First Light – Cairngorms

December 5, 2010 • Joe Cornish

In this First Light, Joe Cornish talks about three pictures taken in the Cairngorms for Scotland’s Mountains. Like before, we talk about one of the featured pictures, a picture that didn’t quite work out and finally – a picture that ended up as a personal favourite, despite not seeming so at the time.

Carn Liath. cornic

Cairngorm Plateau

Cairn Toul from Cairn Gorm plateau

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5 Responses

1. Douglas Griffin

   Really excellent videos – the best yet, I think. I particularly like the shot of Cairn Toul, for me it’s a stand-out even among the many fantastic photos in Joe’s book.

   I’m guessing the summit in question in the second image was Braigh Coire Chruinn-Bhalgain – a real tongue-twister.

   The Cairngorms are on my doorstep and strangely enough, I had recently been thinking that you see comparatively few shots of these mountains. The hills themselves are less dramatic in form than those to be found in the west of Scotland, which probably goes some way to explaining the lack of attention that they receive. However, I think the main reason is their remoteness, especially the parts of the range that are accessed from the Braemar (Linn of Dee) side, rather than those that you reach via Aviemore.

   I have an old (c. 1980) Scottish Mountaineering Club guidebook, written by Adam Watson, which contains some very nice black and white images from some of more remote corners of the range. Definite food for thought.

   Thanks once again for a fascinating and thought-provoking film.

   Doug.

   On December 6, 2010 at 12:03 pm • Reply
   • Tim Parkin

     Thanks Doug! Cairn Toul is one of those shots that transcends it’s subject matter through the lighting and conditions – it has a wonderful three dimensional quality that is quite sublime.

     On December 9, 2010 at 12:14 pm • Reply
   • Joe Cornish

     Thanks from me too Doug, really pleased you enjoyed this video. You are right about Braigh Coire Chruinn-Bhalgain (“the mountain of the corrie of the little blisters” is I believe the nearest English translation!).

     I’d be interested to see your Adam Watson book some time.

     The remoteness of these mountains is in one sense their salvation for I imagine they will never be subject to ‘the Lake District effect’. And I certainly think that Braemar is the preferable way to approach them, given the choice. One last thought though, in spite of my Cairngorm plateau trip being mid-week, and mid-winter, we did see a number of others trudging around the summit plateau, mostly on mountain exercises (outward bound-type courses, corporate team building etc) so they do not really qualify as unknown wilderness. But then where in Scotland does? And surely that is inevitable. Yet we are lucky that so much incredible landscape is accessible to those of us who are committed walker/photographers, as opposed to hardcore mountaineers. For that I am grateful.

     On December 11, 2010 at 12:54 am • Reply
2. Douglas Griffin

   Hi Joe,

   The only possible exception might be the northern corries of Cairn Gorm (Coire an t-Sneachda and Coire an Lochain); these are very popular winter climbing venues by virtue of their relative accessibility (by winter climbing standards!).
   But otherwise, as you say there’s very little chance of encountering crowds anywhere in the Cairngorms. In view of the distances involved, photographing in the heart of the range during the ‘golden hours’ means an overnight stop in a tent or a bothy, and/or a long walk in and out in the dark. The scale of the place gives it a real air of seriousness – as will be clear to anyone reading your account of your solo trip to Corrour in mid-winter.

   It’s tempting to speculate how many undiscovered ‘classic’ viewpoints the range might hold. As you’ve alluded to the video here, I think that many of them would involve The Devils’s Point and Sgor an Lochan Uaine of Cairn Toul. As well as from the viewpoints in the Lairig Ghru and the Cairn Gorm-Ben Macdui plateau, both these peaks are very well seen from the summit of Carn a’ Mhaim. From that hill there is also a fabulous view across the Lairig Ghru to Glen Geusachan, which must be one of the wildest spots in the whole of Scotland. The ancient pine woods at the junction of Glen Lui and Glen Derry are another place that I’d love to explore more fully. And then there’s the Garbh Coire of Beinn a’ Bhuird, at the eastern end of the range. So many places, so little time!

   Doug.

   On December 15, 2010 at 12:22 pm • Reply
3. kevin-allan

   These videos are almost unsurpassed in their depth of analysis, compared with others available on the web or TV – a real treat. At times I did think a few minutes could have been edited out in order to require slightly less investment of time by the viewer; in the future when LandscapeGB becomes a giant corporate there might be a dedicated editor put to work.

   When Joe mentioned the colour shift between the original transparency of the first shot, and the reproduced version, I think it would have been interesting to see the transparency on a light box for comparison.

   On December 20, 2010 at 11:01 pm • Reply