The Walk of Shame!
16th January 2017
Lovely mild spring conditions today, albeit a bit drizzly with hill mist enveloping the summits now and again. The snowpack is very depleted and there are many bare hillsides – one could walk from Kinlochewe to the Beinn Eighe summit of Creag Dhubh (904m) without touching a single crystal of snow!
I timed my arrival on the summit of Creag Dhubh perfectly, just as a bright spell materialised. One of my skiing goals is to descend the eastern slope below the ridge between Creag Dhubh and Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe (963m) – the big white slope mid photo below), very skiable at a pleasant 35 – 40 degrees and a 450 metres descent. Today it was in good condition. But no skis! Second best, thought I, a sitting glissade (aka bumslide). Everything going to plan until half way I launched off a ‘hump’ in the snow. Landed it perfectly and carried on to stop a few hundred feet lower. I turned to admire the run and there half way up the slope is a familiar looking shovel handle, lying just below the hump – ‘The Long Walk of Shame’ Yet again, I should have known better.
Creag Dhubh, Beinn Eighe. The most extensive area of snow left in the Torridon hills.
Bare ridge leading to the summit and a cheery group of walkers.
Main ridge of Beinn Eighe and the starting point of the glissade.
Cloud base low in the glen and Kinlochewe.
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tom
17th January 2017 7:56 pm
Could you please return the snow before Feb 12th please.
And thank you for your blog.
torridonadmin
20th January 2017 4:12 pm
OK Tom, I’ll see what I can do!