The Cairngorms in winter, Scotland's Arctic Tundra
A high-lying, exposed plateau and harsh weather patterns create climatic conditions in the Cairngorms more akin to those found above the Arctic Circle than what you typically find on these isles.
Spurred on by tales of Nan Shepherd and Nick Hunt, I wander beneath blue skies into a snowless but frostbitten Lairig Ghru — the most well renowned mountain pass in Scotland. Snow adorns the mountain summits but I walk alongside greenery and clamber over boulder fields slick with ice, not softened by powder.
Rounding the subtle bend by the Pools of Dee, I glimpse a cloud inversion that stretches far into the distant valley. Far beyond what I can see. Giddy, I run ahead to reveal more of the view, then pause to appreciate the good fortune of this unexpected scenery. My shelter for the night lies somewhere in that blanket of cloud.
Continuing down into the valley feels like a threshold crossed. Once within the cloud, thick fog replaces blue skies. The surrounding mountains become featureless silhouettes, fading in and out of view. Mountains runoffs are frozen solid and I skate — with little grace — as much as I walk. Hoar frost coats all, sapping the world of colour. I pause for a drink and find the rim of my bottle frozen, run my hand through my hair to find my fringe has iced over.
Reaching Corrour Bothy around nightfall is a relief. Stone walls, a fireplace, and animated conversation with the other inhabitants help to shake off the liminality of the previous hour. We bond over prior adventures and those we still plan to do, then settle in for an early night.
By morning, the cloud has lifted and I am privileged enough to witness a frosted Lairig Ghru glisten beneath the sunrise. Seven hours later, I warm myself by a pub fire and toast that privilege.
I had come in search of snow but instead was gifted an icy dream. The sky remained almost permanently clear across my time in and around the Cairngorms, and the sun’s rise and fall each day was truly stunning to behold. What a spectacular, fortuitous few days in Britain’s approximation of an Arctic Tundra.