An Easy Beginner's Munro - Sgor Gaoith
A family trip to The Wild’s near Aviemore turned out to be the very start of my Munro Bagging adventures. Find out exactly what made me start this epic journey on my first adventure in the Cairngorms.
Building up to Nevis
Having been fairly fit as a teenager, playing hockey at district level and cycling in the Prologue of the Pru Tour back in 1998, I felt that I should have some sort of underlying fitness to help me up the mountains. However, sitting behind a desk for the past 20 years has decreased my fitness and increased my waistline significantly. In fact, the last time I went to a gym properly was before we had kids!
Combine this with my diagnosis of HNPP, I honestly felt my dreams of climbing any type of hill were over. I remember being told by my neurologist that unless I wanted to end up with fused joints like my father, I should limit my steps to 5k a day. I stuck with this advice for a year or so, but after helping my son’s football team and literally not being able to kick a ball due to my drop foot, I knew I had to find something I could do.
Early in 2024 my work organised a climb up Ben Nevis for Macmillan Cancer Research. A definite challenge both physically and mentally for me, this was something I could aim for and be proud. I mean, is it not on every Scotsman’s bucket list to climb Ben Nevis? As such, I thought it would be best to get in some actual training to conquer this challenge. Having summited Ben Ledi, (not a Munro, but quite a steep climb in parts) I felt confident enough to take on an actual Munro.
A week’s getaway to The Wild’s near Aviemore presented me with the perfect opportunity to bag my first Munro. I had scouted around online to find the closest Munro to our location in Insh, and marked out Sgor Gaoith as a relatively easy Munro to do in a day. To join me on my first adventure up a mountain was PE Teacher and Munro Veteran, Andy Baird – the only man I’ve met so far that’s climbed the inaccessible pinnacle on Skye (something that I may keep for the very end…if I ever get there).
The Route and Gear
Starting off from the first car park on your left, as you head South past the gliding club along Achlean Road, we chose to follow the route as marked out on the Walk Highlands website. Ben Ledi was up and back down using the same route, so we thought it best to do the same, rather than do the loop that involved a bit of a steep section I wasn’t quite ready for. All in, the route would be longer than Ben Ledi, but shorter than what Ben Nevis would be, an ideal beginner Munro to build from.
In terms of gear, it was my first outing for my Jack Wolfskin walking shoes, however I stupidly chose a black breathable t-shirt: the wrong choice when the weather was so warm, but in truth it was the only T-shirt that comfortably covered by my ever expanding dad-bod. It was also the first outing for my Amazon special hydration pack. Packed with a two-litre bladder of water and my sandwiches, I also took some energy gels just in case, along with a spare bottle of water tucked in the front of my pack.
The Ascent
The walk from the car park was a nice stroll through the forest, becoming a single track that hugged the side of the mountain on a fairly steep incline. We stopped at the top of the first mini peak to enjoy the views, before both removing an outer layer of clothing, which I struggled to pack into the hydration pack.
Once out of the trees, we could see the path in front of us, winding it’s way towards the plateau. Had there been any recent rain, then this section could have been pretty boggy, but it was pretty dry and we managed to skip over the burns and streams that crossed the path.
As we gained height and got closer to the plateau, the flora and fauna became more sparse, with the granite features of the mountain becoming more and more prominent. This part was a bit of a slog, and we both stopped at the cairn about two thirds of the way up for a quick breather and to fly the drone.
As we reached the plateau, we could finally see the summit in front of us. It was like someone gave me a fresh set of legs. At last, my goal was in-sight and my mind-set totally switched. I forgot about the long slog up and was almost skipping along the well-trodden and very clear path that led up to my first Munro!
The Summit
The final push to the summit was pretty easy compared to Ben Ledi: no great climbs, but fantastic views down to Loch Einich. The sheer drop was impressive, and neither of us had the nerve to go right out onto one of the overhangs for a cool pic.
Suffice to say, I took my first ever summit selfie, and we sat down to lunch after I flew the drone about for some epic 360 shots. I didn’t think I’d eat all of my lunch – maybe just one of the two rolls – but as soon as I took the lunchbox from my bag, I wolfed everything down. This Munro bagging certainly takes it out of you, and this was a timely reminder to always keep my energy levels up, as I was definitely hungrier than expected.
After spending a good half hour at the summit, and chatting with a nice family and their kids, we set off on the journey back down the mountain. As expected, the descent wasn’t as bad as Ben Ledi, and we only needed to zig-zag once to avoid a slightly boggy section on the way back down into the valley. The grassy slopes were a welcome relief to my knees, which had been pounded by Ben Ledi’s steps a couple of weeks previous. So even although the path back through the forest seemed to take forever, by the time we got back to the car I wasn’t nearly as tired as I had expected.
To end our adventure, we stopped off at Feshiebridge and went for a rather chilly, but utterly refreshing wild swim! I expected to be in agony the next day, but I’m not sure if I was still buzzing, but I felt totally fine! Even if Ben Nevis was just a bit harder than this, I knew I’d be in good shape, and in with a shout of conquering it in 4 weeks time.
For two or three days after the climb I still felt on cloud 9, and couldn’t stop sharing my experience with friends and family. I also couldn’t help thinking that my 12 year old son probably could’ve managed it too…
