Sunday 20th May 2018. An ascent of Geal-charn Mor 824m/227m and Creag Ghleannain 599m/30m from Lynwilg, near Aviemore, Highland. 13.1km, with 720m of ascent. 4hrs 0min.

My first Highlands trip of the year, along with BC, DB and RP. We were booked for five nights in an Airbnb house in Kincraig, near Aviemore. It was the perfect position to access the Monadhliath Mountains to the west and Monadh Ruadh (Cairngorms) to the east. The forecast for our first walking day implied high winds and leaden skies, which did not favour an extended hike high on the Cairngorm plateau. As a leg-warmer, I chose a half-day outing up the nearest Corbett to our accommodation. It had the advantage that the gale-force southerly wind would be on our backs for the ascent.

After a false start attempting to park in the Alltnacriche Outdoor Centre (see at https://www.alltnacriche.org.uk/about-3/), we secured a parking space outside the grounds where the public road ended. Here we joined the so-called Burma Road, which winds up steeply through woods alongside the boundary of the centre, on a wide track of crushed red granite. It formed a marked contrast to the local grey volcanic rocks of which these hills are composed. A web-search does not reveal definitively why this route is named after the strategic 1,154km supply route, of WW II fame, linking Burma with south-west China.

As we left the woods the force of the wind hit us, and the good sense of having it on our backs for the ascent became apparent. The track contoured steeply round the south flank of Carn Dearg Mor, reaching its highest point at about 645m above the wide bealach linking Geal-charn Mor with its lower neighbour Geal-charn Beag 742m. We were passed by a mountain-biker as we stopped to read the script on the memorial to Alasdair Polson, head-keeper of the Kinrara Estate, on which these hills are situated.

We left the track to ascend more gently on an eroded path that led south-west to the summit of Geal-charn Mor. We were now pushing against the wind, but made good headway as the incline was not steep. Wobbling over a stile, we reached the broad summit plateau. A trig point enclosed by a wind-shelter marked the highest point. The breadth of the summit plateau, combined with the grey cloud-slab (luckily above us), made for poor views. It was not a place to linger today, so we resolved to have our lunch somewhere less exposed.

We headed down to the Burma Road, sheltering in a small quarry on its side for a bite to eat. While the others rested, I set off to scale Creag Ghleannain, a subsidiary top to the south-east of Geal-charn Mor, which had caught my attention on our ascent. The map showed a path to the connecting bealach, but I found little evidence of it on the ground. I worked my way south through the generally short heather, then east over a minor top to reach the summit cairn. I could see my companions below, now descending on the Burma Road. The summit was very windy, and I had much trouble taking my normal summit photo, with only a selfie-stick making it possible.

I worked my way down, descending east to the gully through which the Allt Dubh burn descends to Strathspey. I forded this with ease, and climbed steeply up the other bank to re-join the Burma Road. A swift descent brought me back to the minibus, where my companions were waiting for my return.