Creag  a’ Chalamain and Garbh Coire

Ewen writes:

A party of eight folk from the IMC assembled at the Sugarbowl carpark on the road up to Cairngorm.  No car parking fee to be paid this time, and we all set off along the well-made Chalamain Gap path.  When we got to the Gap the team split up, with Arthur heading off to the Garbh Coire.

It was very windy at high level, so rather than going up Lurcher’s Crag – the original intention – the rest set off up Creag a’Chalamain.  Great views of the Cairngorms, and more than windy enough to justify steering clear of the big hills, which were mainly clagged in.

After a leisurely lunch in the lee of the top we continued to Castle Hill and met a herd of reindeer, descending via an impressive meltwater channel to skirt Airgiod-meall and drop down to Utsi’s hut; it was Utsi who brought the reindeer to the Cairngorms from Finland in 1950, and his hut was reputedly built from the packing cases that the reindeer arrived in.

After a leisurely second lunch, we followed the forestry track to the ski road and returned to the Sugarbowl.  Not the high level day out that we hoped for, but well suited to the weather conditions; the round of the Northern Corries will keep for another day.  We finished the day off sociably in the café at Tiso’s in Aviemore.

Arthur writes:

I had it in mind for some time to head into Garbh Coire between  Braeriach and Cairn Toul to visit the Garbh Coire refuge. The refuge was rebuilt by the MBA in 2018 as an emergency shelter rather than a bothy for planned overnight stays.  The refuge is not marked on current OS maps.

Before parting company with the rest of the group, we had been passed by a man moving at speed, carrying one of the biggest (and presumably heavy) rucksacks that I had seen in a long time.  I assume it was heavy, because I managed to catch up with him as we approached the high point of the Lairig Ghru at the Pools of Dee. But I didn’t get a chance to ask if he was training for something or was simply a masochistic backpacker because he took off running as the path started downhill again and he disappeared into the distance.

I had been sheltered from the gusting westerly wind in the Lairig Ghru, but as I turned westwards into Garbh Coire, the wind picked up, cloud lowered and it started to rain. So I was quite pleased to spot the refuge on the bank of the Alt Gharbh-Choire and take advantage of its shelter till the squall blew over.

By the time I reached the Chalamain Gap on the way back, I didn’t fancy boulder hopping with tired legs, so by passed it via Creag a’ Chalamain.  The well made path back to the Sugarbowl was greatly appreciated.

Postcript:   I did not go into Garbh Coire Mor to look at the Sphinx snow patch which until recently, usually survived through to the next winter. Ian Cameron, an expert on Scottish snow patches, reports that by the following Friday the snow patch had melted. For four of the last six years, no snow has survived in Scotland from one winter to the next.

Taking Part: Cerian, Michael, Richard, Paul, Arthur, Ewen, Rob and guest Susan.

Words: Ewen and Arthur

Photos: Cerian, Michael and Arthur