Sunlight in Coire Ardair

A cold northern wind blowing at almost gale-force pushed me in an ungainly fashion along the long ridge that runs to the north of Coire Ardair. Earlier on I had been surrounded by a swirling mist that threatened to cut off all views of this spectacular mountain. Now though, with the day advancing, the wind was blowing back the cloud and the sunshine was free to stream down past the high cliffs to dapple the floor of the coire and its dark loch. I stood on the very edge of the precipice, looking down into the coire which I would pass through later in the day. The wind carried faint snatches of stags bellowing far below.

The Scottish mountains in Autumn are just brilliant. This photo was taken during a round of Creag Meagaidh, a sprawling mountain massif that sits to the north of Loch Laggan a few miles east of Spean Bridge. There are three Munros that can be linked with a circuit around the spectacular Coire Ardair, a place famed in Britain for its winter climbing on the cliffs at the eastern end.