When I was young, the Cairngorms called,
Where Highland winds blew fierce and free,
Across the snow-clad mountain walls
That seemed to reach eternity. —

With skis beneath my uncertain feet,
I learned to turn on frozen snow,
To feel the mountain’s racing heart
And trust the path I chose to go. —

We climbed where granite met the cloud,
With ropes and courage side by side,
Hands gripping rock, boots finding holds,
Above the glens so deep and wide. —

We abseiled cliffs both back and forward,
Trusting rope and steady hand,
Sometimes facing out towards the drop,
Sometimes looking down the land. —

Step by step we left the rock face,
Suspended high in Highland air,
Learning courage, trust and balance,
With the mountains everywhere. —

We trekked for miles through wind and rain,
Across rough ground where few had been,
Through heather, burns and lonely corries,
And valleys painted brown and green. —

Sometimes there was no path to take,
No footprint pointing out the way,
So through the wilderness we forged
Our own new tracks towards the day. —

Upwards still, towards the summit,
Through mist that wrapped the peaks in grey,
Until the clouds broke wide around us
And all the world stretched far away. —

Those mountains taught a young man much—
Of courage, friendship, strength and will;
To keep on climbing when you’re weary,
And face the next uncertain hill. —

The years have passed, but still I hear
Those Highland winds across the stone,
Whispering memories of the Cairngorms
And the paths we proudly made our own. —

“Then down at the ice rink, journey done,
We warmed our hands on chocolate and rum.”

Paul Baldry

Whispers of the Cairngorms looks back to my younger days learning to ski, climb, abseil and trek through the Scottish Highlands. The Cairngorms taught us courage, trust and determination, but they also gave us friendships and memories that have lasted a lifetime — including those welcome mugs of hot chocolate and rum at the ice rink when each adventure was over.