We spent new year 2010 near Dundonnell with masses of deep soft snow and very cold conditions. Even getting to the hills was quite awkward, with the first new hill of the year (Carn na Dubh Choille, 14B) only being reached with the aid of skis. In fact it turned out to be an excellent winter for ski-touring, one of the best trips being a long route from the top of the Cairnwell pass north over the tops to an eventual descent to Ballochbuie Forest in April - a splendid outing, and interesting that in spite of 28km and over 1100m of climbing, not a single Marilyn was visited. A ski trip up Carn Bhac, with temperatures down to -14C and huge depths of hoar frost, was also quite exceptional. I enjoyed a splendid day on Beinn a'Bheithir in deep snow in March, and later in the month a trip to the Lake District saw the re-ascent of my first Marilyn (Gummer's How, 34D) after a mere 49 years.
Audrey Litterick on Beinn a'Bheithir (photo: Tony Kinghorn)
It was a good year for islands. A trip to the Outer Hebrides in May (still cold, but sunny) was brilliant, with lots of splendid hills and a great day trip to St Kilda courtesy of Seumas Morrison and his boat 'Enchanted Isle'. The stacs were admired from the summit of Conachair (25) and later from the sea. Whilst Stac an Armin looked potentially feasible, Stac Lee emphatically did not!
I also visited Orkney in September for the first time and was most impressed by the beautiful islands and the extensive neolithic remains. A long walk on Hoy was most impressive, even though I was nearly blown off the summit of Cuilags.
The remotest hill of the year (other than Conachair) was An Cruachan (12B) in the wilds above Loch Monar. I visited it with Audrey Litterick in August, a mere 43km round trip from Killilan. The bike was a great help (apart from two punctures) and the summit was impressively wild and remote.
Perhaps the best outing of the year was in September, a brilliant day of sun, cloud and Brocken spectres on the eastern Mamores. No new summits, but an opportunity to revisit some splendid peaks after too long an absence.
Heavy snow in December saw three more fine ski ascents, the last virtually in my back yard on Allermuir Hill. The amount of snow in the Pentlands was quite something, including a scary-looking avalanche tip above the Howden Glen.
I enjoyed many splendid re-ascents - 85 Marilyns in total, only 51 being new. The best of the new hills in 2010 were undoubtedly in the islands. I look forward to going back soon.
Brocken spectre on Na Gruagaichean (photo: Tony Kinghorn)
