The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-03 00:00:00

Asc'nt of Lochnagar.

On the 20th inst. a most successful ascent of
this lofty mountain was made by a party of
strangers at present residing at Braemar. Every
preparation was duly made for this interesting el'
cursion, and the services of John Downie, the ex-
perienced guide to the mountain, were duly secured.
The party, consisting of thirteen persons, left the
Fife Arms at a quarter before 10 a.m., in tWe
drags and on horseback, and reached Loch Callater,
about five miles off, at eleven o'clock. It is here
that the more serious preparations for the ascent
have to be made, and accordingly the guide, With
ponies for the ladies and such of the gentleman as
required additional understandings, now met the
party. The first part of the ascent, owing to the
heat of the weather and roughness of the foot-path,
was rather fatiguing, but so soon as a more ele-
vated position was attained, and the first shoulder
of the mountain ascended, the freshness of the
breeze inspired new life into the party. The days
which, at starting, seemed not very favourable for
a view from the mountain, now began to look gin
more unpromising, as thick mists seemed to
envelope the topmost peak of the hills, but the
hopes of the party were not damped by these
untoward symptoms. On the contrary,
several in-
teresting sights, such as flights of ptarmigan'
coveys of grouse, with occasional glimpses of fins
scenery as the mists rose, sustained the pleasure
the ascent. After surmounting the third shoulder
of the mountain, the lofty peaks of " dark 'Pell:
nagar" were now before the party, but enveloped 111
mist. With one short halt to give strength for the
last climb, the party, led by a young lady 14 rare
old, at last reached the first summit, after three
hours spent in the ascent. There the horses were
picketed, and ample justice done to a substautaa"
lunch. The mist, which during that repast Ora
rounded everything, at last rose like a curtain, oil
a view presented itself which would require the Pen
of a Christopher North to describe, and the Penc't
of a Horatio Maculloch to portray. Far to the wes
rose the lofty peaks of Argyle and Inverness; to
the east lay stretched out the vale of Dee, dotted
with fine woods and residences. A little more to
the south were seen the lofty peaks of the Cl°l
Hills altogether exhibiting a panorama O
mountain scenery of the finest description. The
appearance of the deep and dark corries on tuB
eastern side of the mountain, I,oooft. deep, cone
taming large patches of eternal snow, with
,0
t;',
dark and deep loch at the base, from which f
mountain takes name; elicited exclamations °f
wonderment and awe from the ladies of the partle;
th
e
spending were duly endorsed by the gentlemen. Afthe
spending some time in making preparations for
descent, the party returned to Loch Callater .„
safety, without having met with the slightest aeciiie
dent. Here, at half-past five, the carriages met the
party, and by half-past six o'clock all had ealeiri
reached the Fife Arms, highly delighted with the,.e
ascent, which, both as regards the fineness of tlie4
day and the excellence of the view, may be regard,
as one of the best of the season. As to the difgentia
ties attendant on such an expedition, it may
stated that one of the party, a resident of Aberdeell,
,
shire, had previously made three unsuccessful
tempts to reach the summit, and traces of an eclileio
unsatisfactory ascent by three Aberdonians,
after reaching the summit, saw nothing but tile-5
selves, were found in a doggerel poem, written onto
scrap of paper, which they had left as a legaci, ri
whosoever might discover it, in a cleft of the cue
at the highest peak of the mountain. It would.
most ungallant to the ladies of the party to omit
say that one of the great pleasures of the ascent 171
owing to the bravery with which they encounter''
the fatigues of the day.—Aberdeen Journal.