Big mountain challenges offer entertaining routes in some of our most spectacular landscapes. Vivienne Crow is your guide to these epics, from classic Munro rounds to lesser-trodden undertakings
IT’S THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER. Hill fitness and stamina have been building over the past few months. If you’ve been thinking about committing to one of Britain’s big mountain challenges, now’s the time to do it.
Do you want to pick your way along rocky, vertiginous ridges surrounded by some of our most magnificent mountain scenery? Or do you want to stride out across vast, open moorland under big, big skies? Something in between perhaps? Are you ready for roller-coaster rides, sapping energy and punishing joints? Then there’s the question of whether to go fast and light – attempting routes such as the Lakeland and Welsh 3000s within the 24-hour gauntlet thrown down by those who originally dreamed up these gruelling tests of strength, fitness and mental resilience – or to wild camp, allowing you more time to savour your surroundings and eliminate the need for night hiking. And what about the weather… Do you wait for the perfect window to maximise your chances of success – an absolute essential on the Cuillin traverse – or do you just go for it anyway?
Whichever options you choose – and whether or not you succeed – you’re guaranteed a mountain experience you’ll never forget.
Cairngorms 4000s
START/FINISH: Cairn Gorm Ski Centre car park Distance: 36km/22.4 miles Total ascent: 2450m/8036ft Approximate time: 12-16 hours What to expect: a long, but non-technical route over high mountains that are vulnerable to extreme weather and require excellent navigational skills
The UK is home to nine mountains that reach the magical 4000ft mark, and five of these are in the Cairngorms: Cairn Gorm, Ben Macdui, Cairn Toul, Sgor an Lochain Uaine (Angel’s Peak) and Braeriach. A circuit of these fine tops provides a unique experience; there’s nowhere else in the UK where you can stay as high for as long. There aren’t many places, either, that are this remote, although we’ll come back to the question of the place that is furthest from a surfaced road later…
If time’s not pressing, the Cairngorms 4000s can be started from the Linn of Dee, to the south-east of the group, but most start from the north: either from the unobtrusive, out-of-the-way parking area at Whitewell near Inverdruie or from the busy, in-your-face car park at the Cairn Gorm Ski Centre. Despite having to start amongst the garish paraphernalia of the ski centre, the latter is the shortest and easiest route, and the one featured h
