By: Blonde One

 

Mountains are definitely not just for climbing up, to touch the summit and then come back down again. On just one day during my visit up a Scottish mountain there was a lot going on. It was so great to see so many people, of all ages, enjoying the Get Outside feeling.

There was a young couple who clambered halfway up the mountain with their young dog, with the aim of just playing.

There was a group on a ski tour who I think were a mix of experienced and novice skiers. They overtook us on the way up, took the long way round, and summitted at about the same time as us. Their ascent and descent looked so much fun, I definitely want to have a go.

On our way down we saw a pair of slightly older ladies who were practising their skiing. It has to be said that they were a million times better than I would be!

Wildlife spotting is quite a good game on a mountain too, believe it or not. There is usually deer and stags to be seen somewhere around. If you are lucky you will see the odd mountain hare. I was lucky enough to see one but not lucky enough to get a picture as it whizzed past us. There were plenty of grouse to be seen. Luckily for them it’s not shooting season!

As well as all this going on, my companions and I inadvertently invented a new mountain game: mountain pooh sticks! It goes like this … stop to have a quick break, eat sandwiches out of a plastic bag, get wind to catch plastic bag and watch it get carried down the hill. At the same time you should get out your water bottle, drop it and watch it roll down after the sandwich in the bag! We found that the sandwich got further down the hill than the bottle! Don’t worry, we didn’t leave them to be discovered when the snow melted, we gathered them up and took them home.