52-53. Meall Greigh (136), Meall Garbh (35) 22/04/2008

Seeing that the weather was still good and that Uncle Pete had very kindly offered to put me up for the night, I decided to stay in Scotland for a further day after Jo went down south. I was glad to have done so, because after a murky start, the cloud lifted throughout the day, so that by the time I got to the tops they were completely clear. I decided to tackle the two hills on the Lawers ridge that had evaded us on the previous outing. The rough slopes of Meall Greigh were fairly clear of snow, since it is much lower that the others on the ridge, which made for a steady climb. There was then a gradual descent before a steep climb up the much snowier slopes of Meall Garbh. The views of Ben Lawers became more spectacular as I progressed. The wind also became stronger, so that it stung my cheeks on the final slopes. Once at the top, though, I only needed to drop down one or two steps on the leeward side in order to be completely sheltered, which provided a good place to sit and eat lunch. I could see the length of our previous walk, including the face of An Stuc, which had quite rightly deterred us. After this it was but a hop, slip and a jump down the snow slopes back into the corrie, from where I could return to the Lawers hotel for another cup of tea (which is the going rate for using their car park).

Meall Greigh from the west.

The smoky top of Ben Lawers from Mell Greigh

And from Meall Garbh

Me at the summit of Meall Garbh, with the Lawers ridge behind