Section 13 - This
section refers to the hills and mountains of Applecross, Coulin and
Torridon. They cover the
Corbetts,
Grahams and
Munros that I have climbed in
this area since 2003.
Index to Hills in this Section
Fuar Tholl
15 June 2008
photos taken on walk
| Map – OS Landranger 25. |
Time – 5.75 hours. |
Distance - 14 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1010
metres. |
The Corbett, Fuar Tholl,
misses out on Munro status by a mere 7 metres, however it is a
very impressive mountain protected by cliffs. The starting point was the A890 Achnasheen to Lochcarron road
at the access
road to Achnashellach Station, where there is parking for several
vehicles on the south side of the road. This is the same starting
point as for the Munros, Beinn Liath Mhor and Sgorr Ruadh.
I walked up passed the
Station, crossed the railway line, and followed the signposted route
through the forest to the path at the side of the River Lair. The
path continued up the east side of the river but as height was
gained it mainly followed a tributary to the junction of paths
marked by a cairn. Here I took the left fork, descended and crossed the
fairly shallow River Lair, and continued up the path,
which eventually passed the north face of Fuar Tholl with views of
the Mainnrichean Buttress and into Coire Mainnrichean.
The plan was originally to
ascend Fuar Tholl by Coire Mainnrichean but I decided to continue to
the highest point on the path and ascend from the north-west. I left
the path, passed several small lochans, and climbed through scree
following a walker’s trail. Higher up it involved some easy
scrambling as the hill steepened before I reached a grassy knoll.
The mountain was engulfed in cloud and I had another of the now
frequent rain showers. From the knoll there was a slight descent
before following the cliff edge to the cairn at the summit of Creag
Mainnrichean where I saw a couple of ptarmigan.
At times the cloud appeared
to be breaking up as I descended to the top of Corrie Mainnrichean and
climbed to the summit of Fuar Tholl. The trig point had been badly
damaged with chunks lying outwith the surrounding shelter. I decided
to have lunch hoping that the cloud would clear and in fact
encountered a hail shower instead. However the cloud later broke up
a bit and I managed views of Loch Carron, the South
Achnashellach mountains and the nearby Munros, Sgorr Ruadh and Beinn
Liath Mhor.
Once I had taken several
photographs I descended to the top of Corrie Mainnrichean before
dropping
down into the corrie, initially over some scree, before the going
became easier on grass. Lower down I joined the path used on the
upward route and followed it back to the start.
| Fuar Tholl |
Corbett |
second ascent |
907 metres |
top of page
An
Ruadh-mheallan
13 June 2008
photos taken on walk
| Map –
OS Landranger 24. |
Time
taken – 2.75 hours. |
Distance - 5.5 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 470
metres. |
The start of this walk was
the unclassified road running from Torridon village to Diabeg.
Torridon village is just off the A896 Lochcarron to Kinlochewe road.
At the high point on the Diabeg Road, called Bealach na Gaoithe, I
parked my vehicle in a small parking area overlooking Loch Diabaigas
Airde.
I crossed the road and set
off over pathless terrain towards An Ruadh-mheallan. The area
consisted of loads of rocks, knolls, bogs and lochans making it
impossible to head in a straight line and instead I had to find the
most advantageous route towards this Graham. I had views across to
Beinn Alligin, back to the Coulin mountains, across Loch Torridon to
North Applecross and over the sea to the Islands of Rona and Skye.
The hill was my own except
for a few deer and once clear of the lochans and knolls it was a
steady climb to the rock strewn summit. A cold wind was blowing but
at least it was dry and cloud free unlike the summits of Beinn
Alligin. In addition to the views already mentioned, to the north I
could see Red Point, the Gairloch area and the Corbett Baosbheinn.
The return was roughly by
the ascent route but once lower down things weren’t so obvious so a
radio mast near to where I parked my car was a perfect navigation
aid to return to the road.
Navigation in poor
conditions would be rather awkward so I would suggest leaving this
hill for a fine day especially for the views.
| An Ruadh-mheallan |
Graham |
first ascent |
672 metres |
top of page
Liathach
12 June 2008
photos taken on walk
| Map –
OS Landranger 25. |
Time taken - 6.5 hours. |
Distance - 8 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1300
metres. |
The weather was to improve
slightly for Steve’s ascent of the Liathach Munros, well his plan
was to just climb Spidean a’Choire Leith and return by the ascent
route. However having guided Steve on his annual visits to Scotland
for around five years I considered that he was capable of completing
this classic route. Steve has always been unfortunate with the
weather and has never had a sunny day yet. This walk was to be no
exception.
We set off in the rain from
the usual starting point on the single track A896 in Glen Torridon, and
climbed up the side of the stream towards Toll a’Meitheach as the
rain ceased. I was able to remove my waterproof jacket as it was
warm work climbing this steep
path containing a few short rocky sections. However I soon had to
put it back on as the rain resumed.
A couple of chaps, who were staying at the
Youth Hostel in Torridon and whom we had seen the
previous day on Beinn Eighe, passed us as they raced ahead
apparently to watch a late afternoon European football match.
Higher up the condition of
the path deteriorated considerably as we headed high into the
corrie and the cloud. The path then turned to the east before we
reached Liathach’s ridge between the Munro Tops Stuc a’Choire Dhuibh
Bhig and Stob a’Coire Liath Mhor. Here a cold north wind was blowing
which was a bit of a shock after the heat generated on the sheltered
south side of the ridge.
Visibility was now poor as
we headed for Stob a’Coire Liath Mhor and en-route spotted a
female ptarmigan head away from us followed by a couple of chicks. A
few minutes later she returned and came very close as she searched for her brood. We could hear
the ptarmigan and her chicks calling
but she obviously had lost some of them. It wasn’t the best location
to bring them up on such a popular walking route. We left her to the search
and walked to the summit of Stob a’Coire Liath Mhor where we took
a break sheltering from the wind. Thereafter we continued along the
ridge with a short steep descent before ascending the Munro Spidean
a’Choire Leith. It was now the point of no return but I had convinced
Steve to continue along Liathach's ridge.
The descent from Spidean
a’Choire Leith was over rocks and down some scree to the narrow col
and a short walk to the Pinnacle Ridge. We took the narrow path on
the south side of the ridge occasionally joining the ridge route
where it was cold and windy. A couple of chaps were heading east over
the tops of
the Pinnacles. Around half an hour of carefully negotiating the
path we reached the 903 Point at the west end of the ridge. Just beyond
this knoll the cloud cleared very briefly for glimpses north to Loch
Coire na Caime. It was then a relatively easy ascent to the second
Munro, Mullach an Rathain where we had lunch.
A cairn just west of Mullach
an Rathain marked the start of the steep descent down scree into
Toll Ban and eventually out of the cloud. Lower down the
path twisted and turned where it had been repaired. On reaching the
A896 Steve’ partner was waiting for us which saved us a walk back up
the Glen.
Steve, although apprehensive
before the start of the walk, was glad that he had completed the
ridge albeit by the path just below the ridge. The only downside was
his usual bad weather.
| Spidean a'Choire Leith |
Munro |
ninth ascent |
1055 metres |
| Mullach an Rathain
|
Munro |
seventh ascent |
1023 metres |
previous
ascent
top
of page
Beinn Eighe
11 June 2008
photos taken on walk
| Map - Landranger
19 & 25. |
Time taken – 6.75 hours. |
Distance - 16 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1300
metres. |
Last week it had been a lovely
sunny day when I set off for Beinn Eighe from the car park at the
foot of Coire Dubh Mor in Glen Torridon. This time it was wet and
windy with low cloud covering the summits and a lot colder than in
recent weeks.
The route took the same
format. Once in Coire Dubh Mor the rain became more showery and
there were some breaks in the cloud. On the path on the west side of
Sail Mhor there were lots of hinds, some were unperturbed by our
presence, others ran off. After the usual two hour walk we reached
Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair with views of the Triple Buttress but the
cloud soon lowered making the corrie very atmospheric.
We took a break at the edge
of loch and were passed by a couple of chaps who were staying at the
Youth Hostel in Torridon. Thereafter we followed the path round the
east side of Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchaie, headed passed the three
small lochans, and climbed the scree gully to the ridge east of
Coinneach Mhor. The cloud had lifted again and we could see
back down our ascent route and the summits of Ruadh-stac Mor and
Spidean Coire nan Clach, our target Munros.
Firstly we headed towards Ruadh-stac
Mor passing the two chaps we had seen earlier who were returning
from the summit. The cloud lowered again and we encountered more rain
and on reaching the
summit cairn there were no views. We therefore returned to
the top of the corrie and followed the walker’s path round the south
side of Coinneach Mhor and onto its south-east ridge.
The cloud appeared to be a
bit thicker and we still had no views. It was well passed lunchtime
so we found a suitable sheltered area for our break.
Thereafter we continued along the ridge, passing three men going in
the opposite direction before commencing the ascent of Spidean Coire
nan Clach where we passed another gent also going in the opposite
direction.
The trig point was
eventually reached and it was then a short walk, which
involved an easy scramble, to the summit cairn. Here the
cloud broke briefly to allow us to take a few photos of the ridge
and into Coire Ruadh-stac. However the break in the cloud was
short lived so we returned to the trig point. From here we
descended towards Glen Torridon, initially down a steep and eroded
path which improved lower down. Steve’s
partner was waiting for us In Glen Torridon which saved us the walk back along the road.
| Ruadh-stac Mor |
Munro |
seventh ascent |
1010 metres |
| Spidean Coire nan Clach |
Munro |
seventh ascent |
993 metres |
previous
ascent
top
of page
Liathach
6 June 2008
photos taken on walk
| Map – Landranger 25. |
Time taken – 6 hours. |
Distance - 8 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1300
metres. |
This was the final walk
this week in Torridon requested by John who wanted to complete the
Torridon Munros although he was insistent that he wasn’t a Munro
bagger. However I suspect that by the end of this trip he was
beginning to admit that maybe one day he would like to have climbed all
the Munros.
The start of the walk was
Glen Torridon on the A 896 Kinlochewe to Shieldaig Road. East of
Glen Cottage and a cattle grid there were parking spaces on the
south side of the glen capable of taking 6 – 8 cars.
We parked here, crossed the road and followed the steep path up the
side of the Allt an Doire Ghairbh, initially on the west side but
soon crossed the stream and continued into the Toll a’Meitheach
clambering over some rocks. It was rather warm so I needed to
replenish my water supply from the trickle in the stream.
High up in the corrie we
took a right and followed a very eroded path, again involving some
scrambling, onto the ridge where we took a break looking across to
Beinn Eighe and some of the north Torridon hills.
The ridge was followed west,
taking the easiest route over boulders and scree to the Munro Top,
Stob a’Coire Liath Mhor. Another unnamed top was crossed before the
ascent of the first Munro of the day, Spidean a’Choire Leith, the
final section being over some large boulders. Here we met
another guided group who had passed us in Toll a’Meitheach. The descent from this Munro continued in the
same vain of boulders and scree.
A narrow gully was reached
and ahead was the Pinnacle Ridge. We opted for the easier route
along the path on the south side just below the ridge. The path was
narrow but dry with the occasional awkward step to negotiate which
required extreme care and a couple of easy scrambles. Eventually we
reached the end of the Pinnacle Ridge where the going was easier as we ascended the second and final
Munro, Mullach an Rathain.
We took a lunch break on the
summit of Mullach an Rathain
looking down to the very eroded Northern Pinacle, another Munro Top,
which is actually easier to ascend on its own from the Coire na
Caime in the north. While eating lunch the summit was
engulfed in cloud. We left the summit and descended very steeply
down scree into Toll Ban and were soon out of the cloud. Lower down
conditions became a bit easier although the path was very eroded. A
few small sections higher up had been repaired as was the lower
section but that had been the case for a few years.
The Allt an Tuill Bhan was
followed until we reached A896 where we had left a car. This saved a
walk of around two kilometres back up the Glen.
| Spidean a'Choire Leith |
Munro |
eight ascent |
1055 metres |
| Mullach an Rathain
|
Munro |
sixth ascent |
1023 metres |
previous ascent of Spidean
a'Choire Leith
previous ascent of Mullach an
Rathain
top
of page
Beinn Eighe
4 June 2008
photos taken on walk
| Map - OS Landranger 19
& 25. |
Time taken - 7.25 hours. |
Distance - 16 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1300
metres. |
It was a lovely sunny day
when we set off from the car park at the foot of Coire Dubh Mor in
Glen Torridon. A single track road, the A896, runs through this glen
linking Kinlochewe with Torridon viallage.
We walked up the path in Coire Dubh Mor
which runs between Laithach and Beinn Eighe. It eventually links up
with the path in Coire Mhic Nobuil which was part of the
previous day's walk. Just beyond the highest point on
the Coire Dubh Mor path we took the right fork and this path worked
its way round the foot of the
Munro Top, Sail Mhor, before a short climb into Coire Mhic
Fhearchair.
We sat for a while beside
the beautifully located Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair where it was very
quiet and peaceful. Reluctantly we set off again along the east side
of the loch and then climbed passed three small lochans. The path
here was a bit indistinct in places but the bottom of the scree
gully was soon reached. We climbed the scree looking for the easiest
ascent route and higher up kept to the east rock wall which gave us
some hand holds. Once at the top of the gully we had views of
Ruadh-stac Mor and Spidean Coire nan Clach, our target Munros.
Ruadh-stac Mor was was
easily
climbed before we returned to the top of the gully,
bypassed the summit of Coinneach Mhor, and walked along Beinn Eighe's
main ridge. We stopped briefly for lunch looking down into
Coire Ruadh-stac. Once fed and watered we continued along the ridge,
which narrowed slightly, and ascended Spidean
Coire nan Clach. Firstly the trig point was reached but this was not
the summit it was further east. The ridge narrowed again and with a
bit of easy scrambling we reached the summit cairn.
Once we had taken a few
photographs we returned to the trig point and descended a very
eroded path into Stuc Coire an Laoigh where we spotted a lone deer.
It wasn’t perturbed by our presence and even sat down. Lower
the path improved and we continued the descent to the A896 where we
had left a vehicle. This saved a walk back along the road.
| Ruadh-stac Mor |
Munro |
sixth ascent |
1010 metres |
| Spidean Coire nan Clach |
Munro |
sixth ascent |
993 metres |
previous
ascent
top of page
Beinn Alligin
3 June 2008
photos taken on walk
| Map – OS Landranger 24. |
Time
taken – 7.5 hours. |
Distance - 10 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1240
metres. |
The start for the ascent of
Beinn Alligin was the car park at the foot of Coire Mhic Nobuil. It
is located on the single track unclassified road that runs through
Torridon village to the road end at Diabeg. The car park is
normally a haven for the dreaded midge but fortunately there was a
slight breeze as we prepared for the first of several days
in the Torridon mountains.
We crossed the road and
followed a walker's path which started on the west side of Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil.
We were soon clambering over some rocks and a stile as height was gained. Beyond that the
usual boggy sections were remarkably dry after a fine
spell of weather in the north-west coast of Scotland . In saying that it started to rain at this
point and the cloud base lowered.
Eventually the foot of Coir
nan Laogh was reached and we commenced the ascent of this grassy
gully by way of eroded paths. Soon we were in the cloud but as
we gained height the rain gradually eased. The top of the corrie was
reached before a short ascent to the summit trig point of Tom na
Gruagaich where we took a short break.
The descent of Tom na
Gruagaich was fairly steep and in places involved a few hand holds
to get over some of the rocks.
During this time the cloud base lifted slightly and we had views on
one side to Gairloch and The Minch and on the other side Upper Loch
Torridon. James, who walked with me last year, was delighted to have
some views as on his previous visit to Liathach he had tremendous
weather. My other walking companion John was used to the
fickleness of the Scottish weather and was expecting poor conditions as was
the norm on his visits to Scotland. He obviously had been unlucky
as the weather improved and he had a fine week.
Once at the bealach the
ascent of Sgurr Mor commenced and again we entered the cloud. A
small knoll was crossed as we continued up the walker’s path to the Eag Dhubh, a sheer sided cleft, and onto the summit cairn of Sgurr Mor.
There were no views to be had so we descended the east ridge. It was windy here and rather cold but
as we lost height
we came out of the cloud and found shelter for lunch looking
over Loch a’Bhealaich to Baosbheinn and Beinn an Eoin.
As the cloud broke we had
views of Na Rathanan, the Horns of Alligin, and James and John were
looking to see if there was a path up The Horns but it wasn’t obvious from our
position. After lunch we continued the descent to the bealach and spotted
another walker, the only one of the day, walking along the Na
Rathanan ridge. We commenced the ascent of the first Horn, which
was steep and involved some easy scrambling passing the other walker. Some months ago James
e-mailed me to suggest we take the by-pass route round the Horns, but
he appeared happy to clamber over the tops and had no problems. John
just took it in his stride. The
weather continued to improve and we had good views of Liathach and
its Pinnacles.
The ridge, which was narrow
in places, was followed with several short steep ascents and
descents before we had climbed all three Horns. Thereafter it was a
rather steep and rocky descent to the path on the west side of the
Allt a’Bhealaich. This path soon joined the path on the east side of
the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil with views of the castellated Beinn
Alligin and its cleft, Eag Dubh. The path was followed down Coire
Mhic Nobuil to the car park and the end of an interesting and
entertaining day.
| Tom na Gruagaich |
Munro |
sixth ascent |
922 metres |
| Sgurr Mor |
Munro |
sixth ascent |
986 metres |
previous ascent
top
of page
Beinn Liath Mhor and Sgorr Ruadh
7 October 2007
photos taken on walk
|
Beinn Liath Mhor,
pronounced byn lyeeu voar, meaning big grey hill. |
|
Sgorr Ruadh, skoor rooa,
meaning red peak. |
| Time taken - 10 hours. |
Distance - 12 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1190
metres. |
This was Frances's penultimate and then final Munro after fourteen
years of hill walking. It was also her second attempt at
ascending these mountains as previously strong winds had prevented
her from getting onto Beinn Liath Mhor's east ridge.
A lay-by on the south side of the A890 Achnasheen to Lochcarron
road opposite the private road to Achnashellach Station is a
suitable parking spot. From here we walked to the
railway station, crossed the railway line and followed the
signposted route through the forest onto the path on the east side of
the River Lair. It was cool after a touch of ground
frost with some mist floating about. There were
obviously several stags in the area as we could hear them roaring.
The path was followed until it split at a height of around 370
metres and we took the right hand path which led to the foot of the
south-east ridge of Beinn Liath Mhor. This was followed
by a relatively steep climb on an eroded path which took us to the
boulders surrounding the 876 summit which we crossed to reach the
cairn. Unfortunately the cloud had lowered and was now covering the higher summits.
Beinn Liath Mhor's undulating ridge was followed and here we saw
some ptarmigan, heard the roar of the stags in the glens below and
were eventually overtaken by a lone walker who headed into the
cloud. We followed him but never saw this walker again.
The summit of Beinn Liath Mhor was reached where we had our lunch.
After lunch we headed for the bealach with Sgorr Ruadh.
This is more complicated than the map showed especially in poor
visibility as there are lots of rocks to avoid. However
there are a few lochans which assist in navigation. The
descent to the first lochan was over loose rocks before changing
direction and heading for the second lochan which involved finding
the gully where a walker's path had been created. This
path was steep and eroded and took us to the second lochan from where
we traversed round the east side of the 769 point and clear of the low
cloud. The path was muddy in places but once on the
south side of the 769 point it descended to the third lochan at the
Bealach Coire Lair where the path from Coire Lair was joined.
The path was only used for a few metres before we left it and
climbed a grassy section onto the stony north-west ridge of Sgorr
Ruadh. We had earlier seen another couple of walkers who
were behind us searching for the descent to the second lochan but
they never caught up and we later spotted them descending the path
into Coire Lair.
The cloud started to be break up as we climbed the north-west
ridge of Sgorr Ruadh and the sun tried to make an appearance but
unfortunately it didn't last long enough for us to reach the summit.
The final climb was over some rocks before the large summit
cairn was reached and Frances summitted her 284th Munro.
I took a few photographs to mark the occasion and the new
Munroist received a couple of phone calls before we descended
towards Loch a'Bhealaich Mhoir. There were traces of a
path but the descent was wet in places and had some rocks to avoid.
We heard the stags again but never saw anything due to the cloud.
We walked round the west side of Loch a'Bhealaich Mhoir and over
some rough ground to the stalker's path below Fuar Tholl.
We descended the stalker's path and lower down crossed the River
Lair where fortunately the water wasn't too high. Once
on the other side a short climb led us to the path and the route we
used in the morning which we followed back to the start.
I then drove Frances to a village near Beauly where she was
having a champagne dinner to celebrate her achievement in ascending
all 284 Munros.
previous ascent
| Beinn Liath Mhor |
Munro |
fifth ascent |
926 metres |
| Sgorr Ruadh |
Munro |
fifth ascent |
962 metres |
top of page
Liathach - Spidean a'Choire
Leith
13 August 2007
|
Spidean a'Choire Liath,
pronounced speedyan a chora lyayha, meaning grey corrie. |
It was a wet and windy morning as we drove west through Glen
Torridon, so different from my last walk here in
June. In fact
today's client was due to come on that walk but had to pull out due
to injury.
We parked a vehicle near Torridon village at the point where we
would descend from the Toll Ban and returned to east of Glen Cottage. Here there is a parking area on the
south side of the road capable of taking several cars.
A few metres east of the car park, on the opposite side of the
road, a small cairn marked the start of the path to Liathach.
Initially it followed the west side of the Allt an Doire Ghairbh but
we soon had to cross this stream, which was in spate, as the
upgraded path, continued on the east side of the burn.
The ascent included a few easy scrambles over some rocks before
we reached Toll a'Meitheach where it was very windy with lots of
water rushing off the mountainside. The path deteriorated from
here onwards as we continued into Coire Liath Mhor and the cloud.
A couple of small landslides had eroded the path even further.
At Coire Liath Mhor
we changed
direction towards the bealach west of the Munro Top, Stuc a'Choire Dhuibh Bhig. This path was just a stream of water with
stones being washed away by the force of the rainwater.
Scrambling over some of the rocks meant water up our jacket sleeves.
The ridge was eventually reached and it was surprisingly less
windy. I hadn't expected to get this far in these conditions
but with the wind lighter we decided to continue and walked west along the ridge.
A couple of
small tops were crossed before we reached the Munro Top Stob a'Coire Liath.
This was followed by a short descent before the final climb to the
summit of the Munro, Spidean a'Choire Leith which nearer the summit involved
scrambling over a few large boulders.
It was now decision time whether to continue along the ridge, over
the Pinnacles, and onto the second Munro Mullach an Rathain. Initially the
wind on the summit wasn't too strong but after a few minutes it
strengthened and gave us a bit of a buffeting so the decision was
made. The risk was too high so we headed back along
the ridge.
It was now a bit windier on the ridge but eventually we reached
the path used on the upward route and commenced the descent to Coire
Liath Mhor. The path was still awash and at points Sue
had to sit in the water to get over some of the rocky sections, a
new experience for her. On reaching the Coire the wind
was very strong with spray from the burns blowing in all directions
including upwards. We had obviously made the correct
decision as the wind was now definitely stronger although the cloud base was
higher.
The descent continued back to the A896 and thereafter we had to
retrieve the car we had deposited near Torridon village, which had been a bit
optimistic on these conditions.
| Spidean a'Choire Liath |
Munro |
seventh ascent |
1055 metres |
previous ascent
of this mountain
top of page
Liathach
8 June 2007
photos taken on walk
|
Spidean a'Choire Liath,
pronounced speedyan a chora lyayha, meaning grey corrie.
|
|
Mullach an Rathain,
pronounced mooloch an rahan, meaning summit of the pinnacles.
|
| Time taken - 6.5 hours. |
Distance - 8 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1240
metres. |
The request for this walk started in December
2006 when I was contacted by a lady who was looking for a guide to
take her brother up Liathach for his 50th birthday.
After several e-mails everything was agreed and her brother James
started on a training regime.
I met James outside the
Kinlochewe Hotel
where he was staying. The Hotel had recently changed hands and
it would appear to have improved compared to the way it was run previously. We drove
towards Torridon where James left his vehicle at the foot of Mullach
an Rathain and we returned up the Glen to the car park below Toll
a’Meitheach.
From this car park we walked the few yards
along the road to small cairn which marked the start of the path to
the
Toll a’Mheitheach. The path soon crossed to the east bank of the
Allt an Doire Ghairbh and was in a reasonable condition until higher
up where it was very eroded. By this time I had learned
from James that it had been an ambition of his for over 25 years to climb Liathach. In
his training regime for this walk he had lost over a stone and a
half.
Fortunately the weather was fine as the early
morning cloud cleared the summit tops. On the ascent James was
awestruck with the views down into Glen Torridon and across to the
mountains on the south side of the Glen.
Eventually we reached the narrow ridge west of
Stuc a’Choire Dhuibh Bhig. Despite the sun there was a cool breeze
but the views made up for any slight inconvenience. James was
overjoyed with the views and all along the ridge and even on the
descent kept repeating this fact.
We walked along the ridge over the Munro Top,
Stob a’Choire Liath Mhor and ascended the Munro Spidean a’Choire
Leith where we had a short break and discussed the next section of
the ridge which is the hardest part of the walk as it gives the most
exposure.
The descent from Spidean a’Choire Leith was
over boulders and various scree paths which needed care and this
took us to the bealach east of the pinnacles. It had been
decided that we would take the narrow path to the south of the
pinnacles but even here there were sections that were wet and eroded
and any slip would have severe consequences. James was relieved
once we were beyond the pinnacles and he could return to enjoying
the views instead on concentrating on every step he took.
On a grassy area we had lunch enjoying the
surrounding scenery before continuing the ascent of Mullach an
Rathain. On reaching this summit we viewed its severely eroded
north-west ridge which led to the Northern Pinnacles. The Munro
Top, Meall Dearg, is on this ridge and a few years ago it took me
three visits before I managed to reach its summit cairn with an
approach from the north by Coire na Caime.
The descent from Mullach an Rathain was along
the ridge for a few metres before going down its south ridge where
we had views of Upper Loch Torridon and its various blue
colours. The descent continued into Toll Ban but the path was more
awkward than on my previous visits due to more erosion and over use by
walkers. Below Toll Ban the path was fine and in the lower
stretches it had been upgraded.
James was pleased with the walk but the weather
had made the difference so all that was left was the memories of a
fine day on Liathach and his long drive home to South Yorkshire the
next morning.
| Spidean a'Choire Leith |
Munro |
sixth ascent |
1055 metres |
| Mullach an Rathain |
Munro |
fifth ascent |
1023 metres |
previous ascent
top of page
Sgurr a’Chaorachain
27 May 2007
photos taken on walk
|
Sgurr a'Chaorachain,
pronounced skoor a choerachyn, meaning hill of the rowan berried
place. |
| Time taken - 1.75 hours. |
Distance - 6 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 220
metres. |
Sgurr a'Chaorachain might be one of the easiest Corbetts to climb in
relation to distance from a public road but it must be one of the
most spectacular with its impressive buttresses and views across to
the islands.
We had climbed the other Applecross Corbett,
Beinn Bhan, a few years ago. and on that occasion hadn’t sufficient
time to bag Sgurr a’Chaorachain.
To reach the starting point required a drive up
the narrow and twisting road from Kishorn to Applecross to the head
of the Bealach na Ba, the pass of the cattle. There is a large car
park at the top of the bealach where we had fantastic views across
the Inner Sound to the Island of Raasay, the Cuillin of Skye and
Glamaig.
It was late afternoon when we set off as we had
already climbed An Ruadh-stac earlier that day.
The sun was out but it was cold and very windy. We
walked along the vehicle track to a radio mast where we had views into
Coire a’Chaorachain and the massive cliffs surrounding it. A short
descent took us to Sgurr a’Chaorachain’s west ridge which had a
couple of short descents, difficult in the wind. However the views
compensated for any inconvenience with steep drops into Coire
a’Chaorachain to the north and Coire na Ba to the south.
Almost directly below us was the road we drove along to reach the
Bealach na Ba.
The summit cairn of Sgurr a’Chaorachain was
reached again with the views already described but also across to
Torridon and the North Achnashellach mountains. including An
Ruadh-stac.
We returned along the west ridge and rather
than head back to the radio mast we cut directly across rough ground
to the vehicle track and the short walk to the car.
| Sgurr a'Chaorachain |
Corbett |
second ascent |
792 metres |
previous ascent
top of page
An Ruadh-stac
27 May 2007
photos taken on walk
|
An Ruadh-stac,
pronounced an rooagh stachk, meaning red steep hill. |
| Time taken – 6.5 hours |
Distance - 15.5
kilometres. |
Height climbed - 900
metres. |
The walk started from the A890 Achnasheeen to
Lochcarron road at Coulags. Rough ground on the west side of the
bridge over the Fionn-abhainn had been improved for parking and
should be used rather than obstructing the gates on the east side of
the bridge which is used by the local farmer and house owner.
We left the parking area, crossed the road
bridge and headed north up the east side of the Fionn-abhainn taking
the short diversionary path avoiding the grounds of a house. Further north the path crossed the Fionn-abhainn by a small
footbridge and passed the Coire Fionnaraich bothy where a number of
residents were sitting outside in the sun partaking of a late
breakfast.
Beyond this bothy we came to the junction of
paths and took the uphill one, which was rather eroded, to the
Bealach a’Choire Ghairbh. This is the same route for the Munro, Maol Chean-dearg.
We crossed to a second bealach, climbed over a small knoll and onto a
third bealach. Here it was cold and windy so some warmer
clothing was required before commencing the ascent of An Ruadh-stac.
This initially meant scrambling up rock which fortunately was dry
and higher up boulders but eventually the summit was reached.
Although the highest point was obvious and was
marked by a cairn we wandered around the summit area taking in all the
views. It was still sunny although with a cold wind, but the views were
great especially across to the Torridon area, the Applecross hills,
snow clad Lurg Mhor and over to Skye and the Inner Isles.
Eventually we went to the actual summit were we had lunch sheltered
behind the cairn.
The return was by the upward route with a plan
to pop over to Applecross to climb another Corbett which would only
take a couple of hours.
| An Ruadh-stac |
Corbett |
second ascent |
892 metres |
previous ascent
top of page
Beinn Eighe
21 October 2006
photos taken on walk
|
Ruadh-stac Mor,
pronounced rooagh stachk moar, meaning big red steep hill. |
|
Spidean Coire nan Clach,
pronounced speedyan kora nan klach, meaning grey corrie. |
| Time taken - 7hrs. |
Distance - 19 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1290
metres. |
The weather was rather wet as we drove from
Inverness to Glen Torridon and parked in the car park at the foot of
Coire Dubh Mor and the forecast wasn’t very promising for the rest
of the day.
We set off from this car park and followed the
path up Coire Dubh Mor and took the path round the north side of Sail Mhor and
into the spectacular Coire Mhic Fhearchar. It was still rather
damp here but the cloud was beginning to rise as we walked round the
east side of Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair, passed the three lochans, to the foot of the scree
at the head of the corrie.
The ascent of the scree slowed us down a bit
and higher in the gully we stuck to the east side where we could
use the rocks to climb to the bealach.
On reaching here the summit of Ruadh-stac Mor was clear and
we headed over to its summit disturbing numerous ptarmigan, some of
whom were starting to turn white. Further on we
disturbed a large group of snow buntings.
From the summit of Ruadh-stac Mor we had views over to the Sea of the Hebrides and of some of the
surrounding mountains. We returned to the bealach above
Coire Mhic Fhearchair and headed
along the ridge towards the second Munro of the day Spidean Coire
nan Clach.
On approaching Spidean Coire nan Clach the
cloud lowered and covered the ridge as we climbed to the Trig Point
and onto the summit. There was no views so we headed south down the scree covered ridge rather than return to the Trig Point and
descended the scree as I had done previously. The descent was
fairly arduous and probably slightly tougher than the descent from
the Trig Point. We eventually joined the path I had
used on previous occasions and shortly thereafter we alighted from
the cloud.
We followed the path down to the A896 in Glen Torridon and then a walk along the road back to the car park at
Coire Dubh Mor.
| Ruadh-stac Mor |
Munro |
fifth ascent |
1010 metres |
| Spidean Coire nan Clach |
Munro |
fifth ascent |
993 metres |
previous ascent of these
mountains
top of page
Beinn Alligin
19 August 2006
photos taken on walk
|
Beinn Alligin,
pronounced byn aaleegin, meaning jewelled mountain. |
|
Tom na Gruagaich,
pronounced towm na grooageech, meaning hill of the damsel. |
|
Sgurr Mhor, pronounced
skoor vore, meaning big peak. |
| Time taken - 6.5 hours. |
Distance - 9K. |
Height climbed - 1270m. |
The car park beside the bridge over the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil,
on the road between Torridon and Diabaig, is midge infested as it is
sheltered, damp and surrounded by vegetation that the midges love.
This day was no exception so we donned our walking gear while seated
in the car.
Once dressed in our outdoor gear we quickly crossed the road and followed a path, which was wet and boggy in
places, to the foot of Coir nan Laogh. The cloud was
clear of the tops of Beinn Alligin at this time and it was windy so
we had left the midges behind.
The ascent up Coir an Laogh is a fairly steep climb on an eroded
path which appeared to be under repair, probably started
recently, as only a few boulders had been re-positioned. As we approached the top of the
corrie the cloud lowered and engulfed the area. We walked to the
summit of Tom na Gruagaich where it was fairly windy and with
no views we headed down the north ridge, which was steep and rocky in
places.
From the bealach we ascended a small knoll and then a steep climb,
passed the cleft of Eag Dhubh, to the summit of Sgurr Mhor.
We were still in the cloud and my client was given the opportunity
to continue over The Horns but decided that she would prefer to
return by the upward route.
As we returned to Tom na Gruagaich the cloud started to break up and
we had some good views over the sea to Skye.
The descent was otherwise uneventful but the midges were waiting for
us at the car park.
| Tom na Gruagaich |
Munro |
fifth ascent |
922 metres |
| Sgurr Mor |
Munro |
fifth ascent |
986 metres |
previous ascent of these mountains
top of page
Beinn Liath Mhor & Sgorr Ruadh
22 July 2006
photos taken on walk
|
Beinn Liath Mhor,
pronounced byn lyeeu voar, meaning big grey hill. |
|
Sgorr Ruadh, skoor rooa,
meaning red peak. |
| Time taken - 6.5 hours. |
Distance - 16 kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1350
metres. |
It was misty with drizzle when I left Inverness and headed for
Achnashellach. The further west I went the better the
weather became and by the time I arrived at the parking area on the
A890 beside Achnashellach Station it was warm and sunny and the
clouds were clearing the mountain tops.
I walked up the Station Road, crossed the railway line and
continued through the forest to the path up the east side of the
River Lair.
On leaving the forest, an information sign erected by the Estate
and giving contact details, had obviously been vandalised.
There are several of these perspex signs throughout this Estate, but this
one has obviously been smashed. I find this act of
wanton destruction, probably by walkers, unacceptable as it gives
the rest of us a bad name. The guilty should be named
and shamed.
The path, which was in good condition, continued onto Corrie
Lair,
but where it levelled out I took the right hand path which leads to Coulin. Once at the foot of Beinn Liath Mhor, a path,
created by hill walkers heads up onto the mountain. This path is
quite steep and badly eroded but at least height is gained fairly
quickly.
The gradient of this path later eased as I headed towards the
stony summit at 876 metres. The cloud engulfed the
mountain and I was stopped in my tracks by a ptarmigan's warning
call as
I almost stood on its young.
In fairly poor visibility I walked from the 876 Point along the ridge,
which became narrow at times and had several ups and downs. I
reached the summit of Beinn Liath Mhor as the cloud cleared and the
sun re-appeared and I had magnificent views of Loch Torridon, Beinn
Alligin, Liathach, Beinn Eighe and many lesser known mountains.
I sat at the summit for some time taking in these views but in
the end I reluctantly left and headed for the bealach with Sgorr Ruadh.
This descent is fairly tricky, even in good weather, as it involves
avoiding several rocky outcrops. A couple of adult
ptarmigan were sounding warning calls but I couldn't see their young
as they blended in well with the surrounding rock.
The ascent of Sgorr Ruadh was initially grassy but higher up it
became rocky but I soon reached the summit with views of Loch Carron
as well as those areas mentioned earlier.
The descent of Sgorr Ruadh was fairly rocky and in places wet and boggy
but I eventually reached Loch a'Bhealach Mhor before heading for the
path below Fuar Tholl. Once again I heard the warning
call from an adult ptarmigan and saw its young take off, however I
came across them again a few minutes further on.
I reached the path and followed it to the River Lair, crossed it
and returned to the start by the morning route. It was
still hot and sunny but when I got back to Inverness it was still
misty so I got the best of the day's weather.
| Beinn Liath Mhor |
Munro |
fourth ascent |
926 metres |
| Sgorr Ruadh |
Munro |
fourth ascent |
962 metres |
top of page
Maol Chean-dearg
27 May 2006
photos taken on walk
|
Maol Chean-dearg,
pronounced moel chyan dyerek, meaning the bald red head. |
| Time taken - 7 hours. |
Distance - 14.5
kilometres. |
Height climbed - 940
metres. |
The starting point for this walk was the A890 Achnasheen to
Lochcarron Road at Coulags. I had considered climbing it from
Torridon, where we were staying, but there was a lot of water to
cross and there had been some heavy rain.
The vehicle track took us as far as the cottage where a signpost
indicated a route that was supposed to have been maintained to the
west of the cottage. It was in fact a wet and muddy path
at the side of the Fionn-abhainn. Once back on track we
headed north over several swollen streams where it was impossible to
keep the boots dry.
We later crossed the Fionn-abhainn and headed for Coire Fionnaraich bothy where we had a coffee break. The bothy
was very tidy and was a welcome shelter from the rain showers.
The path continued for another kilometre before another one took us
up to the Bealach a'Choire Ghairbh. This path was
covered in colourful stones which retained our interest as we gained
height.
The next section of the walk was a steep climb up a scree path to
the knoll south-east of Maol Chean-dearg followed by a walk along
the ridge to the bouldery strewn summit. This final
section was very awkward and time consuming searching for the best
route through the boulders but on reaching the summit it was
rewarded by some stunning views.
We managed to find some shelter from the cold wind for lunch and
left the summit as we were engulfed by cloud and another rain
shower. The route of descent was by the upward route
with another stop at the bothy before a fast walk back to the start
at Coulags.
| Maol Chean-dearg |
Munro |
fourth ascent |
933 metres |
top of page
Beinn Alligin
26 May 2006
photos taken on walk
|
Beinn Alligin,
pronounced byn aaleegin, meaning jewelled mountain. |
|
Tom na Gruagaich,
pronounced towm na grooageech, meaning hill of the damsel. |
|
Sgurr Mhor, pronounced
skoor vore, meaning big peak. |
| Time taken - 7.5 hours. |
Distance - 10.5
kilometres. |
Height climbed - 1250
metres. |
In May last year we attempted to climb Beinn Alligin but due to the
strength of the wind we only reached the foot of Coir nan Laogh
before we turned back so we were now back for another attack on this
Torridonian mountain.
We set off from the car park on the Torridon to Diabaig road at the
west end of the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil. The clouds
at this time were above the mountain tops although there was some
light rain. At least the wind wasn't as strong as last
year.
The first section of the walk crossed some wet and boggy ground but
progress was made easier by strategically placed boulders laid by
path maintenance crews. This took us to the foot of Coir
nan Laogh and the steep climb up through the corrie as the cloud
began to descend. We reached the bealach which was
followed by a short climb to the summit of Tom na Gruagaich.
It was windy and cold on the summit with limited visibility and
after a short break we made the steep and rocky descent north to the bealach.
Here the cloud lifted slightly and we saw the tiered Torridonian
sandstone of Tom na Gruagaich. A short climb from this
bealach took us to a knoll on Sgurr Mor's west ridge, which for some
reason is marked by a cairn. I hope that in bad weather
walkers aren't considering this knoll to be the summit as it is a
further 600 metres further on. From this knoll there was a
short drop before the final ascent of Sgurr Mhor on worn paths which
in places had some fresh snow lying.
There was no visibility from this summit and it was cold and windy
so we commenced the descent of Sgurr Mhor's east ridge.
Here there was a lot more fresh snow with even more on the north face. Care was required on this descent and lower
down we eventually found some shelter for lunch in the clouds.
At least we were out of the snow.
After lunch we commenced the crossing of Na Rathanan, the Horns of
Alligin. There are three tops to cross and it involved
some relatively easy scrambling although there was some loose rock
to lookout for. I don't think my clients found the
scrambling too much of an ordeal and we eventually reached the
south-east ridge where the descent was rather steep through some
rock. Once over this section we joined the path
that took us to the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil and a pleasant walk
down Coire Mhic Nobuil to the start.
| Tom na Gruagaich |
Munro |
fourth ascent |
922 metres |
| Sgurr Mor |
Munro |
fourth ascent |
986 metres |
top of page
Beinn Bhan
18 July 2005
photos taken on
walk
On my previous visit to climb this Corbett
I approached it from the Bealach na Ba with the advantage of a high
level start. On this occasion I was to start from sea
level.
The starting point was the bridge over the River Kishorn just
west of Tornapress on the Shieldaig to Lochcarron Road.
At this time it was dry with low cloud.
We walked north along the path that leads towards Loch
Gaineamhach. Not long after the commencement of this
walk it started to rain and that continued off and on for a couple
of hours.
On reaching the stream that flowed out of Coire na Feola we
followed traces of a path on its south bank. Higher up
the path, which disappeared in places, cut across the hillside to
the next stream which came out of Lochan Coire na Poite.
There was a rocky approach to this Lochan which was set in
magnificent surroundings.
We took a break here taking in the views of the A'Chioch
and A'Phoit ridges. The low cloud made the area seem
more intimidating. During our break the cloud
started to lift slightly giving us more tempting views.
The next section of the walk saw us being forced to head into
Coire na Poite as the stream flowing from the Coire into Lochan
Coire na Poite was in spate due to overnight rain.
Once over the stream we headed round the east side of A'Phoit,
over some rough ground and into Coir an Fhamair where the walking
was easier. The rain had ceased and the cloud lifted to
reveal a grassy flank that led onto the ridge. We
climbed this grassy area and reached the ridge as the cloud started
to break up with come glimpses of the sun.
Through the cloud we had views of the Islands of Raasay and Rona
before we followed the rim of the ridge to the summit trig point.
Here we had good views of the Torridon mountains.
We took shelter beside the trig point from the cold wind while we
ate lunch before continuing along the edge of the ridge.
The cloud descended and it felt like winter in the cold wind.
Shortly thereafter we were hit by a hail shower before it turned to
rain. This spoilt the descent but we still manage some
glimpses down steep narrow gullies into the corries.
Once beyond the rocks we descended towards the start of the
days walk and the sun tried to make an appearance as we approached
the bridge of the River Kishorn.
This approach to Beinn Bhan is far superior than the approach
from the head of the Bealach na Ba with its magnificent east facing
corries.
| Beinn Bhan |
Corbett |
second ascent |
896 metres |
previous ascent of this
mountain
top of page
Beinn Dearg
17 July 2005
I met the person booking this walk in Inverness and we drove to
Torridon to team up with a new client whom I hadn't met before.
We then headed to the car park at the foot of Coire Mhic Nobuil on
the Torridon to Diabeg road.
During this short journey I learned from my new client that she
was registered blind, information she hadn't divulged to me before.
The car park, which is sheltered and surrounded by trees was
midge infested so after a quick change of gear we set off up the path
in Coire Mhic Nobuil. Just over a kilometre and a half
later we reached a foot bridge which we crossed and followed the
path up the north side of the Allt a'Bhealaich.
It was cloudy and windy and we were soon engulfed in the cloud
with some frequent rain showers.
The path goes further than shown on the map and in fact there are
traces of a path as far as the bealach above and on the west side of
the lochans, of which there are numerous, not all shown on the map.
We descended to the lochans and then commenced the steep climb to
Stuc Loch na Cabhaig. There were traces of a path in
places but I had to find a route avoiding boulders and rocks to make
it easier for my new client and this wasn't particular easy in poor
visibility. However we eventually reached the summit of
this Corbett Top.
It was rather wet and windy here and we lost a bit of height as
we dropped to the bealach before trying to find the easiest
route to the summit of Beinn Dearg. This Corbett is
shown as 914 metres, which is less than a metre short of the height
required to make it a Munro.
Once the summit was reached the next section was very difficult for my new client.
There are three areas of rock to descend and she was unable to see
where the foot and hand holds were so it took some time to coax her
down.
These obstacles were subsequently overcome and we found a sheltered area for lunch
before continuing to the bealach west of Carn na Feola.
From this point we started the descent to the path beside the Abhainn
Coire Mhic Nobuil. This area is treacherous in sections
due to hidden rock slabs so great care was required to find the
safest and easiest route. This caused my new client more
problems as she frequently fell into holes which she was unable to
see. However after a struggle we made it to the path and
returned to the bridge and to the car park at the end of Coire Mhic
Nobuil.
| Beinn Dearg |
Corbett |
second ascent |
914 metres |
previous ascent of this
mountain
top of page
Torridon Weekend
27 - 29 May 2005
I met my clients, Frances, Noreen and Alison in Inverness and we
drove to Glen Torridon. They wanted to climb the
Munros
on Liathach, Beinn Alligin and Beinn Eighe over the weekend. I
decided that as the weather forecast was mainly to be fair for that Friday we should
tackle Liathach first.
We parked a car near the finish of the day's walk to avoid the
stroll up the the Glen at the end of the day and then headed for the
parking area near the Allt an Doire Ghairbh. There were
already several cars there and we spotted some fellow walkers
climbing up towards the ridge.
Once we were ready we walked up the side of the Allt an Doire
Ghairbh which is a steady climb with some easy scrambling but height
was gained fairly quickly. The cloud base was well above
the summits with a cool breeze but I hoped that the rain that was
forecast for later in the day would hold off.
The path later leaves the stream and heads north-east up onto the ridge
where we had good views of Beinn Eighe, the Fisherfield and
Letterewe hills together with the Fannaichs and Beinn Dearg group of
mountains.
We walked west along the ridge over the Munro Top, Stob Coire
Liath Mhor, before a final climb to the first Munro Spidean a'Choire
Leith. A short break was taken here with views along the
ridge, which gave my clients an idea of what to expect.
We also saw the Islands of Eigg and Rum.
A rocky descent followed before we reached the start of the
Pinnacle Ridge and a scramble over the
first pinnacle. However my clients decided that they preferred the narrow
path on the south side of the pinnacles instead.
We were followed by a group of about seven walkers from south of
the border who had also initially tackled the first pinnacle but had
decided that the path was an easier option. This was with the
exception of the oldest member of their party who stayed on the
ridge.
The path was narrow and in places slippery so great care was
needed and despite some apprehension by my clients we successfully
negotiated the path and reached the coll.
The next section of the ridge was a lot easier as we climbed to
the second Munro of the day, Mullach an Rathain where we took
another break after our exploits on the ridge.
The descent was initially down the south-east ridge before
dropping down into the gully. Other walkers took a more
direct route into the gully. From the gully a path
followed the Allt an Tuill Bhain and lower down it had been upgraded
since my last visit.
Once back in Glen Torridon it was a delight
to get a lift back up the Glen to my car thus avoiding the walk up a
tarred road at the end of a hard day which had remained dry despite
the obvious front coming in from the south.
The next day the plan was to
climb Beinn Alligin. However it was a wet and very windy
morning as we drove down Glen Torridon from our base in Kinlochewe.
There were no cars parked in the area of Liathach and only a couple
at the start of the Beinn Eighe walk.
From the village of Torridon
we took the minor road to Diabeg but just beyond a series of double
bends we were brought to an abrupt halt by a tree lying across the
road. We got out of the car to inspect the tree but
there was no way we could move it. As the
rain lashed us we returned to the car but a short time later someone
arrived with a power saw and removed the tree allowing us to
continue our journey to the car park beside the Abhhainn Coire Mhic
Nobuil.
Once dressed in our waterproof gear we set off from the
car park on a footpath that headed towards Coir nan Laogh.
The path had a few boulders strategically placed to avoid some of
the bog.
The walk was very difficult as we were being buffeted by
the strong wind coming down Coire Mhic Nobuil. Despite
the difficulties the decision was to continue to the foot of the
corrie to ascertain if it was more sheltered and also in the hope
that the wind would subside a bit.
Progress was fairly slow and
when we reached the entrance to the Coire there was no change in the
wind strength. It was decided to take a short
refreshment break as we watched the water in the stream coming down
the Corrie being blown back up the hill in a couple of exposed
sections. The coffee was being blown out of my cup so it
was decided that for the sake of everyones safety that the walk
should be abandoned.
We returned to the car still being buffeted
by the wind. This was a consolation in that we at
least had made the correct decision and that the wind speed had not
decreased after we had turned about.
In the afternoon we made a
visit to the small village of Shieldaig.
The final day the
intention was to climb the two Munros on Beinn Eighe.
The weather had improved slightly, it wasn't as wet and was
definitely not as windy.
We parked the car in the Coire Dubh Mor
car park along with numerous other walkers obviously trying to take
advantage of the better weather conditions. As we got
ready a group of about twenty walkers arrived so I tried to get my
clients to hurry a bit so that we weren't walking up the hill with
such a large group. Other walkers seemed to have the
same idea as we set off in the rain up the path into Coire Dubh Mor.
The pace was fairly fast and my clients were starting to overheat.
It appeared that everyone was in a rush as even the large group were
walking fairly fast although their party was breaking up into
smaller groups. We later learned that this large group
were from the Open University.
At the junction of paths we took
the right hand path that swung round under the west side of Sail
Mhor before climbing into Coire Mhic Fhearchar. Several
deer were feeding just above the path but gave us little attention
and continued eating.
The cloud was well down as we entered the
Coire, allegedly one of the finest corries in Britain.
However my clients will just have to believe me as they couldn't see
very much due to the low cloud. We stopped here for
something to eat and were joined by those from the Open University
making the area surrounding Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchar very busy.
We left them re-grouping and we walked round the east side of the
Loch. My intention was to climb directly up onto the
first Munro, Ruadh-stac Mor, on the advice of an ex-mountain rescue
member, but due to the low cloud I opted for the route I knew.
In
the low cloud we followed the path up passed several small lochans
before we reached the head of the corrie and a scree climb. Progress
was slow up the lower section but higher up we were able to make use
of rocks on the east side which made walking easier.
At the top of the corrie we ventured out onto the ridge and
followed it round as we commenced the climb to the summit cairn on
Ruadh-stac Mor. It was a bit windy up on the ridge with
occasional showers and no views due to the low cloud.
On reaching
the summit of Ruadh-stac Mor a few photographs were taken as this
was Frances's 200th Munro. We returned towards the top of the corrie
and met several of the Open University Group but their numbers were
considerably reduced, probably due to the inclement weather or the
climb up through the head of the corrie.
From the head of the
corrie we started to climb towards Coinneach Mhor but when it was
suitable we cut across under its east ridge before descending to the
col. It was still a bit windy and wet at times.
We
commenced the climb towards Spidean Coire nan Clach but stopped for
lunch in a sheltered area of the ridge. However the rain
commenced again so lunch was only a short break before we continued
to the trig point on the ridge.
After the trig point the ridge steepens and narrows
and involved some easy scrambling as we approached
the summit of the second Munro Spidean Coire nan Clach.
Once we reached the summit cairn we retraced our steps to the trig
point and descended down the zig zag path on the south ridge.
Lower down the path became fairly eroded but any problems were easily
overcome. We then ventured out of the cloud and it then
became a bit warmer as we headed to the small plantation in Glen Torridon
where we had earlier left a car. It was then a short
drive along the road to the start of the walk and where one of my
clients had left her car and the end of a difficult weekend in
Torridon for my clients.
| Spidean a'Choire Leith |
Munro |
fifth ascent |
1055 metres |
| Mullach an Rathain |
Munro |
fourth ascent |
1023 metres |
| Ruadh-stac Mor |
Munro |
fourth ascent |
1010 meters |
| Spidean Coire nan Clach |
Munro |
fourth ascent |
993 metres |
previous ascent
of Spidean a'Choire Leith
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Glen Carron Grahams
17 March 2005
The starting point for this walk was the A890 Auchnasheen to
Lochcarron Road at the west end of Loch Sgamhain where a track runs
up the side of the Allt Coire Crubaidh.
This track ends at a gate at the top end of the forest, where a
sign, posted on the gate, warns walkers that stalking is in
progress. It is obviously inaccurate as the stalking
season finished the previous month and is there to deter walkers
from proceeding further.
Beyond the forest the path is difficult
to trace due to the wet and boggy terrain and vehicle tracks so
progress was slow. I reached some old ruins, which are
not shown on the map, where I had a short refreshment stop.
Once
fed and watered I headed uphill towards the bealach between Meallan
Mhic Iamhair and Carn Breac. A path is shown on the map
but it wasn't till higher up that I came across it. It
is overgrown and obviously little used.
The bealach consisted of
peat hags and I headed up the north-east ridge of Carn Breac where I
saw some ptarmigan. They were a bit obvious in their
white plumage now that the snow had gone. As I gained
height the cloud lowered and it became a bit windy before I reached
the summit trig point, which is surrounded by a stone wall on three
sides. Apparently you can get good views from this
location but I am afraid I was out of luck.
I returned down the
north-east ridge of Carn Breac to the bealach and made my way
through the peat hags before ascending Meallan Mhic Iamhair.
This was followed by a further descent to the south of Lochan
Meallan Mhic Iamhair where I disturbed deer as I negotiated some
more peat hags.
Finally a climb to the summit of Beinn na Feusaige
took me to a small lochan. According to the 'Graham's
Book, the summit cairn is located 200 metres east of this lochan.
However my altimeter showed that the cairn beside the small lochan
was higher. In any case I went to both cairns.
The
return, in the rain, was back down the west ridge of Beinn na
Feusaige for a short distance before a steep descent through heather
to meet the track at the edge of the forest and the short walk back
to the start.
| Carn Breac |
Graham |
first ascent |
678 metres |
| Beinn na Feusaige |
Graham |
first ascent |
625 metres |
top
of page
Superb Winter Day on Ben Damh
14 March 2005
The group wanted to tackle the Corbett
Ben Damh, which is just under Munro height, so
that morning we
set off from the lay-by on the A896 near the Torridon Hotel.
A fairly well maintained path, which was covered in snow, climbs up
through the forest and onto the open hillside. We
followed this path but had to make a short deviation round a number
of trees that had been blown down in the previous
month's severe gales.
Once out onto open ground the path split and we followed the one
heading towards the Toll Ban. The weather was reasonably warm
but the tops at this time had a covering of cloud.
However as we climbed up the path the weather improved and the cloud
started to lift.
We reached the bealach between Meall Gorm and Creagan Dubh Tool nam
Biast, a Corbett Top. Here we had fantastic views across
to the Applecross hills and the rugged coastline around Loch Torridon.
The continuation of this walk was an easy climb up towards the
Corbett Top. The snow was firmer with small sections of
ice so we donned crampons before continuing to the summit of Creagan
Dubh Tool nam Biast. The cloud was coming and going a
bit and at his point of the walk we were unable to see the summit of
Beinn Damh.
A compass bearing was taken and we descended slightly as the cloud
lifted and we could see the north-west ridge, which narrows as it
approaches the summit of Beinn Damh. The ridge was
quite exciting to climb with crampons on as it consisted of some
hard packed blown snow and we had to use our winter skills to
reach the summit.
Here it was clear and calm so we sat there, had lunch, and took
photographs of the surrounding mountain scenery. We
spotted two chaps climbing up the harder north-east ridge towards
us.
Once we had our fill of views, if that is actually possible, we
retraced our steps, with care, down the north-east ridge and
walked round the west side of Creagan Dubh Tool nam Biast to join