【明報專訊】For the sheer mercy Cairngorms have shown me and my friends, it deserves some respect. The ascending trail was subtly marked with lined branches that blended perfectly with the vast, indifferent tranquility of the snow. While the excitement of the excursion never faded, its actual threat was minimal. Like all good beginners, we never for once deviated from the marked trail. We eventually found ourselves on the summit dotted with boulders that perfectly resembled truffle chocolates. The concept of time was completely irrelevant — there wasn't a past and wouldn't exist a future, or rather, if either of them existed, they must have been identical to the moment we hit the summit — as striking, quiet, and irrevocable. Above one of the truffle-boulder was a fluffy bird, which I called a "highland sparrow", for the lack of vocabulary. We generously shared our half-frozen sandwich with the delightful creature to celebrate our first proper "snow mountain hike".