By: Blonde Two
I had my sights set on a couple of Munros while Mr B2 and I were up in Scotland, but in the end poor weather and the fact that we spent so much time exploring the whisky smuggling glens and tracks of the Glenlivet Estate, meant that we had to satisfy ourselves with just one (very enjoyable) Corbett.
Carn Mor means (if I have got this right) ‘big pile of stones’ it is indeed a very cairn-shaped hill and has at least one cairn on its flanks. This appears to be a popular hill name and is not to be confused with the Carn Mor that is on the Knoydart peninsula. Standing at 804 metres, this Carn Mor is the 153rd highest Corbett but has the benefit of a trig point and some pretty special views (even in the rain) across towards Lochnagar.
After climbing onto the ridge of the Ladder Hills, fighting off the horizontal rain and negotiating the peat hags, Mr B2 and I were pretty pleased to find ourselves walking up the flank of the hill towards the trig point. We were walking on that wonderful tundra-like surface that seems to characterise the high Cairngorms and it was such easy going that we didn’t really mind the initial false summit.
It was so wet that we didn’t linger long at the trig. I insisted on photos and then we set a bearing and walked down the steeper north side of the hill towards Corrunich. We used a couple of attack points (obvious navigation features) on the way down, as we were walking across springy heather with only sheep tracks. Our first stop was a pool where we finally drank our summit coffee, and then it was on down to a rather lovely cairn where I administered a blister plaster. Scottish Hills always seem to make my boots rub, I think it must be the gradients!
It was a great walk and I would like to go back again and explore the whole Ladder Hills ridge; but then, there is so much of Scotland to explore…
Well really! I do think Mr. B2 might have balanced on one leg on that trig point with an imaginary bow and arrow, just to give the photo more bezazz.