Sunday morning in the Pentland Hills - 5th December 2010.

At last we had some decent weather, although time and family was against us getting further north, so myself and Stevie opted for a quick jaunt on the Pentlands. We were the only people in the Flotterstone car park at 0730 in the morning and it was still dark as we left the trees near the rangers hut and made our way up to Turnhouse Hill. As we neared the summit, the sun was rising over the Lammermuirs to the east bringing a little warmth as it was still very cold on the tops. Even walking in the Pentlands can be difficult in winter if you're not prepared!  

From Turnhouse Hill we made our way to Carnethy Hill where after 2 hours (yeah 2 hours!) we stopped for a cup of tea and some happy snaps of Scald Law and East and West Kips in the distance. It was still bitterly cold, so I put on my Montane belay jacket over a Rab shell, over a North Face windstopper fleece and a Smartwool baselayer to keep warm. However we did have great views over to the kips with not a soul in sight, bar for one lone figure on South Black Hill.

It wasn't until we turned and headed back down off Carnethy towards Turnhouse that we passed two guys skinng up on skis, with another heading up from the west. Maybe that's something I should look into for the future as I'm sure that must save time on the descents.

 

The lone ski tourer nearing the summit of Carnethy.

Stevie on his way back up Turnhouse hill from the stile between it and Carnethy.

Looking back at Carnethy from Turnhouse with the morning sun almost on the summit.

Raised footprints near the summit of Turnhouse showing how the wind has been moving the snow around over the past few days.

The hills starting to get busy now with ski tourers, snowboarders and walkers.

Clear blue skies against the trees on the foresummit of Turnhouse Hill.

The final descent down to the car park at the Flotterstone Inn.

Hogmany - Post Holing in the Pentlands.

After two weeks of cold turkey, not the edible kind, I went for a bimble around  Caerketton Crags at a lofty 478m. At the very time I decided to drive up to the  Ski Centre, a minor blizzard started, making the road up inpassable (until they cleared it ten minutes later!). So a steady plod from the Steading Inn car park took me up to the slopes below the crags. Although the pea souper that followed the snow made it impossible to see.

And as with conditions further north, the snow was soft and unconsolidated, with only some small areas of harder snow on any windward slopes.

Not much to look at but it provided a few minutes of loose, snowy scrambling.

Always time for a cuppa and a biscuit though!

Looking across Edinburgh to Aurthurs Seat.

And across to Fife.

Plenty of snow at Hillend Ski Centre with people skiing "off piste" between the gorse bushes!

Unless the weather and snow situation improves over the next few days, if we go out at all it looks like ridges are the safest place to be just now.

Guess where?

With the prospect of snow on the A9 to Aviemore and even greater chance of having to wade into Sneachda, we opted for a shorter day somewhere closer to home? Nothing too challenging or technical but in the unlikely chance of a really cold spell and some freeze thaw cycles, this little gully would be great for messing about in!

This final picture should give it away!

Raichle All Degree Lite GTX

Once again the forecast for the weekend, more so Sunday, is rain, gales and more rain!

Is it me, or does the weather seem to be crap most weekends, at least this year anyway. Still, there's talk from the mountain guide types of colder weather on it's way and hopefully some snow too.

Looking forward to some "free training" at Glenmore Lodge next February, just after my birthday. Take note anybody that knows me, ahem!

Hopefully I'll get out before then to brush up on some grade II stuff and then with a bit of pursausion, we can get some grade III practice with the MIC trainees at Glenmore.

As for this weekend; well unless I bite the bullet and nip up the Pentlands with Lorna to help try out her new boots, it could be an hour or so skiing at Hillend or a trip to EICA at Ratho.

Raichle All Degree Lite GTX's, a bargain at £80 from Peglars! :)

However, they are on older, ie last years model and difficult to find, especially as Marmot has now taken over the company. On the plus side, some Raichle named models of boots are still available from outdoor stores such as Tiso.

More Mont Blanc training, Thursday 6th August 2009

Not much to report, just another four hour bash from Hillend Ski Centre for me and the Gunner, over to Allermuir and beyond (Black Hill) and back. Very hot today and surprisingly hard considering we were on the "easy" side of the Pentlands!!!

It's difficult to put a date as to when this began. It must be five, six maybe seven years ago I started walking in the Pentland Hills, just outside Edinburgh. Someone lent me a copy of the Cicerone Giude to the Pentlands which sparked my interest. I had dabbled with such things as the West Highland Way before, but at the time that was a one off. I suppose the attraction, full time, came after those first few visits to the Pentlands. Only ten minutes or less from the city, yet after only half an hours walking you could be isolated by the hills with not a sign of Edinburgh anywhere! Although certainly not the highest mountains in the world, they do have a couple of cheeky wee climbs, and a full circuit is about fifteen miles covering fourteen tops, which easily makes it a good 7-8 hour day out! Scald law at 579 metres above sea level is the highest of the Pentland Hills and I still "touch" the trig point when I pass it, even though I've been there many times. Although my favourite place are The Kips, East and West, especially West Kip at the dizzy height of 551 metres, with it's little ridge and steep (ish!) sides; a mountain in miniature made even more beautiful with a sprinkling of snow.

Or looking down over The Howe onto Loganlea reservoir (as above), with CastleLaw (centre) and Caerketton way over to the left, you would have no idea Edinburgh was just a stones throw away. I always find it amazing the number of people I speak to who live in Edinburgh and have never set foot in the Pentands, or even know how to get there! Maybe that's their loss, but should you ever need to find peace, solitude and great scenery ten minutes from Edinburgh then take a trip to the Pentland Hills. And hey, it's free and it might just get rid of that beer belly you've been meaning to do something about for years! For more information, check out the Cicerone guide to the Pentlands.