{"id":575,"date":"2011-03-11T09:08:40","date_gmt":"2011-03-11T09:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/?p=575"},"modified":"2018-09-09T19:01:09","modified_gmt":"2018-09-09T19:01:09","slug":"mountaineering-scotland-munro-mamores-20110311","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/?p=575","title":{"rendered":"Deep snow in the Mamores & knowing when to turn back."},"content":{"rendered":"

Loads of snow & tough going in the Mamores (Munros Completed : Am Bodach (48)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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I was able to spend a long weekend up in the Mamores, a range of 10 Munros which can be ascended from Kinlochleven road in the South or Glen Nevis Road in the North. However, the weather was this time against me with a large dump of snow during the previous week and in the 2 days I was there which meant that I was only able to add 1 further summit to the list.<\/p>\n

Am Bodach<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

2011\/Mar\/11 : The weather was very changeable during the drive up from Glasgow airport varying between cloudy with some small sunshine to complete dense cloud with horizontal sleet. By the time I arrived shortly after midday the weather was cloudy but not overcast. The Munro tops were still visible but the high cloud was moving fast indicating the weather could change quickly at any time. I left shortly after 12:30 pm and followed the wide West Highland Way for a short distance until it heads off on a well trodden track. The track is not steep but a gentle plod but because it is so well used has developed into boggy and wet areas in places.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before I reached the snow line where I suddenly lost the track but visibility was still good (although the Munro tops were intermittenly disappearing) and direction obvious. However, at around 2pm, I was hit by a squall of low fast moving dark cloud which poured down a mixture of hail and snow, like millions of tiny polystyrene balls). Thankfully, it was short-lived lasting only for about 10 mins but the cloud base had now moved across the W ridge top of Am Bodach. I realised that I had strayed too fart to the left and traversed right across a burn and re-found the track which could now barely be seen below the snow although there were some faint footprints that could be determined. The snow became quite deep, up to knee deep in places, which made for heavy going but for the most part it was able to support my weight.<\/p>\n