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Covid Dreams 13: Tree on a treeless hill
This ‘tree’ caught me by surprise one day as I was climbing from Meall Tionaill to Geal Charn, in the hills between the Bynack Burn and Glen Ey. The hillsides and corries may be shorn of trees by the...
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Covid Dreams 14: Light in Glen Derry
I love the light in this photograph: the clarity of the air, the glow of the sunlit pines; in the distance, the cloud thinning and lifting to reveal a first dusting of snow on the tops, the sun...
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Covid Dreams 15: Glory and madness
It’s hardly seasonal but what the heck. This must be close on 30 years ago but I remember still how blown away we were by the sheer, in your face glory of it all. I don’t recall why we weren’t climbing...
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Covid Dreams 16: Vertical pleasures
Another dip into the past, going back to 1996, when Colin McGregor and I climbed Squareface, the classic V Diff route in the Garbh Choire of Beinn a Bhuird. The angle is deceptive here – it’s always...
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Covid Dreams 17: Where sky and mountains meet
What jumps out first is the cloud-dappled sky… until you realise there’s land where there could be none and there’s a momentary sense of dislocation until you realise it’s not sky, nor even the...
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Covid Dreams 18: Traverse of the Gods
It’s one of the most magnificent panoramas and one of the finest walks in Scotland, from Cairn Toul round to Braeriach. Six kilometres of almost continuous cliff runs between the two summits, broken...
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Covid dreams 19: The carefree days
‘Lithgae’ Jim Wright is caught mid-leap. A hill from the daft days. A hill started by walking away and sneaking round the back. A hill climbed by hiding from the views until the last. If you want to...
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Covid dreams 20: The breathtaking places
There are some places that are simply breathtaking. Loch Avon, in its deep, rocky-sided trench, is one of them. From most approaches it appears suddenly: a jewel in a perfect setting. There are so many...
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Protect NTS ranger and ecology services
This isn’t a usual blogpost. As a consequence of the coronavirus lockdown and lost income, the National Trust for Scotland is looking at making a number of redundancies, including rangers and...
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I’m back and it’s sh*t… and glorious
Looking along the ridge of Carn a Mhaim – a feast of false summits but a treat all the way. Way back during the Covid lockdowns this blog was one of the many casualties. The motivation faded and the...
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