Weather/Conditions: A lot of snow, not too cold. Great dusk light, everything turning blue then skies greying over with fading light.
Distance/Ascent/Time: 3.9km / 450m / 1h 20m
Accompanying: Alone

After a good spell of weather over the middle of January, the storms were back, so I headed out to Dumgoyne again for a look. It was a very wintry day, and like last time on Dumgoyne, I was breaking in new boots and working out the best systems for layering clothes. I usually wear too much in winter and end up sweating my b****cks off. It's good to know how little you can get away with when you're moving fast. Among all of this, I forgot the ice axe, which was never needed anyway (powder snow and no ice). You'd assume Dumgoyne doesn't need an axe, but I've previously had to battle to the summit in crampons, on sheet ice, in a raging wind.

The light was superb today and once again, I enjoyed my trip up Dumgoyne completely disproportionately to the size of the walk. That always amazes me - after so many visits to the same hills on the edge of Glasgow, I can still enjoy being among them so much. Some things never change, and it's the inspiration that feeds the fire of motivation.

Since my Munro Round of 2013, I've been so close to mountains mentally that I felt I'd become desensitised to them. I sense things are coming back around. The fire was quenched, but ideas are bubbling back. I'm thinking about new trips, inspired by big mountain ideas. It's good to feel that, especially when you wonder if that fire that lies dormant will even come back.

Anyway, I wandered around the summit of Dumgoyne for a while, having a look at little crags near the top with interesting rock formations. These volcanic plugs are always so interesting geologically, and it's something I've had a further enhanced appreciation of, since taking up rock climbing on the local basalt and dolerite. Dumgoyne, Dunglas, Dumbuck, Slackdhu, Craigmore all have unifying characteristics so it's possible to see elements of one rock type in another - but all the same, they have their own character and therefore style of climbing. It amazes me that a single rock type can come in so many forms.

I digress, again. In the gloom of late evening (which really is just after lunchtime in Scotland in January!) I left the summit and was down within 20 minutes. Unfortunately I can't find the exact time - I'm totally sure I recorded it somewhere, though...

360° Panorama

Dumgoyne