Laetitia getting ready at 4.30AM to depart the Creag Meagaidh car park after a short nightΓ’β¬β’s sleep in the back of the car. The snow flurry was a bit of an atmospheric surprise to awake to.
Laetitia's head torch on the long easy approach up Coire Ardair.
The dawn reveals Creag Meagaidh from the dark as we approach up Coire Ardair.
Laetitia at one of the belays
Tackling the crux of the Pumpkin's 1st pitch, a short ice bulge.
Pete on the start of the 4th pitch of the Pumpkin
The view down Coire Ardair from the top of the 4th pitch of the Pumpkin. A frozen Loch Laggan is visible in the distance, and we could just see Ardverikie House on the far shore.
Laetitia sorting our gear on the summit of Creag Meagaidh
The upper Coire Ardair of Creag Meagaidh, the line of the Pumpkin is the major iced corner to the left.
The carved stones recalling Sorley MacLean's poem The Tree of Strings.
It’s a long way to the West Highlands, even from the Lakes. However, with such a great weather forecast and the recent days of cold weather the conditions looked awesome, so the long drive and not inconsiderable fuel costs was well worth considering. But we wanted to go somewhere new to us – Creag Meagaidh was selected! Next was the choice of which route… I fancied the crag’s classic The Pumpkin. The only problem would be crowds. With such favourable conditions it seemed a certainty that the cliff would be beset by climbers from all over the UK. Our answer to this likelihood was to drive to the Creag Meagaidh Nature Reserve car park on Friday night and doss in the car for a few hours to allow a stupid-o’clock start to be made! (Although we lost 30 minutes waiting for our water to boil for our breakfast cup of tea and porridge. Note to self, must remember a fresh gas canister, cooking is so slow in the cold when running out.)
The pictures and captions below tell the story of the day – an absolutely fantastic route! :star: However, as the guidebook says, for a competent team the route does seem straight forward for the grade. π
Laetitia getting ready at 4.30AM to depart the Creag Meagaidh car park after a short night’s sleep in the back of the car. The snow flurry was a bit of an atmospheric surprise to awake to.Laetitia’s head torch on the long easy approach up Coire ArdairThe dawn reveals Creag Meagaidh from the dark as we approach up Coire ArdairTackling the crux of the Pumpkin’s 1st pitch, a short ice bulge.Laetitia at one of the belaysPete on the start of the 4th pitch of the PumpkinThe view down Coire Ardair from the top of the 4th pitch of the Pumpkin. A frozen Loch Laggan is visible in the distance, and we could just see Ardverikie House on the far shore.Laetitia sorting our gear on the summit of Creag MeagaidhThe upper Coire Ardair of Creag Meagaidh, the line of the Pumpkin is the major iced corner to the left.
Being amongst the first to the cliff in the wee-early-hours we had plenty of time to saunter back down to the car park in the afternoon. This was welcome though, enjoying the amazing views and nursing the wicked blister I’d developed on my left heel. π³
Back near the nature reserve car park we noticed an interesting display of carved stones set in to the banking next to the nature trail path. A little Googling back at home revealed the details…
I saw – the tree rising – in its branches – the jewelled music… Sorley MacLean – Tree of Strings (full poem)
The carved stones recalling Sorley MacLean’s poem the Tree of Strings
Geo Tagged Photos…
Here’s where these photographs were taken!
7 thoughts on “The Pumpkin, Creag Meagaidh”
Looks fab. Although was Tish really sorting her gear out on the summit; it looks like she threw all her toys out of the pram…
lol – it does look a bit of a mess, but I only just had enough room in my bag if I packed it just so, and that meant everything had to come out. π π π
WOW – great photos. The one of you leading could be sold to a climbing magazine π – but I guess it is just a fake one you sneaked in there to impress us.
Looks fab. Although was Tish really sorting her gear out on the summit; it looks like she threw all her toys out of the pram…
lol – it does look a bit of a mess, but I only just had enough room in my bag if I packed it just so, and that meant everything had to come out. π π π
Good effort but, yeah, bit of soft touch – until something goes wrong β
but amazed Tish could get up so early π
Yeah, tell me about it, Tish really struggled to get up so early while I was wide awake! π
So, go on then, there’s obviously a tale to tell about things going wrong here…
What!?!?!?!
Like you’re the one who always gets up early. β β β β
Such cheek. :sarcy:
I am sooooooo Jealous, looks really amazing :star: :star: :star:
It must have been pretty heaving at the weekend though, almost every climber that I know except for me was out π
I just hope the good weather and conditions continue…
WOW – great photos. The one of you leading could be sold to a climbing magazine π – but I guess it is just a fake one you sneaked in there to impress us.