New boots on Cairngorm

Climbed by year and month

Climbed by year and month

Having tried, and remarkably failed to climb Meall a' Bhuachaille the other week, I was ready for some more snowy stomping. In the meantime I'd been to Aviemore on a boot hunt, and failed. A visit to Craigdon Mountain Sports, the only outdoor shop in Sneckie I hadn't been in also failed to provide suitable boots for my feet. However, a chance dropping in on Tiso was successful. I now haz a bright shiny new Pair of La Sportiva Trango Tower boots. Rated B2 they are horribly stiff on paths round the usual dog walk. On snow, they turned out rather fine. Even on a long day with Gina being very slow they kept my feet warm and comfortable. Definitely good snow boots and lighter than my AKU SuperAlp's.

Arriving at the top car park just before 9am we discovered it all ready rammed. Of course, a sunny day at the weekend obviously it's going to be busy. There were attendants directing people to park and they had a line for bigger vehicles, so it actually worked out well for us. Took about half-an-hour to get ready before we actually got out the van. This was the story for the rest of the day.

Over the top of Cairngorm, we headed down to the 1141m top and down Fiacaill a' Choire Chais. I usually come up this way, so it was a novelty to be descending this seemingly steep slope. The snow was soft and didn't warrant crampons. Just dig heels as had many others before us. The day had also rushed a head of us. Gina had slowed considerably, and people overtaking us asked if we were okay. I replied we were just slow. We eventually got back to the car park as dusk was settling in. A long day for a short walk, and we hadn't gone exploring as I had wished. On the other had, my new boots were absolutely brilliant. Never had I had such a comfortable pair of boots in those conditions or so stable a footing. A win.