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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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 Posted: Nov 25, 2013 18:54 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Phenakite
| Description: |
Phenakite
Ben Macdui, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
15mm x 13mm x 7mm crystal
Same phenakite crystal as per the last post. The crystal is sitting on a shard of smoky quartz and also a bit of mica. |
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32163 Time(s) |
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Phenakite
Ben Macdui, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
15mm x 13mm x 7mm crystal
Same as above |
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32158 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
Phenakite
Ben Macdui, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
15mm x 13mm x 7mm crystal
Same |
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32148 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
Phenakite
Ben Macdui, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
15mm x 13mm x 7mm crystal
Same again |
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32170 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
Phenakite
Ben Macdui, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
15mm x 13mm x 7mm crystal
And again. Apologies for the multiple photo's but it's the only specimen I have! Besides, there's a lot of little reflective faces to scrutinise. Looks very much like albite, but it scratches quartz - and quartz does not scratch it. |
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32145 Time(s) |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Nov 26, 2013 17:03 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Some minerals from the Cairngorm Mountains
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Smoky Quartz + Albite + Muscovite Mica
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
10cm x 9cm x 7cm
Specimen of euhedral smoky quartz crystal 6cm tall on chunky white albite (feldspar), with a little muscovite? mica. The smoky quartz is coated with a second generation of quartz, giving it a rough and more opaque appearance. This unfortunately is typical of many smoky quartzes from the Cairngorms, though they are more gemmy inside. Found 2003 from some old diggings on the north side of this mountain. |
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32115 Time(s) |
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Smoky Quartz + Albite + Muscovite Mica
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
60mm x 40mm x 35mm crystal
Close-up of the above specimen. The smoky quartz crystal is quite a nice shape, just a bit opaque though. |
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32136 Time(s) |
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Smoky Quartz
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
55mm x 35mm 25mm
Small group of crystals with a little muscovite mica, from the same locality as the previous specimen. |
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32123 Time(s) |
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Beryl (var aquamarine)
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
22mm x 14mm x 10mm
A single heavily etched pale green crystal from the same locality as the above smoky quartz specimens. The beryls are very few and far between and nearly always very etched in appearance. Found 2002 on a seperate occasion. |
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32163 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| The north summit of Ben a' Bhuird, just a little under 4,000ft above sea level, and a long walk from anywhere. This high-level plateau is further east than the highest mountains, posted earlier. Still part of the same granite pluton. Photo taken august 2011. |
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32102 Time(s) |
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| Looking east along the northern corries of Ben Avon, the partner mountain to Ben a' Bhuird. Not yet explored by myself. There's a lot of ground to cover, and it's very remote. August 2011. |
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32097 Time(s) |
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| The summit of Ben Avon, zoom photo from Ben a' Bhuird. Both of these mountains are huge and sprawling by UK standards. August 2011. |
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32129 Time(s) |
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| An interesting looking granite 'tor', as these rock formations are known; though the term is more usually known in the south-west of England. |
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32113 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| The East side of Ben a' Bhuird is fringed with precipitous cliffs and corries, formed during the last ice-age, resulting in lots of exposed granite rock. There are not many pegmatites to see around here though, and what you find in exposures tend to be thin and stringy. |
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32074 Time(s) |
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| Wild camping by the Dubh Lochan ('Small Black Lake') at 3,000ft. A great place to stay and get away from 'civilisation' - I think that's what they call it. I saw some bipeds about a kilometre distant on one occasion, but apart from that I saw no-one for three days. |
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32117 Time(s) |
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| Maybe this is why it's called Dubh Lochan. On this reflective morning, and in the eerie stillness, the surface of the water seemed to turn into a Black Hole. |
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32117 Time(s) |
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GneissWare
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 1287
Location: California
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| Posted: Nov 26, 2013 17:23 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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| As always, fabulous landscape photos. What a beautiful place.
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Nov 26, 2013 17:55 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Some minerals from Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains.
Thanks Bob, it is my favourite escape place. As far as minerals go it's a lot harder to deal with than say, the Isle of Arran, because it's a much bigger area. But the remoteness has it's own unique appeal, and in my view it is the finest range of mountains in Scotland, so it doesn't matter much if I don't find much in the way of minerals. Just being there is inspiration in itself.
Cheers, Mike
| Description: |
Smoky Quartz + Microcline
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
40mm x 35mm x 40mm high
Small specimen found in a granite boulder, still with lichen attached. The smoky quartz is quite transparent for a change. |
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32104 Time(s) |
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Smoky Quartz + Microcline
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
2cm crystal
Close-up of the above specimen. |
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32088 Time(s) |
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Smoky Quartz
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
55mm x 24mm x 20mm
Nice single crystal with good termination and a little bit of microcline included. My best specimen of smoky quartz from the Cairngorms. Doesn't really compare with the ones from Arran. Collected from an in-situ pegmatite pocket 10m up a steep cliff-face. I traversed from the side to get to it, and plucked it from it's resting place. |
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32100 Time(s) |
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Smoky Quartz
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
55mm x 24mm x 20mm crystal
Close-up of the above specimen. |
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32096 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| Typical thin 'pegmatite' vein in the granite of Ben a' Bhuird. |
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32090 Time(s) |
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| View looking south from the eastern cliffs of Ben a' Bhuird, towards where I left my car, about 10 miles (16km) distant. It was still there when I got back a few days later. |
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32087 Time(s) |
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2856
Location: Arkansas
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| Posted: Nov 26, 2013 20:13 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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| Mike Wood wrote: | | Some minerals from the Cairngorm Mountains |
Mike , what a great picture. This picture, 097.jpg, ( https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/files/ben_a_bhuird_097_949.jpg ) belongs in a gallery or National Geographic (or even FMF).
What kind of twinning does this show? ;-)
Don
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Nov 27, 2013 16:19 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Hello Don, thanks for your comments, your'e too kind. As for the twinning - I don't know, it's very strange isn't it? Maybe one could call it 'inverse parallax twinning of nth dimensional matter'? Who knows. ;-)
All I know is it creeps me out somewhat. I can't look at the picture for too long - it's starts to twist my head ! Gives me the feeling that if I took a run at it and dived in, I would keep on falling for eternity...
Woah! Scary.
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Michael Shaw
Site Admin
Joined: 30 Apr 2008
Posts: 2066
Location: Oklahoma
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| Posted: Nov 27, 2013 17:29 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Mike, thanks so much for showing your photos of the Cairngorms. It looks like a truly spectacular place, and I can understand why it is so inspiring for you.
Michael
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Nov 27, 2013 18:26 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Back to reality - minerals from the Cairngorm Mountains.
Thank you Michael, and I'm pleased you like my scenic photo's.
More later
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Beryl
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
20mm x 8mm x7mm
Transparent pale green beryl crystal, heavily striated along it's length with a slightly etched termination. From a small pocket in a thin pegmatite vein in granite. |
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31949 Time(s) |
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Beryl
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
20mm x 8mm x7mm
Same specimen as above showing the flat, slightly etched termination. |
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31928 Time(s) |
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Beryl
Ben Macdui, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
14mm x 8mm x 7mm
Another specimen from the same pocket, very similar in habit to the first specimen, but a more pale yellow hue. |
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31952 Time(s) |
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Beryl
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
14mm x 8mm x 7mm
Same specimen as above showing the termination in more detail. I did have one of these pale yellow beryls cut one time, after I first came across them in the mid 1990's. The gems were small but rather beautiful, and not far off a true heliodor for colour. Unfortunately the one I kept I lost during a house move ten years ago -_-
I think I've got a slide photo of it somewhere, I'll try to find it and scan it. |
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31937 Time(s) |
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Beryl + Microcline + Smoky Quartz + Muscovite
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
10cm x 7cm x 3cm
Random lump of pegmatite found on it's own on the ground. The beryl crystals are a strong yellow colour but are opaque. |
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31917 Time(s) |
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Beryl + Microcline + Smoky Quartz + Muscovite
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
10cm x 7cm x 3cm
Close-up of the above specimen. The beryl crystal reflecting the light is 10mm long. |
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31938 Time(s) |
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Beryl + Feldspar (rock)
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
8cm x 6cm x 4cm
I found a few lumps of this unusual rock in one place, just lying on the ground. It looks like granite but there is almost no quartz in it - comprising an equigranular mass of greenish beryl and pink feldspar (don't know if the feldspar is microcline or orthoclase). Beryl crystals were found in the vicinity, from thin pegmatite veins. |
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31926 Time(s) |
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Beryl + Feldspar (rock)
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
FOV approx 3cm x 2cm
Close-up of above specimen. I think the little black specks are actually smoky quartz. |
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31873 Time(s) |
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A typical pegmatite vein in the granite of Ben a' Bhuird, this one is a bit larger than is usual for the locality, but was lacking in euhedral crystals.
The outcrop is approximately 10m high. |
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31952 Time(s) |
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| Close-up of the pegmatite vein pictured above. The vein is approx. 2ft (60cm) thick. Only the inner part is truly pegmatitic; the outer two parts of the vein are composed of either fine-grained granite, or aplite rock. But free grown crystals of quartz for example are very rarely found in these veins. |
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31904 Time(s) |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Nov 29, 2013 19:31 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Walking into the Cairngorm Mountains on a mini expedition to search for crystals
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| Setting off with 40lb (17kg) rucksack for a few days in the mountains - in this case it is Ben a' Bhuird - the mountain in the distance. It took me 4 hours to reach the Dubh Lochan. Must be getting old; I'm sure I used to do it in a little over 3 hours. |
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31817 Time(s) |
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| At least there is a good landrover track to follow for the first 5 miles ! (Not allowed to drive up it). |
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31784 Time(s) |
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| And the scenery is nice. These Scots Pine trees (Caledonian Pines) are one of my favourite tree species. |
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31787 Time(s) |
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| The footpath weaves through a carpet of bilberry (blueberry) and heather between the Caledonian Pines. A remnant of the ancient forest which once was far more extensive than it is today. |
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31813 Time(s) |
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| The mountain draws closer and the gradient increases |
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31806 Time(s) |
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| A 'stalkers' path makes life easier on the steeper ground. These paths were made over a hundred years ago by estate workers specifically to allow easier access into the mountains, for the purpose of deer stalking, on the Laird's estate (land). |
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31796 Time(s) |
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| Looking back down the hill at the sheltering trees in the valley. It was getting late and I did consider staying down there for the night but there were too many midges. |
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31767 Time(s) |
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Destination reached, I was very sweaty and nearly exhausted, but relieved to get there. I did feel rather unfit at the time, but after a couple of days walking around I felt a lot better and my legs became springy again.
Photo's of minerals to follow... |
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31802 Time(s) |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Dec 01, 2013 08:31 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Cairngorm minerals..
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Smoky Quartz + Microcline
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland.
85mm x 53mm x 30mm
Specimen of small smoky quartz crystals on microcline. The larger microcline crystal in the centre is 14mm x 10mm. There is also a crystal of muscovite mica (6mm) on the right-hand side.
The smoky quartz is transparent. This specimen and the next one came from a thin pegmatite vein cavity in a granite boulder. Collected 1994. |
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31703 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
Smoky Quartz + Microcline
Ben a' Bhuird, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland.
38mm x 27mm x 20mm
Small specimen, but the quartz is transparent and well-terminated. There are also a few tiny white albite crystals in there between and on the smoky quartz. Collected 1994. |
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31687 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| This is where these specimens came from, in the granite boulders in the bottom of the corrie. It's called 'Coire nan Clach' which translates from Gaelic as 'Corrie of Stones' - quite appropriate ! Needless to say I haven't examined every boulder in the corrie.. |
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31680 Time(s) |
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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| Posted: Dec 01, 2013 08:43 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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| I'd say you have your work cut out for you. Great postings, Mike. Almighty nature! So easy to get lost in it's beauty. More, I say!
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Dec 01, 2013 18:06 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Thanks Vic, and just for you, here's a picture of Shelter Stone Crag. I did find some quartz crystals there near the top. I'll post them next time.
Best Regards,
Mike
| Description: |
| Carn Etchachan (1120m) and Shelter Stone Crag, at the head of Loch Avon in the Cairngorms. The cliff is about 800 feet high (~250m) and is popular for hard climbers, both in summer and in winter. |
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31587 Time(s) |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Dec 02, 2013 18:29 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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More photo's of the Cairngorms; and some minerals, and a cave.
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| View of Carn Etchachan (1120m) and Shelter Stone Crag (just right of the highest point, between the two large scree fans) from the North, where the 'crystal cave ' is - more of this later. Photo taken July 2006. |
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31536 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| View of Loch Avon from the top of Shelter Stone Crag, looking East. The cliff below is about 800ft (~250m). All granite of course. And no, I didn't climb up it to get here! |
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31540 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| View across the wide gully between Carn Etchachan and Shelter Stone Crag. A rather unstable place. |
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31539 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
Quartz
Shelter Stone Crag, Caingorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
70mm x 35mm x 30mm
A fairly large but rough looking quartz crystal. It is somewhat translucent and not smoky, and appears to have an overgrowth or second generation of quartz. Found this and several small crystals near the top of Shelter Stone Crag, by carefully climbing down a 'bottomless' gully a short distance (not the gully in the previous photo). Couldn't do much poking about as I was acutely aware of the sickening drop below me, and the possibility of climbers somewhere below. |
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31554 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
Quartz
Shelter Stone Crag, Caingorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
FOV approx 8cm
A selection of the odd-shaped smaller quartz crystals found at the same spot, none of them smoky. The longest crystal is 39mm. The thin flat one is 34mm x 19mm and 3-4mm thick. |
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31580 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| Beinn Mheadhoin (1182m) - pronounced as 'Ben Vane' - was formerly well known as producing smoky quartz, in the 19th century! I have been over it a couple of times but failed to find anything worth carrying out, except for one single beryl crystal on my first visit in 1994. Photo taken looking East at the mountain, with it's distinctive 'tors', in July 2006. |
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31538 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| Beinn Mheadhoin from the East. Photo taken June 2012, from Beinn a' Chaorainn. |
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31553 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| The summit 'tor' of Beinn Mheadhoin ('Ben Vane'). These 'tors' are known as 'barns' locally. From a scanned photo taken in June 1994. |
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31573 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
Beryl
Beinn Mheadhoin, Cairngorm Mountains, Grampian Region, Scotland, UK
42mm x15mm
This turbid greenish beryl crystal (repaired) was found in a very localised patch of pegmatite. It was nestled in a patch of quartz and was about 4" long (10cm) but broke apart badly upon extraction. Found 1994. |
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31608 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| Back to the 'crystal cave'. I read about this in a climbing guide book. I spotted it from the top of Shelter Stone Crag - you can see it in this photo, dead centre but down a bit. I thought it would be worth a look! |
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31539 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
Carrying my huge heavy rucksack full of camping stuff I eventually arrived on the verdant slope below the cave. I was sweaty and full of anticipation, but alas was to be rather disappointed..
Why was I carrying all my gear up to the cave? Because I was en-route back to base where my car was waiting. Not one of my better ideas, as it turned out.. |
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31566 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
| The cave was certainly real, but inside there was no trace of any crystals, not even any quartz on the roof or walls. The only good thing about it, apart from the satisfaction of actually getting there, was the rich variety of flora outside it, and the view. |
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31549 Time(s) |
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| Description: |
View looking out of the cave to the other side of the valley, where the 'Shelter Stone ' lies - it is a huge flat boulder which climbers and bivouac enthusiasts have 'camped' beneath, since climbing started around here.
For my next trick, from the so-called crystal cave I decided to take a short-cut to the top of the cliff via a likely looking gully around the corner. Not one of my better ideas - I seemed to have forgotten that gullies usually become steeper and steeper the higher up you go! Carrying a large heavy rucksack and wearing big boots I found myself astride between rock walls in the steepest part of the gully (which was about 70 degrees) and wishing I wasn't there! But I was committed and knew that the only way to do it was to focus my mind and go for it, which I did. Fortunately the difficulties were short, the angle eased off, and I was mighty relieved to top out on the nice flat grassy plateau, for a not very well-deserved rest!!
Lesson learned?? Not really, just part of the experience, but I'll certainly remember it, which is the main thing. -_- |
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31558 Time(s) |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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| Posted: Dec 03, 2013 02:41 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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All your trouble was worth it Mike! You have a story to tell. Thank you for taking us along your journey. I wish I could join you on an outing or two but doubt whether I would hold out. Is there trout in those lochs?
_________________
Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Dec 03, 2013 17:49 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Thank you Pierre; I could write a few more tales about my exploits, plenty on the Isle of Skye for example. I might write some during the holidays..
I am quite confident there are trout in those lochs, they seem to lurk in most UK waters, even in unlikely places. Also salmon and sea trout will make their way up the rivers a fair way into the mountains. I seem to recall seeing fishermen by Loch Avon some time in the past.
| Description: |
Lochan Uaine, about 1.5km southeast of Ben Macdui in the Cairngorms, one of the highest lochans (small lake) in the UK at over 950m above sea level. But even I was surprised to see icebergs floating on it, in late June!! Don't know for sure if it contains trout, but I bet it does.
Photo taken June 1994 (scanned from print), M.Wood. |
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31377 Time(s) |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Jan 10, 2014 13:27 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Back again with a minor variation of collecting theme - smoky quartz from the French Alps!
More to follow.. when I get the grammer sorted out.
| Description: |
Photo taken from approx. 4,000m on the south arete (ridge) of the Aiguille Verte, looking down at the Aiguille du Moine (3412m) at the end of the arete; where in 1991 I found some crystals!
The stripy glacier is the famous Mer de Glace.
Photo taken August 1992, by me : )
Scanned from slide photo. |
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30536 Time(s) |
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Don Lum
Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 2856
Location: Arkansas
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| Posted: Jan 10, 2014 18:40 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Mike,
That is a wonderful picture of Mer de Glace. It looks like it was taken from an airplane or helicopter. Like Pierre, I don' t think that I could climb with you. I think I am getting symptoms of altitude sickness just looking at your picture. :-)
Don
_________________
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Tobi
Site Admin
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Posts: 4102
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Jan 11, 2014 06:27 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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| So wonderful, Mike - both the landscapes and the specimens!!!
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Jan 12, 2014 08:04 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Thanks Tobi and Don!
Mind you Don, this was over twenty years ago and I would certainly struggle myself to climb up to places like this nowadays..
Here is another photo taken from the same position at the same time. We didn't actually manage to get to the top of Le Aiguille Verte (4122m), much to my chagrin - ran out of time though another couple of hours would have done it. By the time we got back down to the Courvercle Hut we'd been on the mountain for sixteen hours! Much too slow - we were climbing roped together and it wasn't really necessary most of the time. Also the climbing was 'merde' if you'll pardon the expression; very very steep and very very loose. Mind, that's what you get late on in the season without the snow to consolidate the rocks. On the other hand you can't see the rocks if there is snow cover - better for climbing but not so good for mineral collecting!
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Another photo taken from ~ 4,000m on Aiguille Verte, showing the top of Aiguille du Moine and in the distance Mont-Blanc herself (4808m).
Photo taken August 1992 - scanned from slide. |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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| Posted: Jan 12, 2014 13:25 Post subject: Re: Collection of Mike Wood |
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Right then; here we go...
In July 1991 I drove out from Yorkshire with two friends from a climbing club to camp for three weeks at Argentiere, near Chamonix, France. We met up with some more friends from the climbing club at the campsite. I had visited the same area when I was a kid of fifteen (1979) but didn't do any climbing at that time...
Being a newbie to Alpine climbing I tagged along with my two friends on my first proper climb - the NW couloir of Aiguille du Chardonnet (TD), involving walking from the campsite up to the Albert Premier Hut by the Glacier du Tour, bivouac near the Hut (couldn't afford to actually stay in it). Then a pre-dawn start across the glacier to start of the route, climb the route which was steeper and much more impressive than the Scottish winter routes I was used to! The upper part of the climb had a 70m pitch of solid smooth ice at an angle of about 70 degrees, in a gully 10m wide. Luckily for me I didn't lead that pitch, I was scared enough as it was. Once at the top of the route and only about 200m below the summit, we could see storms approaching so unfortunately didn't get to the summit. Instead we followed the descent route and back down to the glacier and the hut to pick up our bivi gear which we'd left nearby, then back down to the campsite.
After that, I decided that climbing these mountains was not much more difficult than climbing the Cuillins on the Isle of Skye, in winter - just bigger that's all! So I reckoned I was capable of climbing some of them solo, I just had to pick the right mountain and the right routes to climb them; and there were plenty of routes that were easier than the one I'd just climbed...
I determined to go climb some mountains with lumphammer and chisels and see what happened!
I have combined photo's from 1991, 1992 (slide) and 2005 (digital camera) to describe the single event of climbing the Aiguille du Moine and finding smoky quartz crystals.
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From Chamonix I got the train to Montenvers, which is by far the easiest way to get to the Mer de Glace; which I needed to walk along to get to the Aiguille du Moine. It's a very popular spot for visiting tourists and climbers passing through..
Photo scanned from slide. |
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Then you have to descend these steel ladders to get to the glacier (there are two sets of parallel ladders these days).
Photo scanned from slide. |
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Once on the glacier (Mer de Glace) it is several kilometres walk to some more ladders, to get off the glacier and up the path to the Courvercle Hut below the Aiguille du Moine. The glacier is 'dry' this low down at this time of year so is mostly easy to walk on - you can see the objective dangers (crevasses) and avoid them. A refreshing cold breeze blows down the valley, otherwise it would be hot under the summer sun.
Photo scanned from slide. |
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The way follows the Glacier de Leschaux for a little distance; where this glacier meets the Mer de Glace there are a lot of rocks about. (Lateral moraine?). I stopped to examine some of these boulders and found tiny crystals of pink fluorite in places.
Photo scanned from slide. |
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| The ladders leading to the Courvercle Hut from the Leschaux Glacier. This photo was taken much later in 2005, the ladders are in a different position to what they were in 1991. They are longer and steeper now, if I remember rightly. |
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Looking down the 'ladders'. Hard work climbing these with a big heavy rucksack!
Photo taken 2005. |
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At the top of the ladders a nice path leads pleasantly but steeply up to the Courvercle Huts - new and old. The area to the left of the huts is lovely and grassy with boulders to bivouac under, and clear streams to drink from (and a lot cheaper than staying in the hut). also the views from around here are absolutely superb.
Photo scanned from slide. |
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Mont-Blanc, Mer de Glace, et Moi.
This photo taken 2005, from near the Courvercle Hut. |
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The South Face of the Aiguille du Moine, above the spot where I was bivouacing for the night. The cave where I found the crystals is high on the upper part of the South Face. The next morning I climbed up the mountain from the top of the snowfield, trending leftwards along ledges to reach a gully, which eventually led to the arete on the left. Then the climbing got even harder..
Photo scanned from slide. |
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But it was worth the effort!
Self-taken photo of me in the crystal cave, holding smoky quartz crystals..
More to follow... |
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