A great day on the Tarmachan Ridge above Loch Tay today with Billy, Cath, Derek, Duncan, Mary and Sarah from Falkirk High Tops Team. We joined the ridge East of Beinn nan Eachan and walked clockwise in order to ascend rather than descend the steepest section up on to Meall Garbh. We finished on Meall nan Tarmachan before descending it’s South Ridge.
Western slopes were largely scoured and bare, but East and North facing slopes are still holding a lot of snow above 600m. The snow was generally well consolidated and any areas of more recent accumulations encountered were beginning to bond well to the older snow.
The turf on the ridge was frozen hard and any high paths icy; crampons and axe were a definite requirement today. There are still some impressive cornice features and glide cracks around, which would need to be considered in thawing conditions. Just above freezing level at the summits today, with a very light Westerly breeze and no precipitation whilst we were out.
