Ben Alder is a vast mountain; its high plateau remote, aloof, commanding a position in the heart of the Central Highlands.  Far from any road potential suitors must to commit to long approaches from Dhalwhinnie or Corrour just to get to the base of the mountains ridges and faces. In winter the mountain marshals short days and deep snow into its defensive vanguard each kilometre giving additional protection not given away easily, and for one of the finest mountains in Scotland it should always be this way.

It’s the middle of February and for Dom and I the only hope of completing an accent in a single day was to make use of mountain bike and cycle as far as Culra bothy (currently closed after an asbestos survey) which is reachable after a trip of some 15km on landcover tracks. Leaving the bikes here we hoped to climb one of the ridges that radiate out from the western edge of the plateau before returning to the bikes by the other. The ridges known as the Long and Short Leachas these are rumoured to give a good grade 1 expedition in winter although few appear to put in the effort to approach.

Under a full cover of snow anything short of a fat bike would probably be defeated but fortunately we have caught the weather at just the right time, a slight thaw has stripped the snow from below about 550m and most of the approach is clear although a hard frost has left the ground well frozen. The landcover track follows the northern shore of the Loch  Etrict closely, the sky is dull grey and overcast and the waters a cold unfriendly blue. To the south the northern ramparts of Creag Dhubh fall steeply into the loch, lonely and steep looking icefalls cascade down the crags so remote I doubt they see one visitor a year.

Cycling with heavy packs is not as hard as I expected or perhaps its all those miles on the road bike commuting to work through winter that have desensitised me to the effort. The first seven or eight km beside the loch are relatively level and its not until the track turns north at Ben Alder Lodge  a faux baronial chateau built to service the super rich that the real climbing up to remote Loch Pattack begins. Even this is not too steep and my legs tap out a good tempo as we leave the trees behind and emerge into the open hanging valley which sits above the lodge. 

It is possible to reach the bothy by following the landrover track all the way but where it passes the southern shores of Loch Pattack it is often underwater even in summer and if not a deep ford or wobbly cable bridge must be navigated on the bike. A much better alternative is to take a right down a good path a couple of hundred meters after were the track levels out and the loch first comes into view. This path would be difficult to find under snow but today its firm and disappears easily under the wheels of a bike as Ben Alder and the Leachas ridges slowly come into view.

Just before we reach Culra the path crosses the Allt a’ Chaoil-reidhe which is flowing quickly with little sign of ice, a testament to the past few days rising temperatures. Arriving at the bothy its covered in warning signs and beginning to look a bit sorry for itself coverd in warnings not to enter. However tempting the shelter is we take note and hide the bikes and change outside in the wind into our winter gear.

Following the path along the river the snow is generally well packed and the going easy, this changes as soon as we gingerly cross onto the southern side just after the junction with the Allt a’ Bhealaich Bheithe. There is no bridge or neat stepping stones and you have to make use of what rocks come your way; slipping over here would certainly not be a good plan.

The ridge itself is lost in the cloud above us but the spur on which is sits is an obvious landmark to aim for. The snow morphs from firm neve blasted hard by the wind upon which the crampons bite greedy to deep powder in which they wallow seeking purchase. It’s a pattern which alternates back and forth in a random patchwork across the hillside driven by the subtle differences in the texture of the landscape as it dances with the wind.

Generally its possible to weave the firmer sections together until we find ourselves on the ridge at which point it becomes obvious that the wind has deposited large amounts of powder for us to post hole through. At least the navigation is easy, if you fall off you are not on the route; however the ridge line is generally rounded until it narrows in its upper section with a number of steep rocky steps most buried by snow.

From the top of the ridge where it meets the shoulder of the mountain its a good 1.5 kilometres and 150m of accent to the summit which would certainly would have been challenging to find if the cloud had not lifted just as we arrived. Marching south before swinging to the south east we are careful not to stray too close to the eastern face of the mountain which falls almost sheer for 300m and must be heavily corniced. 

A chill wind continues to push the clouds out the way giving flashes of blue sky and sending sunlight dappling across the snow bound plateau. As it clears the landscape offers up  glimpses of neighbouring peaks which drift in and out of view like great ships lost in banks of fog. It takes much longer to reach the summit than expected even though we can see virtually throughout only slowly drawing in such is the scale of  Ben Alder’s plateau.   

Retracing our steps we reach the top of our decent route the slightly shorter version of the Long Leachas which is helpfully called the Short Leachas just in case you get the two muckstip. We had caught a fleeting glimpse of it on the way up, a perfect alpine esque ridge through a window in the thinning cloud. Now with the clouds lifted it’s revealed in its glory as a delicate snow aerate weaving its way down the mountain in a series of delicate cornices.

With a bit of care its a joy to descend, the view in front opens out giving a stunning panorama over a frozen Loch na Bhealaich Bheithe with the munro of Benn Bheoil behind. There is a huge sense of space as if one is decending into a void with the vast eastern face of Ben Alder stretching away to the left and right as you walk down this narrow line of white suspended in the sky. Sunbeams breaking through the clouds catch the gullies, ridges, and faces of the surrounding peaks causing them to glow with transient glory before the door closes and the light moves on.