Carn a' Mhaim and Ben Macdui

Ben Macdui is the second highest Munro in Scotland. We picked a day with decent weather to make the climb. We took a route from the south to Carn a' Mhaim. We started at 7:30 am and a short 3 mile bike in saved a boring walk. The ascent was pleasant as the sun rose behind us. Aoum and I both wore our iPods and enjoyed climbing with some tunes. As we got above 700 meters there was a bit of snow and ice on the path but nothing that slowed us down. From Carn a' Mhaim we walked along the ridge towards Ben Macdui. The skies were clear and the views spectacular. Looking across towards Devil's Point and Angel's Peak, Dan pointed out the trail and ascent for that climb. As we began to climb towards Ben Macdui the path became ever icyer and difficult. The top 200 or 300 vertical meters were up a boulder field. The winds had picked up and with 30-35 mph cross winds, going was difficult. Above the boulders was more wind blown, hard packed snow than rock. The top was COLD. Wind chill down to -15 or so. We tucked in behind a cairn and had a quick snack and enjoyed the clear views across the Cairngorm range. We decended down Glen Derry. The route took 8.5 hours.


Loch Etchachan on the descent



Dan approaches the ascent up Ben Macdui



Aoum and Dan on the ridge from Carn a' Mhaim



Yes! View from Carn a' Mhaim.