Like, well, almost everyone else Scotland I haven’t ventured
too far since before xmas so I do hope that you are not expecting this blog post to be very exciting because it isn't. Local we were told it had to be and so local it has
been. For weeks. I’m not actually too sure what I have been up to over the last few months
since the last lockdown kicked in as life has taken on a sort of groundhog day
feeling, a sort of constant repeating rhythm without the real highs and lows of
life pre-covid. Having said that I seem to have plenty of photos of the great
outdoors so I must have been up to something. I don’t seem to have too much to
write about just now so I think I will just fill this blog post with photos.
These are the pre-lockdown ones
 |
| The Cairngorms before lockdown part.....whatever kicked in |
 |
| A winter wonderland on Lochnagar |
 |
| The summit of Lochnagar |
 |
| Poppies |
 |
| Everythings going to be alright.... |
 |
| Creag Choinnich |
 |
| The last group runs before lockdown |
After Xmas the mini beast from the east struck and we had
the best snow in ages and then couldn’t go play on the ski slopes because of
lockdown restrictions. I was miffed, which is putting it mildly. Oh well, no
point in grumbling, just had to make the best of it and the best of it was at Hazelhead
park at dawn or after nightfall to avoid the crowds at weekends. My new skis
are a dream and fish scales are a revelation, especially after last year when I
had been coating my xc skis in glide wax rather than grip wax. That made
ascending particularly tricky and descending particularly exciting and it was
only after a clumsy night ski at the Clash when Colin suggested this could be
the issue did the penny drop. What do you mean how could I have got that the
wrong way round? The instructions on the wax were in Russian. I managed some
nice wee trips on the new skis and only one descent into a snow covered bunker on
the golf course where I got stuck in the same manner as a beetle on its back.
And these are the post lockdown pics
 |
| Sunrise skiing |
Combined with the snow and ice came the inevitable winter
storms (the ones that have names) and then the thaw where the river burst its
banks and the paths disappeared under water and running turned into paddling.
On the plus side though “inclement weather” means there are less people
venturing out on the trails and so sometimes the local paths and trails were a
little bit quieter.
 |
| A submerged park bench |
In amongst the snowy days there seemed to be many when the pavements
and trails were covered in sheet ice and runs were often reduced to stretches
of slow jogging or walking but going out running meant I was rewarded with
amazing sun rises and wintery scenes. And then there were the dark evenings and
the early mornings when the sleet battered off the windows and the run still
had to be done. Creative challenges from various Cosmics members did make
getting out the door that bit easier – the animals challenge, the bridges
challenge, the water features challenge, the of course 12 hills of Xmas
challenge. Although nothing compared to the hills our Aberdeenshire dwelling
friends (aka lucky b%$&*) have access to there are some smaller hills
within the city boundary and so 12 were selected for this particular challenge
for between xmas and new year. The instructions were simple, get to the top and
take a selfie for the Cosmics Facebook page. It did result in some pretty
terrible selfies alongside the stunning wintery sunrise and sunset shots.
 |
| Who is hunting whom? |
 |
| Snowy riverbank |
 |
| Snowstorm moving in |
 |
| Sheet ice and mud |
 |
| Just sheet ice |
 |
| Early morning mists |
 |
| A (covid legitimate) trip to Edinburgh |
In case anyone is wondering the 12 hills within the Aberdeen
city council boundary that make up the 12 hills of Xmas challenge are as
follows, Broad hill, Tullos hill, Kincorth hill, Tollohill, Kirkhill (The
Tappie), Hill of Marcus, Elrick Hill, Brimmond Hill, Kings seat, Gairn Hill, Gallowhill
and, very tenuously, Castlehill (it has hill in the name and there was a castle
there once upon a time so it counts. Afterall, these are desperate times)
 |
| Icy trails to the hill of Marcus |
 |
| Brimmond hill summit |
 |
| Castlehill |
 |
| Gallows Hill |
 |
| Broad Hill |
 |
| Tullos Hill |
 |
| Sunny winter days |
