twenty one down, 261 to go!

Well, this was quite unexpected!

Now we are fully into the depths of winter, with very short days and horrible weather, I was quite happy to stay well away from the hills. Actually, I would love to be out there in the snow, but I don't feel experienced enough yet, and I'd be worried about my navigation skills (or lack thereof) and the possibility of going wrong. I'm happy to wait, build up my confidence and experience during the summer, and get to winter hills all in good time.

However, when you know someone like Alun, who is extremely experienced in the hills - snow or no snow - and he suggests a day out, well it's hard to say no. Hard not to take advantage of all that experience and enjoy a much more stress-free day out. Because surely that's what it is supposed to be about - enjoying yourself. But I'm not the Anxious Ambler for nothing - I often forget to enjoy myself because I'm so busy worrying about what will go wrong.

It's nice for me to put my faith in someone else and take the chance to enjoy myself a bit more!

So when the forecast for the shortest day of the year was for gale-force winds, snow and freezing temperatures, it was impossible to let this opportunity for fun to slip by...!

It did mean yet another disgustingly early alarm having to be set at a weekend - but of course it was well worth it. I met Alun and Boyd (who was aiming for his 50th Munro!) at Hillend at 7.20am, and we made our way north. This week we were aiming for a hill in Glen Lyon, Meall Buidhe. It wasn't one I had heard of, so I was excited to be led to pastures new.

It almost didn't happen though - once we'd passed Ben Lawers, Meall nan Tarmachan, and the dam, the road got twistier and narrower...and snowier. Soon we came to a stop in front of a packed pile of snow/mud, almost covering the road. Alun debated it, then attacked the pile with an essential winter tool - his ice axe - and then drove through nae bother at all.

When we got to the small parking area where we'd start the walk, it was blowing an absolute hoolie, and the rain was lashing down sideways. Nobody wanted to get out of the warmth of the car - so we put our waterproofs, boots and gaiters on whilst sitting in the car! Quite a skill really, but definitely worth doing as we would have been soaked to the skin stepping out for just a second.

With kit on, we ventured out. It was really dreich, a 'head down grind it out' kind of day. We walked along the track beside Loch an Daimh, and kept going past the path that headed up. Alun had planned a circular route - walking slightly further out on the track, then up, and back down the regular path. This turned out to be a great route with no repetition, which is always nice!

There were deer a-plenty to be seen, which does always feel like a treat. It's always so good to escape into the hills.

When we reached the start of our 'up', it looked very intimidating. Steep, a slog, and clearly snowing further up. With gritted teeth we set off, with the wind whistling from our left. It was absolutely wild; slowly but surely we made progress. We stopped regularly, for short breaks, and that really helped with the up.

Boyd & I (Alun's photo)

(Alun's photo)

(Alun's photo)

It was very slippy underfoot, and so I was grateful to have both poles. I don't use them very often, and if I do I usually only take one but two were much needed on this day.

As challenging as this was, I did quite enjoy it. Maybe I'd learnt a few lessons from December 1st's two Munros about not anticipating anything too early. Today felt different - I really didn't know what was ahead and was basically just following Alun! There was no point thinking about the summit or the end point, because I had no clue when they'd come!

And as we took it gradually, the progress was obvious. A short, steep pull up, then we were into more snowy territory. Sadly I don't have too many photos; my phone tucked safely into my pocket to keep it dry. Most of these photos are Alun's, who has a waterproof camera - that's the way to do it!

It was quite exciting to reach the snow actually! It made for very pleasant walking, with only a wee bit of taking care, and a few knee-sinkingly deep parts!

Then we got a cairn at 824m, where this photo was taken (there had been a few bad jokes regarding poles prior to the walk, so they featured in many of the photos!)

(Alun's photo)

Shortly after this photo was taken, once we'd dipped down slightly for shelter, the most amazing thing happened. The cloud suddenly shifted, the sun came out, and we were rewarded with stunning views. I couldn't believe our luck! Especially after a brilliant day a few weeks ago when Alun and I had been very lucky with the weather.

(Alun's photo)

(Alun's photo)

(Alun's photo)

I love these next shots Alun took of Boyd and I battling on through the snow...they really do sum up the day!

(Alun's photo)

(Alun's photo)

(Alun's photo)

Once we started getting closer to the summit itself, the weather took another really wild turn. It got so windy again, and the snow/rain/hail was battering down. We put our heads down, and the summit arrived quickly enough - although standing up proved to be difficult!

My 21st Munro and Boyd's 50th Munro! (Alun's photo)

An attempted star jump in 33mph winds! (Alun's photo)

Number 21! (Alun's photo)

The summit was truly exhilarating. Alun measured a wind speed of over 30mph (although it felt like more!), a temperature of zero degrees, and a wind chill factor of minus 10! Despite this, I have to say, for much of the day already before the summit I'd been thinking that this had to be one of the most enjoyable days I'd had on a Munro. The wild summit confirmed this!

We didn't spend too long at the summit, but it was a great moment to bag Munro number 21, Meall Buidhe, and for Boyd to bag Munro number 50!

We walked along the ridge initially, and this was one of the hardest parts of the day in terms of the conditions.Thankfully we began to descend fairly quickly, and thankfully this wasn't quite the brutal descent of a few weeks ago. It was slippy though, and there were a few falls!

(Alun's photo)

We were back to the car at 3pm, having left at 10.30am. I was soaked through my waterproofs (wardrobe malfunction?) and rather chilly, although delighted and feeling very happy at having had such a great day!

As we drove away, there were stags everywhere! It was amazing.

(Alun's photo)

This stag has a story!

A scenic drive took us through Fortingall, and onto Aberfeldy, where we stumbled upon delicious chips and curry sauce. We were back to Hillend for half past 6, and I eventually got home after a rather treacherous, snowy wet drive down the A7! I didn't feel too tired, and in contrast to the first of December, didn't suffer at all in the days that followed.

I know this is mostly down to the fact that this is a shorter hill (we did around 6 miles) and that we started much higher up, but I also think that psychologically I was in a much better place as I tackled this hill. I'd learnt lessons from my 19th and 20th Munros (and all the ones that came before that!) and I hope I can keep this momentum going into my Munros of 2014.

Thank you to Boyd and Alun for their company, and for making it a stress and hassle-free day, and in fact one of the most enjoyable and memorable hills I'd done. What a way to spend the shortest day of the year! My 21st on the 21st. It makes me so excited for the challenges that do await in 2014 - I'll be turning 28 in April and so there surely has to be a plan for my 28th on my 28th....

As I'm looking ahead, and as it is Christmas Eve, I'd like to take the chance to thank all of my blog readers, old and new! I've had some great feedback this year, which is so appreciated. Sometimes the posts take a long time to write, but if I'm writing a blog post it means I have achieved another goal - and that can only be a good thing!

I don't want to get too reflective yet as I do have my '2013 round-up' post to come, but I would like to say thank you to those who read my blog, to my friends and family for their support of my blog on Facebook, and to my Twitter followers - most of you are strangers who feel like friends because you are so kind. Thank you to you all, and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!