UKC

As the title says. Given good conditions how long eewould it take to walk into the cliff. Only have the scotih selective guide and while the discription is ok for the approch it did not give a rough idea of the time it will take. Cheers for replys Russell.

In reply to Russell Lovett:

Don't know off the top of my head, but why not work it out from the map?



(Not being sarky, navigation is important if you are climbing in winter)

Cheers Adam

In reply to Russell Lovett:

Also need to give an idea of fitness maybe. I can remember taking 2hrs+ to reach the coire rim couple years back because of the wind, it can be a wild, exposed walk-in.

In reply to Russell Lovett:

It would depend entirely on conditions, e.g. amount of snow on the path etc. Looking at my photos from last year it took about 2 - 2.25 hours from the car to where we geared up.

HTH
Fiona

In reply to butteredfrog:

Navigating in and out no problem had worked it out at 2.5/3 hours but have never been there before so was just after a rough idea on time and terrain. Seams ok lets just hoe for some decent weather and no thigh deep soft snow or i,ll have to think of a planmB. Any surgestions on what that might be???

In reply to Russell Lovett:

Maybe 3Hr to the foot of the climbs, more if it's heavy going, less for good path conditions and routes on the left.

jk

In reply to Russell Lovett:

Depends how deep the snow is and I'm not joking! The approach can be a nightmare when its badly drifted! In those sort of conditions you often have to be careful your car doesn't get stranded there too!

In good conditions about 2.5 hours to the base of the routes, in poor conditions you'll probably turn around before you get there.

In reply to Russell Lovett: took an hour and a half to the col on Saturday morning another :0 minutes to the rescue box. Walking on my own in ino8s rather than heavy boots. stopping at the col for something to eat and change into my boots.

In reply to Russell Lovett:
The walk-in to Lochnagar from the Glen Muick car-park is my least favourite walk-in of all. For some reason I've had more blisters on that walk-in than on any other. And too much of it is up that crappy bulldozer path of Prince Charles's. And I think it plays a psychological trick on you: because the terrain doesn't change that fast en route, you remember every section of it as briefer than it actually is. And I usually get annoyed if I find myself walking something that I could have cycled. And when I'm walking in to a climb, I'm nearly always in a hurry, and thinking about the climb, not the walk-in... no doubt I should be more zen about this.

Obviously this depends on conditions too, but it's not always impossible, even in winter, to use a mountain-bike for some of this approach. This is especially true late season, when it's snowier up high and less snowy lower down. (In summer conditions, I've cycled, or otherwise moved, a mountain bike right from the top of Lochnagar.) Certainly the first mile across the strath can quite often be cycled. And then up Prince Charles's eco-bulldozer-track (did I mention I hate the bulldozer-tracks on the Balmoral estate?) to the first col, that isn't always snowy either. You might even get somewhere on the way to the second col, though that is less likely to be snow-free, and is rougher. If you're interested in saving some time downhill on the return, it's worth lugging the bike uphill a bit on the outward leg.

And how much time would this save? Piece of string question. Some. Compute walking speed vs cycling speed, factoring in conditions.

Two other approaches-- (1) go via Glas-Allt Shiel, which is absolutely beautiful, but certainly not quicker. (2) Wait till it really snows up, and ski it.

In reply to Russell Lovett:

Unless I'm expecting heavy going conditions underfoot, I allow 2.5hrs to the rescue box in the corrie, then depending on what you intend to climb up to 30mins to the route (on the main cliff).

Timings are probably pretty similar for the southern sector crags, so long as conditions allow you to traverse into them rather than drop into the corrie and back up again...

If theres lots of unconsolidated or crusty snow it'll take a lot, lot longer!

In reply to Russell Lovett:

I'd agree with allowing 2.5hrs to the rescue box in the corrie, when wearing winter boots, if it's blowing a hoolie, add up to half an hour.