Ben Macdui

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At 1,309 metres above sea level Ben Macdui is the second highest mountain in the UK and situated in the centre of the Cairngorms it is remote. The Cairngorms National Park contains the largest mountain and arctic area in Britain, is twice as big as the Lake District and boasts 52 summits over 900 metres. My plan was to walk into the Cairngorms, camp overnight among the hills, and climb the mountain the next day. So I set off around 5pm, cycled three miles along a track before leaving my bike. After an hour of evening walking the rain started. It became so heavy that I knew I had to get the tent up straight away.

But I was too slow...water had already leaked across the floor of the tent, my sleeping bag was wet and in my haste I'd snapped a tent pole, making the tent virtually useless. I lay in this tiny damp shelter for about half an hour praying for the rain to storm.

The hammering became a pitter-patter and I unzipped the fly sheet for a look outside. Swarms of midges, millions of the little bastards, were lying in wait. I was smothered in anti-midge spray, which contains lavender, witch hazel and garden herbs, but smells like horrid cough medicine and is the colour of pond water. It didn't work. The only way to get away from the midges is to run. Despite the rain it was perfect conditions for them: low light, damp and grey skies. I packed up hurriedly and walked for another hour. At last I spotted the bothy which I'd spotted on the map. A bothy is a simple mountain hut, no toilet, electricity or water, but shelter from the elements. I stumbled in sopping wet and found four others in there: a priest and his wife and two Scottish lads.

Within minutes the priest had gone to bed and a bottle of rum was passed around the bothy. The hut is positioned under a great Munro called The Devil's Point and was a mere speck in the vast wildernes. Next day I left at 7am for Macdui, but somehow missed the path. I tried to cut back and headed straight up over grass slopes which gave way to boulder fields. This was the most anxious I'd ever been on a mountain. Mist had already surrounded me blotting out the way ahead. The boulders were loose and slippery and I feared the whole lot could give way and come crashing down on me. It was a relief to get off the boulders and on to the mountain plateau. Never have I felt so alone and exposed. An awful black place to be in that weather.

That ordeal survived I made it back to the bothy, three hours later the road and celebrated with a haggis and tattie pie in Braemar.

Now I'm in Inverness and have seven mountains to climb in nine and a half days. A broken spoke and snapped gear cable has slowed my progress though. On Saturday I'll be in Orkney. On Monday I'll have around 10 hours to cycle 90 miles and climb a hill in the Shetlands otherwise I'll miss the ferry.

Oh and I was interviewed on the BBC Hereford & Worcester breakfast show this morning which was fun.

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Comments

[Tom and Dan]

jonny and bon jovi
the highest mountain in Europe is Mount Elbrus in Southern Russia now not Mount Blanc. I reckon we should crack over and give it a go next spring as a warm up for keighley to katmandu. See you in scotland later this week! p.s. dan says you look like you should be in bon jovi