Highland Reckoning Episode 5: Cairngorm Carnage

Episode 5 of Highland Reckoning started as a serious mountain day and ended in complete carnage. Jamie Frizzell, Sam Mouzer and I set out across the Cairngorms expecting a hard hike through exposed terrain. The weather closed in, the wind got worse, and we made the call not to push onto higher ground. Then we found the Pine Marten Bar.

We went in to charge our phones and refill our water bottles. That was the sensible part.

What happened next was not.

Watch Highland Reckoning Episode 5

Watch Highland Reckoning Episode 5 on YouTube

An eight-mile push through the Cairngorms

The day began with a simple enough idea: move through the mountains and cover serious ground.

It quickly stopped feeling simple.

The Cairngorms are exposed, open and unforgiving when the weather turns. We were above the tree line, the wind was building and the conditions were getting worse as we gained height.

There is a point in the episode where the conversation shifts from pushing on to asking whether continuing is actually worth the risk.

That is an important survival lesson. Progress is not always the same thing as success.

Knowing when not to push on

One of the strongest moments in Episode 5 comes when Sam starts questioning the route and conditions.

The wind had already been strong enough to knock him off balance. Going higher without proper route planning, escape routes and a clear understanding of what the weather was doing would have increased the risk for all three of us.

I was pushing him deliberately to see how he would respond, but he made the right call. He was thinking like a survivalist rather than treating the mountain as something that had to be conquered at any cost.

We were not going onto the higher ground in those conditions.

Then we found the Pine Marten Bar

After around eight miles on the move, the day took a very different turn.

We arrived at the Pine Marten Bar in Glenmore.

At first, the stop made perfect sense. We could refill our water bottles, charge our phones and use the opportunity to reset after a long day in the hills.

Those are exactly the sort of resources you should use when they are available.

Then somebody suggested having a drink.

One drink became another.

And another.

Carnage in the Cairngorms

By late evening, survival discipline had completely disappeared.

We had been living hard for five days, carrying kit, sleeping rough and working through one challenge after another. Once the pressure came off, we went too far the other way.

Eight pints later, the plan to leave the pub and find a proper place to sleep had fallen apart.

There were arguments about who could swim faster, somebody ended up on the ceiling, and most of us had very little idea how the night was going to end.

It was not textbook survival.

It was very funny.

Sleeping rough after the pub

Eventually we left and ended up sleeping in the local woods.

Hodgie had lost track of us and camped elsewhere. The next morning he had to go looking for three survival experts who were apparently capable of surviving anywhere, except perhaps a night at the Pine Marten.

I woke up leaning against a tree with my sleeping bag draped over me rather than actually being inside it.

Sam and Jamie were not in much better condition.

The hangover becomes the next survival problem

The following morning was brutal.

We were not dealing with cold, hunger or shelter failure. We were dealing with self-inflicted damage.

I was rough, dehydrated and already thinking about the next challenge, which involved swimming, canoeing and fire by friction.

That is where the episode becomes useful again from a survival point of view. Bad decisions carry forward.

When you are tired, dehydrated or hungover, your judgement, coordination and physical performance are affected. In a controlled challenge it makes for entertaining television. In a genuine remote situation, it could create a serious problem.

What Episode 5 is really about

Episode 5 is probably the most chaotic episode of Highland Reckoning so far, but there is still a proper lesson underneath it.

We made a sensible decision in the mountains when the weather deteriorated.

We used an available resupply point intelligently.

Then we completely destroyed that good decision-making by staying in the pub far too long.

Survival is not just about fire, shelter and water. It is about maintaining discipline when the pressure drops as well as when the pressure rises.

Catch up with Highland Reckoning

If you missed the previous episode, read Highland Reckoning Episode 4: Shelter Collapse, Deceit & the Haunted House.

For every released episode, trailer and behind-the-scenes update, visit the official Highland Reckoning series page.

You can also watch the Highland Reckoning playlist on YouTube.

Learn practical survival skills

For practical survival and bushcraft training in Devon, visit South West Survival.

The Survival Debrief Podcast

For longer conversations with survivalists, adventurers and outdoor experts, listen to The Survival Debrief Podcast with Steven Kelly.

About Steven Kelly

Steven Kelly, also known as Survival Ste, is a British TV survivalist, former 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery soldier, survival instructor and host of The Survival Debrief Podcast. His television credits include Naked and Afraid and Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse. Highland Reckoning is his independently produced Scottish survival series with Jamie Frizzell and Sam Mouzer.