The Apprentice
4/2/2010
On Monday and Tuesday this week I was out with Photo Plus magazine helping to shoot their Apprentice feature, which involved imparting my vast photographic knowledge onto two local photographers keen to improve their skills. Suffice it to say that it didn't take long but hopefully they went away with more than cold feet! So, thank you to Paul and Dave from Photo Plus and to Adrian and Heidi my willing apprentices - if nothing else we enjoyed several very welcome hot chocolates!
On top of the world!
17/11/2009
Perfect conditions for winter walking in the Cairngorm mountains don't
occur that often so last Saturday we grabbed the chance to make the
long walk up onto Briariach. At 1296m, this is the UK's third highest
peak but what makes this peak so special are the spectacular views
across to Ben Macdui (1309m) and Cairn Toul (1291m) and beyond, down
the Lairig Ghru and into Deeside.
The walk is not overly difficult but involves a fair walk in and then a steady pull out of the Lairig Ghru up onto the broad plateau of Sron na Lairige and then a final short climb up to the summit. Things were going pretty well until we made it onto the plateau where upon we were engulfed in thick mist and cloud billowing over from the south side of the hill. Visibility was poor, navigation potentially hazardous and the prospect of a decent view minimal. But we decided to crack on for a further 15 minutes and re-assess the situation. By now we were only maybe 30 minutes from the top so having found the main path we pushed on with little expectation of seeing much. As we neared the top, blue sky became visible and I could just make out Ben Macdui poking through the mist. Much of the view southwards was still obliterated but gradually the mist began to peel away to reveal the summit peaks of Cairn Toul and The Angel's Peak.
We had already taken longer to reach the top than expected and time was short but I shot continuously for 30 minutes or so in all directions and every few yards as we descended, but with a 3 hour walk ahead of us and no head-torches (big mistake!) I had to reluctantly drag myself away. By 1630, the light was getting gloomy and we still had to negotiate the ice-coated giant boulders of the Chalamain Gap. This was tricky enough in the light on the way up, but in almost complete darkness it was not a pleasant prospect. We reached the gap by 1700, gingerly made it through and trudged the final hour back to the car somewhat relieved. Next time I'll remember the torch!
The walk is not overly difficult but involves a fair walk in and then a steady pull out of the Lairig Ghru up onto the broad plateau of Sron na Lairige and then a final short climb up to the summit. Things were going pretty well until we made it onto the plateau where upon we were engulfed in thick mist and cloud billowing over from the south side of the hill. Visibility was poor, navigation potentially hazardous and the prospect of a decent view minimal. But we decided to crack on for a further 15 minutes and re-assess the situation. By now we were only maybe 30 minutes from the top so having found the main path we pushed on with little expectation of seeing much. As we neared the top, blue sky became visible and I could just make out Ben Macdui poking through the mist. Much of the view southwards was still obliterated but gradually the mist began to peel away to reveal the summit peaks of Cairn Toul and The Angel's Peak.
We had already taken longer to reach the top than expected and time was short but I shot continuously for 30 minutes or so in all directions and every few yards as we descended, but with a 3 hour walk ahead of us and no head-torches (big mistake!) I had to reluctantly drag myself away. By 1630, the light was getting gloomy and we still had to negotiate the ice-coated giant boulders of the Chalamain Gap. This was tricky enough in the light on the way up, but in almost complete darkness it was not a pleasant prospect. We reached the gap by 1700, gingerly made it through and trudged the final hour back to the car somewhat relieved. Next time I'll remember the torch!
