Winters a comin
So i thought it a good time to go and practise a bit of navigation.
I really enjoy a good night nav, real micro navigation in the pitch black is thee way to get your nav skills sharp.
and for a blind old bugger like me it crucial to practise it.
We left the car before 5am and stumbled about in the blackness
untill we were on the Killer stairs of leg Death.
Climbing up the giant staircase of liatach in the pitch black was trully awesome and i was surprised about the legs they were still alive, well on to the ridge
Stags roared all around us
Mhairi was convinced they were right behind her.
They were i think too but thought it best to say nothing and keep walking
If you have never experienced a night walk in the highlands, you dont know what your missing.
The silence of the dark encompasses all and the low light plays tricks on the eyes and the mind
yes i know im a bit blind anyway and no we werent pissed. checking our compass bearing again and again, i was sure we should be at the waterfall
Somehow we werent on the path anymore and i thought "shit stumbled off it again" but 5 mins later ahaa "a waterfall"
Its so very easy when the path turns to rock slabs to wander off course.
Allways remember you are working within a corridor of error its just how wide your corridor is that matters.
The light when we reached the ridge was majical and changed every five seconds,
every time you lifted your head from the path, we found a different jaw droping painting of light and shade and mountains.
Such a fantastic wild landscape.
The sun rise itself was just too good to capture on digital media and if an artist painted the colours we were treated to you wouldnt buy the painting.
You must go and see for your self, see it with your own eye,
you will be rewarded for your efforts
if your lucky.
Were we lucky ? , "hell no" id been watching the charts for weeks, just waiting for the right fri night, chuffed to bits, with not too much puffing and grunting we were on ther ridge.
What a ridge walk it is twisty and thin and if youv done it in winter im jelous "must do in winter me thinks "
Liatach first climbed in 1894
All the cool scramble sections could be avoided if your soft in the head
The pinacles of Am Fasarinen (The Teeth),
can be climbed allmost anywhere with stunning veiws in every direction. big day out though, big walk, big up, big down absolutly knackered by end but smiles all round.
Thought id take some video for change, really should take a tripod though, its a bit shakey in places or mabee it was me with no sleep.
We took seven hours from start to finish
and thats probably a resonable time in the daylight.
One of Scotlands finest hill walks,
and certainly one of the best experiences on a hill ever.
If you havent done it i hope the vid and pics insprire ya to go.
Bring on the winter,
i think me legs are ready, it only took us four days to fully recover from the wee torridonian trail.
LIATACH
'The grey one'.
