January 2017 Weekend Meet: Milehouse, near Feshiebridge:

Seven members attended this meet over the weekend of January 14/15 to the Ladies' Scottish MC's cozy cottage at Kincraig on the fringe of the Cairngorms. Heavy snow on the days leading up to the meet had us wondering if we would even manage to reach the venue but the sterling efforts of the gritters ensured that the A9 was clear (mostly) even if the back roads were still a little testing.

However, the weather was benign if not exactly out of the top drawer both days.

Of the party of seven, two skiers enjoyed the low-level snow to explore the tracks and trails and footpaths on Friday and Saturday before leaving the skis behind when a thaw set in to wander up through Rothiemurchas Forest to Glen Einaich on the Sunday.

The others enjoyed a 12 mile tramp on foot round by Feshiebridge before heading south to Insh and back to Milehouse on the Saturday. Early impressions were the hills were ''clagged in'' but we later found that the sun was shining on the Monadh Liath across they way so summits could have been bagged but would surely have been very taxing in the soft snow.

On the Sunday the same five took the Speyside Way to Aviemore for a leisurely ramble.

Not mountaineering for sure but still a good weekend meet.

But will the real winter please stand up!

Picture below was taken by Archie Robertson looking east to Glen Feshie from the Speyside Way. A very wintry scene, the remaining ones from Brian and Malcolm's XC Ski trip on Saturday.