Tolmount & Tom Buidhe

December 21st, 2009 • Hill walking • Bill

Set off from Slockavullin about 8am to Glendoll via Troon and Kirkcaldy for some family stuff. Arriving in the glen at 11pm at minus 4 and, ignoring the ‘no overnight parking signs’, slept in the car.  There used to be a great wee basic campsite up here, progress has given us some big visitors centres and signs!  The plan was to bag the Tolmount and Tom Buidhe and as many of six tops and one relegated top I’d failed to summit on previous trips stretching back to 1979, as was possible.  Given that I expected a long trek I took my bike for the trail in and out and (hopefully) to cycle about the plateau.

Slept well but the cold made me stay wrapped up until 8.30am and I set off at 9.  The missed 90 minutes of daylight would prove costly later on.  I must work on motivation in the mornings!!   Cycled up Jock’s Road until the end of the forestry then pushed up the mountain track, eventually to Crow Craigies, first top of the day.  The descent before re ascending to the Tolmount was uncycleable due to soft snow. Great. Pushed the bloody bike  up a mountain and can’t use it!   Left the bike next to a prominent rock and climbed the Tolmount, over to Tom Buidhe and back again. Prominent rock wasn’t quite so prominent as I thought but found the bike after not too much hassle.

Skies were blue, sun was shining, views up to the Cairngorms spectacular and 2 munros and one top bagged. So far so good.  Pushed up to the relegated top of Creag Leachdach where I met possibly the rudest person I’ve ever met in the mountains who barked at me “What are you doing here”. Possible he doesn’t like bikes; possibly he’s just a rude twat.  Anyway I did my best to annoy him. Briefly thought of doing a Trotsky on him but I’d left the axe in the car. Next time!  Plateau snow was good and hard most of the time. A few patches meant the front wheel sunk in and I went over the handle bars a few times, but it was good fun. From Leachdach to Fafernie in no time then over the Munro of Cairn Bannoch which I’d done before with Brian but it was too easy to miss.  Cycled to just below the summit cairn then down to two tops of Cairn of Gowal and Craig of Gowal.   By now it was 2 pm and if I wanted to do more I had to get over to the Lochnagar side of the range.

I was 3 tops short of completion  and would no doubt finish in darkness. Cycled off in the direction of Creag and Dubh for no good reason other then it was the best snow to cycle.  I’d been before but went back anyway, which probably wasn’t a good idea because getting back to Cairn Bannoch from there was hard work before a really fast (for me!) cycle to the foot of Carn a Choire Bhoidheach and a push to the summit. Another repeat Munro just because it was en-route to two tops I’d missed, Eagles Rock and Creag a Ghlas-uillt. Now with the sun sinking fast I had one top left, Meal Coire na Saobhaidhe, but that meant getting up and over Lochnagar.

As darkness fell I stopped and ate for the first time and pondered what to do. Thought about leaving the bike and walking by torchlight, but probably would never have found the bike again, so set off back to the car. Found the Glas Allt path easily and biked down bits until it got too steep. Round the head of Lock Muick and pushed up the Coirre Chash path to the path down to Glen Doll – when it all started to go wrong. I couldn’t find the Glen Doll path. I’m pretty sure in daylight this would be easy but I was restricted to the beam of the torch and looking both sides of the wee barn I couldn’t find the way down. Eventually set off over rough ground, eventually reaching the river and the track back. At least that’s the summary, seriously considered sleeping out at one point!  Back at 9pm.

A 12 hour day. 4 Munros, 2 of which were repeats, 7 tops, (2 repeats and 1 just to be sure) 1 relegated top. About 27 miles. If I’d got up earlier I’d have bagged the last top.

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