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| The cliffs of Braeriach before the weather turned |
Mark Rigby first ran a round which takes in the 18 Cairngorm Munros, starting and finishing at Loch Morlich Youth Hostel. He adopted a style which I commend, advocating no recceing or support. Much of it is runnable, with extensive plateaux interspersed with steep drop-offs.
My winter round (the first and only successful completion as at 2020) turned out to be
a major epic. I saw no sign of civilisation or people until the ski slopes
at the end and had no tracks to follow for the most part, so it was a
true solo experience. After a brilliant first day of sun on frozen
snow, the night degenerated to freezing rain driven by a 40 mile per
hour wind. I was then soaked, cold and enveloped in a white out for the
next 40 hours. It was a most testing experience, especially during the
second night when I became hopelessly lost and spent 9 hours trudging
through the snow without knowing where I was. Having tested my compass
subsequently, I think the large bubble in my compass caused it to read
incorrectly. In any event, what promised to be a 36 hour challenge
turned into a 54 hour epic.
The Rigby Round takes in all of the 18 Munros of the Northern Cairngorms, but there are 51 listed Munro tops and I attempted a route to link them all. As is the case with most lists, it doesn't make a very good route on the ground and I wouldn't recommend it! My attempt ended with horribly sore feet and failure.
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