to be out again and walking through the snow patches.

It has been a fantastic winter season. Now it's time for other sports like cycling and sea kayaking in hopefully some decent summer weather!

Walking up to A'Mharconaich ©Fenfolio2016

Descending from A'Mharconaich ©Fenfolio2016

Me being happy! ©Fenfolio2016

Ski touring Glas Maol

I just realised I had forgotten to write about a ski touring trip we did last year which was very memorable for me and I'd like to share these beautiful moments with you. We are now well into Spring (although it feels very wintry sometimes!), but some people are still skiing in the Scottish mountains!

Here's the route we took, starting at the carpark at Glenshee Ski Centre.

Ski tour Glenshee ©Fenfolio2015

Enjoy the photos of this amazing winter landscape:

Skiining up towards Glas Maol ©Fenfolio2015

Ski lift covered in rime ©Fenfolio 2015

View to the South towards Spittal of Glenshee ©Fenfolio2015

On top of Meall Odhar ©Fenfolio2015

Making our tracks in powder snow ©Fenfolio2015

Enjoying the sunshine during a lunch break ©Fenfolio2015

The North facing side of this slope was covered with sastrugi ©Fenfolio2015

Sometimes we had arctic conditions! ©Fenfolio2015

Winter in the Scottish mountains (2)

A few weeks ago Jaap and I stayed at Braemar for the weekend. We had hoped we could go skiing  but on Friday it was stormy so we decided to go for a walk instead. We parked our car at Linn of Dee and walked through Glen Dee. The light was so flat I thought it would be better to take some black and white photos. I think it perfectly captures the atmosphere that day!

Linn of Dee bridge ©Fenfolio2015

Icicles at Linn of Dee bridge ©Fenfolio2015

River Dee meandering through winter landscape ©Fenfolio2015

Eerie landscape ©Fenfolio2015

The next day looked very promising for some skiing as we had some fresh snow overnight and there was not a lot of wind forecasted. It was Jaap's first day on the skies again and we didn't want to encounter any icy/rocky/heathery areas so we decided to go to ski resort Glenshee. Our luck was with us; once we climbed up our first hill we were able to ski down one of the groomed slopes which was not being used, so we had this run for ourselves! Some someboarders, who were waiting in the long queue to take the towbar, probably noticed our excitement as they followed us climbing our second hill.

Jaap skinning up to the top ©Fenfolio2015

Overnight the thaw set in unfortunately so a lot of snow was lost. Initially we wanted to go for a cross-country tour to Loch Callater but the track had become so icy that we changed our plan and had a walk in the snowless Cambus O'May forest instead.

The Cairngorms on the other hand hadn't lost its snow cover and lots more snow had fallen since that weekend in Braemar. Perfect timing because on the first weekend of February I signed up for a ski mountaineering course organised by the Mountaineering Council for Scotland to refresh my skills.

On Friday the weather was stunning and as I was on my own I went out for a cross-country ski tour around Loch Morlich and Glenmore Forest.

View across Loch Morlich to The Cairngorms ©Fenfolio2015

Line sand shapes along the bank ©Fenfolio2015

Cross-country tour Glenmore ©Fenfolio2015

A perfect winter day ©Fenfolio2015

Following the tracks ©Fenfolio2015

On Saturday I had an early start to be skinned up halfway Cairngorm mountain and meet the group for the course at 9am. After we split into two groups we went up the mountain and learned all about skinning techniques, avalanche awareness, snow quality, navigation and group leadership.

Having a good time on top of Cairngorm mountain ©Fenfolio 2015

On Sunday we went for a tour in the Monadhliath, West of A9, which I had never been before. Our plan was to skin up munro A'Chailleach.

The route we took up and down the mountain ©Fenfolio2015

We had some very fine weather, almost spring-like in the valley.

Taking our bearings ©Fenfolio2015

Making steady progress ©Fenfolio2015

Stunning views ©Fenfolio2015

Approaching the hidden ski hut, purposely built in the early 20's
©Fenfolio 2015

Lunchbreak in the ski hut ©Fenfolio2015

Room with a view ©Fenfolio2015

The ski hut is a wonderful building! ©Fenfolio 2015

More splendid views ©Fenfolio 2015

Only when we were close to the top the weather closed in and the wind was forceful again. Perfect again for putting our navigation skills into practice.

Good practice of navigating in poor visibility © Fenfolio2015

Only then I (or actually the course leader) realised that my Silva Expedition 4 compass was faulty. The black line, which should always stay on the top, was moving along with the dial when I was taking a bearing!

Faulty reading 1 ©Fenfolio2015

Faulty reading 2 ©Fenfolio2015

I'm so glad it happened in a relatively safe environment. The course leader is a volunteer with the mountain rescue team and was shocked to see this could happen. Thanks to her efforts I might get a replacement, even though my compass is out of warranty. Since this all happened I downloaded the app Viewranger on my mobile as my old Garmin GPS doesn't have the option to view a contour map and place a point on it to navigate to. I'll be practising with this together with my new compass so that I get more confident in my navigation skills.

I have learnt so much in these two days and had a great time with like-minded people. If you're a member of MCofS, do consider their courses. They are great value for money!