I topped out on Aonach Buidhe at 7 o'clock. It was cold up there and I didn't want to hang about for long; but I did want to take a good look at the first two Munros of my following day's route, which can be seen behind the summit cairn in the photograph. My assessment was that An Socach was snowbound but viable. An Riabhachan, behind it, was a different matter however. It looked snow-bound, and not suitable for attempting with no winter equipment and no winter skills. Which was a shame, as I had hoped to tackle four Munros, but would only be able to do one at most. Was it even worth putting in the effort for that sort of a height gain, if all I was going to have to show for it was a solitary Munro and a lot of downhill knee? That, I decided, was a quandary to ponder in the morning. For now, my concern was to get down to my camp site and get set up for the night and fed. So I took a bearing for the East Ridge, and wondered whether Greg had cut and run rather than following me up. I hoped he had. He would take at least an extra half an hour more to get up here, and possibly more. And how would he be in descent with that monster pack? Would he have enough daylight, or would he be benighted on the hill? Well, whatever his decision - it was HIDS decision. That's the joy of being solo, and joining up with other solo walkers. You still both make your own decisions and do your own thing, even if you end up doing the same things together.
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