I took the opportunity to test the new Paramo Grid Baselayer this weekend in Assynt with excellent results.

The weather forecast for the weekend was pretty awful  -high winds, high wind chill, intermittent showers – and that was Saturday.  Sunday’s forecast was constant rain and gales with 100 mph gusts on the summits.

We chose to climb the corbett Quinag on Saturday and take a long lie in on Sunday. 

On a cold day in the hills, I typically wear a Explorer Reversible shirt above a short sleeve Cambia baselayer and Alta 2 jacket on top, if there is heavy rain forecast. If not I will choose a Braemar Smock.

To test the Paramo Grid I started out with the same layering system on the long climb up the south-east crest of Spidean Coinich.  Within a short time I had to take off the Cambia baselayer as I was overheating.

At the summit of Spidean Coinich we had a lunch stop and I pulled on a Torres Gilet to stay warm as the cloud rolled in and there was little shelter from the strong west winds.

The ridge down to Bealach a’Chornaidh has some exposed sections which normally would not have been difficult but the strong gusts of wind made us extremely cautious and we had to occassionally crouch down to prevent getting blown over.  With reduced speed and high wind chill, I kept my Torres Gillet on until we reached the Bealach.

At this point we split up; Anna deciding to go out to the northen summit Sail Gorm ,as she had not done it before, and Ailsa had  had enough of the wind and walked back to the car. I decided to climb to the eastern summit Sail Gharbh and attempt to catch up with Anna.  It meant fairly brisk walking. Despite this, the Paramo Grid  baselayer kept me warm and any perspiration was quickly moved.

For the remainder of the day I walked with the Alta 2 and the Grid Baselayer despite high wind chill occassionally donning my Torres Gilet at stops.

I wore a Grid Technic which has a neck zip, useful on this walk for occassional venting, and a small chest pocket. The pocket is too small for a map  however I used it for my car keys.

See further details of Paramo Grid on our website.

To learn more about climbing Quinag see Sean Fallon’s excellent  website.