Winter has arrived in Scotland! Most people loathe it because it can cause major disruption, but I love the snow because I can do my most favourite outdoor activity; skiing! Weeks ago I joined
Edingburgh Ski Touring Club and last weekend it was my first trip with them. We met at
Glenshee Ski Centre with our touring equipment (touring skis and boots, skins, ice axe, map, GPS, hot drink and food etc.). Saturday was a beautiful day with a temperature of about -5 C and hardly any wind. The snow varied from really icy on the South-West facing slopes (there was a massive storm a few days before!) to fluffy powder snow on North-East facing slopes. After we left the ski lifts behind us, a group of 10 people headed for Loch Vrotachan and eventually to Munro
Carn a Gheoidh (975 m). The routes shown below are is a rough line of our actual track. Next time I make sure my GPS will work!
We had stunning views all around us.
After about 5 hours of walking uphill and skiing downhill off-piste, we enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate with cream in the cafe to end our trip. Most people would make their way back home again but two other members and myself booked a nice and neat hostel in Braemar. Our dinner in
The Gathering was excellent and well-deserved after our physical endurance.
The next morning it was unfortunately +3 C, but it didn't disencourage us to plan for another trip. We checked the slopes from a few spots in Glen Clunie and heather was mainly what we saw on low level so we decided to go back to Glenshee carpark. It was already very busy with many downhill skiers so that was a good sign that there was still enough snow.
We made our way along the towbars and then headed to the fishing hut at the bottom of Loch Vrotachan.
The wind had picked up and even though the temperature was higher than yesterday, the chill factor was certainly there. The shelter from this building was very welcome to refuel our bodies. There was unfortunately not enough time for us to explore the area towards An Socach but the season has just started and in a few weeks time the days will get longer again. I can't wait to go out on my skis again....
