THE Cairngorm Range cannot be recommended as providing any climbing of difficulty such as is provided by the Lochaber mountains on the other end of the Grampian Chain. It is a district for hill-walking and if it is considered as such, it is perfect territory for the climber who can find pleasure in living amongst and walking upon high hills far from all signs and traces of humanity.
The range itself is characterised by the height of its peaks, many of which are over four thousand feet, and by the magnificent valleys which intersect it.. The actual mountains are rounded and covered mainly with grass and scree, but their slopes are usually relieved by huge corries filled with scree, bordered by faces of rotten and tottering rock, and often containing snow throughout the year. The peaks command magnificent views; either to the North or South one of the great valleys of the Dee or Don, which border the Range, will be open to view, ahd from. the bleak hillside they seem very green and inviting. These valleys may be only a few miles distant, but they seem to be completely detached from the world of ridges and rock plateaux of the Cairngorm summits. As one stands in the evening upon Braeriach, for example, the grey slopes below seem to form a hiatus on the far side of which the Don valley appears as a golden-green oasis, bordered and intersected by the dark green bands of Rothiemurchus Forest, against the vague purple background of the Monadliaths. Thc highest hills fall into groups, each group making a fine ridge walk. The three main groups, which can easily be picked out from a map, are Cairn Toul, Angels’ Peak and Braeriach; Ben Macdhui and Cairngorm; and Beinn a Bhuird and Ben Avon. But, as may also be seen from a map, the distances are long and the energy involved in a traverse may be considerable. During the winter months, the peaks become more impressive, and distances even more difficult to cover. I have no experience of winter conditions in the Cairngorms but I gather that there is good snow and ice climbing and that ski running is a fairly popular sport.
From what has been said, the difficulties of the Cairngorms will not appear to be very great; but numerous fatal accidents testify to the care which must be taken by all, whether familiar with the range or not. Accidents normally seem to be due to exhaustion brought about either by the weather, by carrying unsuitable equipment, or by the climber becoming lost. Chances of being rescued, except from Cairngorm itself, or Gem the Lairig Ghru, are negligible. I know of one beginner who, contrary to all advice, attempted to reach the Shelter Stone with unsuitable footwear. ’He arrived back at Aviemore having been without food for thirty-six hours, his. shoes had disintegrated upon a sharp scree slope, his feet were cut and bleeding and he was generally in a state of extreme exhaustion. It had taken him several hours to cover the last few miles. A less hardy individual would probably not have survived at all. The warning at the front of the S.M.C. Guide to the Cairngorms, is, perhaps, slightly exaggerated, but those whose experience is only of English hills would do well to take it seriously.
The most notable of the Cairngorm Valleys are the Lairig Ghru, the Lairig an Laoigh, Glen Feshie, Glen Enich and the Avon Valley, and the first three of these form passes from Braemar to Aviemore. All these Valleys are well worth exploring, but reference can only be made to three of them here.
The Lairig Ghru passes between the highest mountains of the range, and has at its summit the source of the River Dee. Since the Lairig is the shortest route from Braemar to Aviemore, it is normally rather populous, that is to say, on a 6ne day three or four parties may make use of it. Those who have not made the journey usually refer to it as an easy walk, and this attitude is perhaps the reason why I once found three middle-aged ladies stranded at the centre of the pass late one summer’s evening. They spent the night in the Corrour bothie and it is presumed that by some means they managed to complete by far the worst half of the journey the next day. The summit of the pass is extremely rough going, being a wilderness of sharp blocks of rock. The climber passing this spot is well advised to take a catapult if he is proficient with the weapon, for if he sits down at the summit for any length of time he will undoubtedly become aware of a number of innocent-looking ptarmigan perched unconcernedly upon the rocks, depending upon their natural camouflage for protection. They can provide a useful supply of fresh meat.
The Lairig an Laoigh is longer and less imposing than the Lairig Ghru and it is very rarely used. This pass is bordered by Ben MacDhui and Cairngorm on one side and by Ben Avon and Beinn a Bhuird on the other, but the mountains do not crowd in so closely as they do in the Lairig Ghru. The whole pass is wild and desolate and the path cheerfully makes its way through rocks, bogs and long-tufted grass. At its mid point it crosses the Avon Valley and this can involve a cold and unpleasant crossing of the river if there has been much rain. The Lairig an Laoigh can be left at this point and the Avon Valley followed up to the Shelter Stone by Loch Avon or down ’ to civilisation at Cockbridge or Tomintoul. The Shelter Stone is, by the way, a rather crude natural shelter, made reasonably comfortable by its users. The surroundings are very rugged and it is possible that some rock climbing might be had in this district.
The Cairngorms have, in the past, been used for deer and grouse shooting and this fact accounts for the number of deserted keepers’ huts and cottages that are scattered about the Valleys. These huts can be very useful to the climber as bases, and for any protracted tour they provide the only possible accommodation. Apart from the Corrour bothie these shelters are not generally known and a knowledge of which have roofs and which have fuel supplies, and so on, can usually only be gained by word of mouth. This procedure is due to the fact that the shelters are probably privately owned, and the owners might not approve of their public use. I shall therefore only describe the Corrour bothie. It is situated at the foot of the Devil’s Point in the Lairig Ghru, and since it is about a quarter of a mile off the path, the few users of the Lairig pass unnoticed and are not tempted to disturb one’s privacy. The Dee has to be crossed in order to get to the bothie. This can be done by way of stepping stones. by the light-hearted, but the more serious individual is advised to wade – a drier method in the long run. The bothie is a small stone hut which at one time was sparsely furnished, but all the furniture, other than an old table, has been used for firewood; several large boulders and a 5 gallon oil can have apparently proved to be uninflammable. The floor is made of peat which makes a very comfortable surface on which to sleep. Facilities include an axe, some food, candles, matches, wood, and, unfortunately, rats. These rate are very bold creatures, but do not let your companion take this as an excuse for sleeping with the axe beside him, or perhaps you will awake, as I once did, to find him leaning over you with the axe poised. To be awakened in this manner has a very disturbing effect, even though he may protest that there was a rat near your head.
When I first visited the Corrour bothie, the only wood available was a piece of hard red pine knotted and gnarled with age. The axe was blunt and patient effort for about two hours produced scarcely enough fuel to boil a billycan of water to make the inevitable tea. The surroundings are so free from vegetation that I could not understand where even this old piece of pine had been obtained. The day after our efforts with the pine log, my companion and I carried about a hundred-weight of wood between the two of us from Derry Lodge, which is four miles away, involving a tremendous effort at the end of a long day. It was not until after this that we read in the Visitor’s Book that the peat bogs which cover the floor of the Valley are full of old and decaying pine trees. Wood is just outside the front door, but you have to dig for it.
The bothie is well situated from the climber's point of view. In the morning there is an inevitable mist, but if the day is to be fine, the mist will clear suddenly about nine o’clock to reveal an impressive sight. Ben MacDhui and Cairn Toul, high above, are bathed in sunlight that has not yet penetrated to the bottom of the valley. Northwards is the summit of the pass and, beyond, the grey tops of the Monadliaths; while to the South, Glen Tilt falls away into the morning haze. The only disturbing factors in the scene are the harsh cries of the ptarmigan and the cold wind which sends one rapidly back to help cook the breakfast.
Cooking is, of necessity, primitive. My memories are mainly of brose-oatmeal and butter mixed in a plate with boiling water; pea-soup stew, an excuse for mixing everything; blaeberries, picked from the hillside, their fine taste enhanced by the effort necessary to pick them; and, of course, tea, probably without milk or sugar.
The least tangible feature of the Cairngorms is the number of ghosts, spectres and bogies which inhabit the range; a number altogether disproportionate to that possessed by other districts in Scotland. One member of the C.U.M.C. at least has assured me of his personal acquaintance with a witch and one, other unnamed spirit. Perhaps the best-known bogy is the Grey Man of Ben MacDhui. He will follow behind you with long slow footsteps as you trudge down the slopes of-the Ben. I have myself had a feeling of being followed downwards, but being rather sceptical I am inclined to attribute this to the grey mist steadily closing in behind. As for the rest of the stories, the desolation of the long slopes, the eerie cries of the birds and the general background of accidents in past history, probably account for a good deal.
Perhaps I have not succeeded in sketching a picture of the Cairngorms which is particularly attractive to the climber, but, nevertheless, I have been there several times and shall undoubtedly go again. The range has a strong appeal, although as this article shows, one can spend many weeks there with few incidents and no climbing particularly worthy of mention. I have tried to avoid giving descriptions of definite features of the Cairngorms, because of the existence of the excellent Guide issued by the Scottish Mountaineering Club, which deals with every point in great detail, and which, together with the Ordnance Survey Map and the Youth Hostels Handbook, provides all possible information.