The 2015 Challenge, day 8: Through the Ghru (6)

... and by 10.30 I was clear of the tree line and looking ahead to the tremendous cleft in the Cairngorm Massif which is the Lairig Ghru. When viewed from afar, is appears as a deep valley; and it is easy to forget that it rises to a height of 835 metres ... which is about 2,750 feet! Moreover, when the wind gets up, it acts as a funnel. The wind through the Lairig Ghru can be extraordinary. Not for nothing do the Challenge organisers insist that you cannot use the Lairig Ghru as a Foul Weather Alternative for a day going high in the Cairngorms. ("Oh ... I'll do Braeriach, Sgor an Lochan Uaine, Cairn Toul, The Devil's Point, and descend through Coire Odhar to Corrour Bothy; if the weather's too bad, I'll go through the Lairig Ghru instead" - you just cannot say that. Well, you can SAY it ... but if you do, your route vetter will return your route card and ask you to think again ...)