By: Blonde One
Walking up a Scottish mountain can be hard … very hard. It takes a lot of leg muscle, determination and stamina to get to the top. It would be easy, when the wind speed increases to gusts of 20-30mph and the feels like temperature is -22°, to decide to turn around and go back down. Sometimes that is exactly the right decision but on those occasions that you persevere to the top it is often a tough challenge.
Climbing to the 917 metre summit of Geal Charn should have been easy; it had gentle sloping sides, there was only 500 metres climb, there was no need for crampons or ice axes. However the combination of quite strong winds and freezing temperatures made this a ‘big’ day out rather than a gentle hill walking day. Even with all of that combined with the complete lack of visibility at the summit cairn, it was still amazing to bag my first Munro of 2018.
Well done – keep them coming. There are four Geal Charn Munros, but I was able to deduce from the 917m height you gave this is the one overlooking Loch Ericht, usually ascended from Drumochter Pass. I climbed that in more favourable conditions on 19th April 2006 along with A’Mharconaich its southerly neighbouring Munro.
It was indeed that one Conrad. We lost the view at the top but it was a great walk.
Brrrrrrrr! What a lovely adventure!