Cairngorm weekend, 24th-25th May. Day one, Loch Avon via Carn Etchachan.

Day one of our visit to the Cairngorms, and myself, Gordon and Stevie left the Ski Centre car park about 9am and headed for the Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda (The Fiacaill Ridge). As we had two days, with a night in the Glenmore Youth Hostel, we intended on making at least one long day as we wouldn't have to make the long drive back to Edinburgh.

Stevie and Gordon at the start of the Fiacaill Ridge with Coire an t-Sneachda on the left (with a touch of snow left in the Fiacaill Couloir), and Coire an Lochain to the right.

From the ridge, we could see what looked like a guided party climbing the last of the snow to the left of the Goat Track.

Not much snow left in the gullies now in Sneachda!

At the end of the ridge we stopped for cuppa and looked across the plateau towards the tops of Shelter Stone Crag and Carn Etchachan, over two and a half kilometres away to the south. These would be our next objectives after crossing the plateau and keeping above the remaining snow that lay high above the Avon Slabs at the head of Loch Avon (pronounced A'an).

After crossing the Feith Buidhe high up above the slabs, we got our first view of Loch Avon with Stag Rocks on the left and Beinn Mheadoin at 1182m on the right.

Our second "river crossing" was over the Garbh UisageBeag which also flows down over the Avon slabs and into Loch Avon. To the left of the picture is Hell's Lum Crag ('Lum' being the Scots word for chimney), which takes it's name from the huge gully into it's left hand side (as attempted by Dave Macleod).

As we walked along the tops of the crags, the views were impressive, especially looking down into Pinnacle Gully with it's distinctive Forefinger Pinnacle rising up near the top. The gully is a grade I winter climb and one for the future I think, eh Stevie?

Me at the top of Castlegates Gully, also a grade I winter climb, with Loch Avon behind.

Gordon and Stevie, trying to out pose me above Castlegates.

After crossing the tops of the crags, we followed the cliff edges to head south to the "top", Carn Etchachan at 1120m. Looking east over it's crags and gullies we could see some remaining snow with interesting but dangerous formations.

Looking down onto Loch Etchachan as we headed for the 1117m spot, and then south east over easier ground to avoid the crags to pick up the descent path from Ben Macdui and the outflow point of the Loch (top left of picture). From there we went north west to drop down to the Shelter Stone at the head of Loch Avon.

On the way down to the head of the Loch, we passed the bottom of Castlegates Gully which marks the left hand edge of the huge Shelter Stone Crag.

From the Shelter Stone area, we made a remarkably easy crossing of the river and turned north east to follow the rising path up to Coire Raibert. On the way we passed the small sandy beach we saw from the top of Shelter Stone Crag to the left of the picture, with Castlegates Gully on it's left and Pinnacle Gully just visible on it's right. To the right of that, is Garbh Uisage Crag and the the Avon Slabs below the snow.

Stevie climbing the steep (but better than the Coire Domhain route?) path up Coire Raibert to gain the plateau once more and the 1141m point, form where our final ascent of the day would take us to Cairn Gorm at 1245m.

As we reached the Cairn Gorm summit, the weather changed giving us no final views for the day, although the sudden movement of the automated "dustbin lid" on the roof of the weather station gave brief entertainment. From here it was down past the ridiculous cairns and over the tourist steps to the Ptarmigan, then follow the main track back to the Ski Centre car park to complete over 16 miles of fantastic walking!