Gleann a' Choilich
These 3 long glens stretch far to the west
from beautiful Strathglass all the way to the Highland watershed within
touching distance of the west coast.
Very ‘pretty’ in their lower reaches where lochs and large stands of
mixed woodland combine to create stunning scenery, the wilder and more open upper
glens provide convenient access points for at least 16 Munros. Our original plan was to climb them all!
Glen Strathfarrar
Coire Mhuillidh
We started with Glen Strathfarrar in order to
take advantage of having 2 cars for the first part of the week. Leaving one at the end of the walk further up
the glen, we returned to our start point
at the foot of Coire Mhuillidh. A
short section of track turns into a reasonable path which follows the E side of
the burn for 2Km before veering right and climbing the easy grassy slopes of Sgurr
na Ruaidhe (993m; peak of the redness).
Carn nan Gobhar
Largely clear skies and dry conditions - it
was quite warm too - allowed for good progress as we descended NW quickly
leaving the summit to a small group of walkers who had preceded us up the
hill. After pausing for lunch at the
narrow grassy bealach of Shabhach, we resumed our climbing and were soon
picking our way over the shattered boulder-field that covers the top of Munro
No 2: Carn nan Gobhar (992m; hill of the
goats).
Sgurr a’ Choire Ghlais
No goats, but a bit of a view and then a
little thin cloud cover blew in on a cool breeze so on we went. An excellent path on excellent ground enabled
us to make pretty good progress down to the intervening bealach before a steep,
but relatively short climb up to the day’s highest point and most impressive
peak: Sgurr a’ Choire Ghlais (1083m; peak
of the grey-green corrie). This
interesting summit - almost perfectly flat with 2 large cairns and a trig point
- is worth a short stop, surrounded as it is on all sides by steep slopes.
Sgurr Fuar-thuill
The fine ridge continues W over an
intervening peak before climbing one more time to the last Munro of the day: Sgurr
Fuar-thuill (1049m; peak of the cold hollow). Tempting though it is to remain on the ridge
for a further 4Km to enjoy the views W from the remaining minor summits, it is
even more tempting to descend the stalker’s path just E of Sgurr na
Fearstaig. This we did, having a long week ahead of us, and so followed the
path down alongside the Allt Toll a’ Mhuic and past its dark eponymous loch to
the strategically-placed car down in the main glen. We were up and running!
Glen Affric
Upper Glen Affric
Then things changed. The hill-days got longer, the weather got
warmer - a lot warmer - and the wind completely disappeared. This made for a couple of very difficult and
demanding days.
Mullach na Dheiragain
The first of our planned 2
days in Glen Affric necessitated the use/hire of bikes to negotiate the long
13Km up the glen from the road-end car park (£2 per day) to Alltbeithe youth
hostel. The first half of the track
through the woods above Loch Affric to the bridge at Athnamulloch is reasonably
good, if hilly. However, the 2nd
half up through the open glen is hard going, being both undulating and rough in
places. And remember, you have to do it
all again on the way back!
Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan From Mullach na Dheiragain
Leaving the bikes at the
youth hostel, an excellent stalker’s path leads up into Coire na Cloiche to a
bealach at 800m. From here, it doesn’t
really matter which way round you do the hills, but today it seemed better to
go anti-clockwise and take the furthest peaks first. A descending traverse over steep, rough
ground (go carefully) leads to the outflow of Loch Coire nan Dearcag and up the
far side of the corrie to the Bealach nan Daoine. From here we turned right and followed the
long (it will seem very long at this
stage) ridge all the way out to Mullach na Dheiragain (982m; summit of the kestrels).
You are now a long way from home.
Anybody’s home, for that matter…
Mullach na Dheiragain
Returning the same way,
and sharing the ridge with a couple out camping with their 4 noisy and
energetic springer spaniels, we hauled ourselves up the ever-steepening NE
ridge of Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan (1151m;
peak of the quarters). This mighty peak
(ponounced kerranan), with 2 tops and
radiating ridges in all directions, takes up a lot of ground and justifies its
reputation as being amongst the finest peaks in the NW Highlands.
Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan
Finally, we descended E
back down to our original bealach above the youth hostel to climb our 3rd
Munro of the day: An Socach (921m; the
snout). This minor Munro is
everything that Ceathreamhnan isn’t, being no more than a knobbly high point on
a long ridge connecting much bigger - and higher - peaks.
An Socach
Perhaps this is just as well, as by now we
were fairly exhausted and we still had to descend and bike out! This we achieved without mishap, but it was a
tired trio of bunnies who sat down to a late supper that evening!
Glen Cannich
Today, we swopped the bikes for a fast motor
boat and were swept up the long miles of Loch Mullardoch by Angus who operates a ferry service (http://www.lochmullardochferry.co.uk/)
in no time at all! Angus dropped us off ⅔ of the way
up the loch on its N side, close to the ruin near Am Mam.
The Only Way to Travel!
From here, a climbing traverse up rough
grass and bracken slopes took us to easier ground at 500m before intercepting
the S ridge of our 1st Munro of the day: An Socach (1069m; the snout). Keen observers will note how some mountain
names seem to double up around here with snouts, goats and bogland appearing
more than once in close proximity!
Beinn Fhionnlaidh above Loch Mullardoch
An Socach is a fine mountain on its E side
(alas, grassy and tedious to the W), and the wide flat summit arc cradles a
fine deep corrie that usually carries snow well into summer. There’s no mistaking the summit though - it
has a trig point…!
Steeply down to Bealach Bholla, the
debilitating high sun, extreme heat and windless conditions started to take
their toll. We still had miles to go and
another 3 Munros and there was nowhere to hide.
Such conditions led to a nervous couple of hours with concerns of heat
exhaustion uppermost in my mind. However,
being aware of such possibilities is half the battle and we struggled manfully
up and over the long flat summit of An Riabhachan (1129m; the grey or streaked one).
An Riabhachan
Unable to appreciate the finer points of this impressive isolated peak
today, we continued wearily on, steeply down Creagan Toll an Lochain before taking
time-out and seeking refuge in one of the few water sources along the ridge
below our next peak.
The Glen Carron Hills Across Loch Monar
After a good 30mins of foot-washing, face-dowsing
and refreshing drinking water, we were ready for our last big climb of the day
helped in part by the welcome addition of some cloud cover. Temporary cloud cover as happens…
Goats R Us!
A steady climb of 320m up uniform grassy
slopes put us on top of Sgurr na Lapaich (1150m;
peak of the bogland). A small family
of goats (clearly on the wrong hill!) eyed our tired progress as we clambered
on to the summit rock-pile. Again, the E
aspect of this fine peak far eclipses its W side with deep rocky corries and
significant rock-fall adding to the grandeur.
Sgurr na Lapaich
Hard times returned soon after we gained the
intervening col of the Bealach na Cloiche Duibhe when the cloud receded to
leave us once again, baking in the late afternoon sun (note: baking, not
basking!). Fortunately, the last peak is
the lowest of the day, by some margin, and we were soon on our last summit: Carn
nan Gobhar (992m; hill of the goats).
Carn nan Gobhar
The Mullardoch dam, where we’d left the car
hours before, was now mercifully in sight which helped focus our minds on the
last obstacle in our way - a long, steep descent over bouldery ground and steep
grassy slopes under an unforgiving sun and windless conditions. Oh, and did I mention the midges?
Carn nan Gobhar
Just over 10hrs from starting out, we finally
reached the car and headed straight for the Slater’s Arms in Cannich and a nice
steak which had my name firmly emblazoned on it!
Whilst Wednesday was always going to be a day
off, it was clear that the debilitating weather conditions were not conducive
to long hill days and the continuing threat of heat exhaustion precipitated a
change of plan. Accordingly, with Matt
departing back down south for work, Jenn agreed that 2 shorter and simpler hill
days would be quite sufficient to see out the week.
Ben Wyvis
This big and bulky
mountain sits in splendid isolation just NW of Inverness and is visible - and
easily recognisable - from miles around.
Parking in the usual car park near Garbat on the Ullapool road, we
headed up the excellent new path alongside the Allt a’ Bhealaich Mhoir under
that same old hot sun but mercifully, with a light breeze.
Glas Leathad Mor
The climbing starts in
earnest once above the tree line and the path zig-zags up the steep nose of An
Cabar (946m) from where views as far as the Cairngorms, Lochaber and Assynt
open up. The going is very
straightforward now along the wide mossy ridge to the summit trig point of Ben
Wyvis (1046m; peak of terror). The summit has the separate name of Glas
Leathad Mor (big greenish-grey slope).
Returning the same way, it
was a great relief to be walking in much more forgiving conditions with the car
in sight for much of the time and a cooling breeze to keep away both heat and
midges!
Meall a’ Bhuirdh & Creise
Jenn had suggested we head
S on the Friday so she could pre-position for her flight home on Saturday. What she needed was a couple of easier
Munros, close to the road and preferably with a high start as the heat and sun were
clearly going nowhere!
And so it was we made it
as far as Rannoch Moor where we left the car at the Glencoe Mountain Resort and
started our climbing from a helpful 360m.
Following the path that leads up under the chairlift, we were soon traversing
around Coire Pollach and up the N ridge of our first Munro of the day: Meall a’
Bhuiridh (1108m; hill of the bellowing).
Meall a’ Bhuiridh
Today, the distances were
mercifully short and we were soon descending the well-defined ridge between
today’s 2 peaks. At the W end of the
ridge, a relatively quick climb up short, steep slopes put us on the broad,
flat and stony ridge that connects Clach Leathad with our last Munro of the
week: Creise (1100m; narrow defile).
All we had to do now was
retrace our steps back over Meall a’ Bhuiridh and down to the ski centre and the
waiting car.
Clach Leathad
And so a somewhat
gruelling week came to an end. A week
that took us into some spectacular wild country and over some big impressive peaks. Jenn and Matt still have unfinished business
in Glen Affric but it pays to be cautious in such hostile conditions and to
know (as Kenny Rogers once said) when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em!
Sgurr na Lapaich Across Glen Strathfarrar
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