Straightforward ascent but challenging weather at the top
I took the Lynwilg turning off the A9 and proceeded up the tarred road to park near the access gates (the pedestrian gate is not locked):
The track proceeded up hill and became fairly steep, but this turned out to be the steepest part of the ascent, with the remaining walk gently ascending all the way. A good sandy track (potentially driveable, but not open to unauthorised vehicles) then took me most of the way (2.5 miles) with a left turning at a cairn for the final mile to the summit.
The path remained fairly well defined with rocks, but became increasingly boggy and snow covered as it ascended. I could see the summit shrouded in cloud one minute and in sunshine the next, so decided to proceed and face whatever weather was thrown at me.
The top was very windy - the Trig point offered slight relief but more importantly an anchor for my sotapole. I only partly raised the pole, not wanting to encourage the wind to topple it, and attached it with bungees.
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I tried self spotting by text message, but the system did not seem to be working (I later realised my SMS has an illegal character that was causing the message to be rejected). I only had a 2G mobile signal but walked round the summit to just about receive a 4G signal long enough to self spot on the website (Vodafone). I managed 5 QSOs on 20m before driving snow forced me to abandon and pack up.
The descent was quick and once back on the sandy track the sun even came out! A reminder that the weather here can be extremely localised and changeable!
Next activation: GM/ES-027-meall-abhuachaille
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