Some trips I take into the hills, whilst achieving their summit goals, can be disappointing from a view perspective...others, like today, are as far from disappointing as it is ever my fortune to be. There are trips that are made memorable because of the company you have on them...more than the actual Munro itself...and there are others that are memorable for the sheer effort required in bagging a summit...and some, like today, that encapsulate all that is fantastic about living in this beautiful country of ours (electricity pylons excepted!!).
My initial plans for this weekend had been to head to an area I had yet to traverse...the beautiful Glen Affric...and meet up with young Michael to bag his 2nd and 3rd Munro's. Unfortunately Michael had to withdraw earlier in the week and I had a change of plans (and target) to accommodate a change of company. Louise had been in touch to let me know that she was off this Saturday and wanted to come away again...coming from Skye meant she was well within driving distance for the two we had planned for the day...however once Michael called off there was an opportunity too good to miss available nearer to hand. As the two from Glen Affric were going to be a complete bugger to reach (from a driving point of view) I made the decision to switch targets and return to finish what we had started two weeks previously. Loch Quoich was the preferred destination once more...promises of 80% cloud free tops and minimal snow showers was too tempting to avoid...especially after feeling robbed of some of the finest views in the country on our last trip there to bag Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach (in the clag!!). Rather than staying at Spean Bridge this time I decided upon a stop off at Invergarry instead.
I stayed at the Glen Albyn lodge B&B, just north of the main village, following a recommendation from a place I had stayed in a couple of years ago whilst up in the area. The house was striking (though the colour scheme left a lot to be desired...red white and blue...REALLY!!!) and was topped off with a magnificent wooden stag standing guard at the front entrance. I would thoroughly recommend a stay here to anyone planning to visit the area...Dennis and Helen were cheery hosts who informed me that they had family staying only a few streets away from where I live...Dennis even showed me the 3D image on memory map of the hills I would see from my summit top today (providing the weather played ball that is). After complimenting Dennis on his wonderful breakfast, the highlight of which was the scrambled egg and homemade bread and raspberry jam, I ventured out into the morning sun...bloody hell it was freezing!! A quick scrape of the ice from the car and a change of top into a thicker baselayer and I was ready to depart...joined by Louise who had no such baselayer issues (I must be a right sunny beasty nowadays). We left her car at the post office layby just west of town, and set off in my car for a change, heading along the edges of Loch Garry before cutting off the main road onto the access road to the start point. Driving along the length of Loch Garry, passing Loch Poulary and the salmon farms, the sun kept shining above us and as we pulled alongside Loch Quoich the resulting views literally took my breath away...
Gairich was one of the options we had considered for today...the walk in was of a similar length but it would be rather boggy as it passes close to the Lochside...I also had an idea that it would provide a suitable access to reaching Sgurr Mor (thereby bagging two instead of one) on a longer summer day instead.
Sgurr Mor had a lovely topping of snow on it today and, as suspected, lay within perfect striking distance of Gairich to be bagged together on a longer day, including the Corbett of Sgurr an Fhuarain (although the ground between them is riddled with bogs and fords, which probably explains why most people do them separately).
Sgurr na Ciche...I reckon that's the sharks tooth shaped one...Garbh Chioch Mhor (and obscured at the moment Sgurr nan Coireachan) at the far end of the Loch. Everywhere we looked today there was either a Munro I had climbed or now wanted to climb...Knoydart is one of those remote peninsula's that I have somehow avoided so far (just as I have the far north also) which I can only attribute to my lack of willingness to drag a tent in on a lengthy walk and wild camp for any more than a single night...but seeing these beauties here today in all their pointy rugged glory has changed that!! Watch out for a walk report from them during this summer folks...
But they would all keep for another day...hard as it was to take our eyes off them at the moment...we had a Munro to bag at this side of the Loch first. We continued on along the road, passing the start point for Gleouraich, then on along to cross a concrete bridge over the northern arm of Loch Quoich, parking at a small space (enough for three or four cars) just beyond.
We could already see more of the south glen shiel ridge from here than our last trek up Gleouraich!!! Leaving the car (in gear as an extra safety precaution, given the closeness to the drop into the Loch...good shout Louise) we set off along the road in search of the stalkers path we knew would take us to the summit...praying that the weather would stay kind to us. Once the path had been located we set off up the hillside and beyond the electricity pylons, on a steep zig zag route to the open ridge of Bac nan Canaichean...and the views just kept getting better and better all the way...
From Gleouraich...
To Sgurr na Ciche and the Knoydart peninsula...
Then recognition of some of the other peaks coming into view as we climbed higher. Between Gairich and Sgurr Mor we saw the two Munro's from Loch Lochy hove into view (Meall na Teanga and Sron a' Choire Ghaibh)...
The stalkers path provided excellent access and, thankfully, would take us all the way to the summit ridge...I say thankfully because at this point the GPS decided that it had reached it's destination already...the full route had not downloaded from the WH site...DAMN!!! Whilst this could have proved problematic on a day of clag there was no such issue today. We had clear blue skies and a spring in our step...coupled with a map and compass of course! Even the threat of clouds all around us was irrelevant today...there seemed to be a continual patch of blue above us at all times...if this is divine intervention then I could well become a believer...YEAH RIGHT!!! But one thing for certain is that we were indeed staying lucky today...even the snow flurries didn't amount to much near us...yet all around the other hills were being battered by winds and snow.
The view down to the bridge and all down Loch Quoich was equally stunning, bathed in sunshine as it was. But the view we had wanted to see from a fortnight ago was still waiting for our arrival higher up the slopes...the south glen shiel ridge (SGR) was well worth the extra wait and I make no apologies for the amount of pictures I took of this during the day...all I could say was WOW.
The thought of even better views higher up certainly spurred us on, as though we needed any extra encouragement today, and we barely noticed how steep some parts of the path had been (not until we descended later anyway). The FB link at the end of the blog will carry a full array of today's pictures, including some panoramic shots and some experimental 3D ones from the summit (only if you have that facility on your laptop). Once on the wide open slopes of Bac nan Canaichean we passed a few lower patches of snow as we headed on to Sgurr Coire nan Eirichean...
That patch of snow was wider than it looks from here...we slid down it on the way back...I adopted a standing position, slaloming as I went, whilst Louise preferred the sitting position (or rather she fell into that position and merely maintained it). All good fun and in keeping with the day in general...even the snowball fight higher up was in good spirits...though it must be stressed that I won it!!
Although the skies above us were remaining blue and clear, the surrounding hills were being soaked with a mix of rain sleet and snow...and the occasional hailstone as we later felt ourselves!! Then just as quickly as it started it always seemed to stop and move across to another area...fascinating to watch. But primarily our eyes were focused on the snowy tops revealing themselves as we gained height...we were merely guessing at the names of the tops on the SGR at this stage...only when it was fully viewable were we able to rattle them off with any confidence. And then as we got higher we were able to spot the Brothers and Sisters ridges beyond the SGR...
And then our target for today caught my eye...Sgurr a' Mhaoraich and suddenly I was transfixed on her beauty and wild rugged nature. I have a friend that used to come walking with me in the early days...but a couple of years ago she claimed that she had fallen out of love with hill walking and didn't see the point...well this is the point my friend...
What on earth would I rather be doing on a beautiful Saturday afternoon?? Nothing!! I can understand getting peed off at the lack of views and getting soaked through on many of the treks into the hills I have gone on...or struggling through peat bogs or snow and every muscle in my body aching and imploring me to stop...but for a seconds view like this makes all the other struggles seem worthwhile...these are the images I carry in my mind when I'm struggling through yet another gym session in an attempt to remain fit enough to carry on doing what I love. I can't, and indeed won't, change who I am or what I do for anyone...selfish perhaps...but it's days like today that reaffirm for me that I want nothing more out of life than to be able to enjoy this forever more...this is my love...this is my constant...everything else has just become filler and I apologise if that offends or upsets anyone.
Once beyond the drystone dyke (on the middle of a Munro in the middle of nowhere...REALLY??) we had only two more summits to traverse until we reached the summit cairn...sounds easy but no way! The pinnacles ahead looked rugged and hard, though thankfully the path traversed around to the left of them, though there were still steep drops into the corrie below. This provided us with a little respite from the wind that had picked up, also chilling the air sufficiently to make me don a hat to protect my increasingly colder head (the one drawback of being smooth on top). There were a number of huge boulders on the pass beneath the pinnacles and obviously it was too tempting not to stand atop one of them and pose...
As we passed beyond this mini shelter we could see the wind whipping up the loose snow in front of us on the ridge...one last challenge until we reach the summit then. Gleouraich and the SGR then became obscured from view by an approaching storm...
But as was par for the course today, it passed by as quickly as it arrived and never really threatened us at all. Now we had the snowy slope leading to the final summit to traverse. I pushed on ahead and left plenty of decent steeps for Louise to follow...
As we came up over this final slope the summit cairn eventually came into view...standing proudly above a lovely little cornice of snow that we had to traverse as our final challenge (we could have avoided it but I managed to persuade Louise that it was safe enough to try).
So she let me talk her into it and allowed me to lead the way, ensuring that I took little steps for her to follow...
Once beyond this the summit cairn at 1027m was easily gained and what a view we got from it...everything just seemed so...words don't do it justice...from Gleouraich and the route up...
To Gairich and the Ben beyond...
Ladhar Beinn in Knoydart...
Not forgetting the SGR...
And of course Jelly McBaby posing on the summit cairn as usual...
Louise was telling me of a thread she had read on WH this week where someone had been complaining about jelly babies on summit cairns...some drivel about all we should be leaving are our footprints...yada yada yada!! Now I'm all for the conservation of our countryside as the next person...passionately so for the Munro's...but please...a tiny jelly baby upsetting someone...all I can say is GET A LIFE!! Jelly McBaby, through his appearances on this blog, has brought joy and accessibility to the Munro's for people worldwide...almost 3000 views in countries from all parts of the globe in the past year...he is fast becoming a legend in his own lifetime and I am proud to carry him with me whenever I summit...
We had made it up in three hours and then spent another half an hour at the cairn taking pictures of the breathtaking beauty all around us. It was only when the chill wind returned that we decided to head down off this most splendid vantage point. The route back down deviated slightly when we thought that traversing down the steep snowy slopes may prove risky, so headed down and round for a recce to the right of them instead...this proved futile as the slopes were every bit as steep and rocky and would take us too far round the side of the hill, adding too much time onto our return. So we traversed back up to the bealach and instead I took us down the left side of the slopes, keeping the rock face to our right, and ploughed down through unbroken snow above the corrie edge...safer than it sounds...until we reached the bottom of the steepest part of the slope...
The remainder of the return journey was done a lot quicker than the traverse...but then we did stop less for pictures. We met one other walker today and advised him of the route past the cornice...then stood lower down and watched as he traversed the route we had taken down on his way up...fair play to him. The weather held for us all the way down the slopes and it was only on the return that we noticed how steep it had been...Louise was having bother with her knees and stopped to apply some tiger balm...now I could smell her all the way down the slopes which fairly helped to clear my nose from the last of the grotty cold!! Once back at the road we were finally caught by a hailstone shower...and didn't mind in the slightest. Back at the car in six hours...which included the half hour at the summit...not bad for a pair of oldies.
One last thing...I forgot I had left the car in gear (for extra safety on the edge of the Loch) so when I started her up she lurched forward...I almost shit myself and had visions of her careering over the edge and into the waters below!! Oh we could laugh about it afterwards on the way home...
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