Ben Klibreck without a pint at the Crask Inn...

Welcome to Sutherland, desolate, bleak and mostly flat with an occasional soaring peak to entice the hill walking fraternity. It is no secret that the best peaks in Sutherland are Corbett's and are by far the most climbed. It does however posses four peaks that soar higher than the rest and obtain that magical Munro status. One of these peaks is Ben Klibreck, which is probably more famous for being the closest peak to the Crask Inn than for being a Munro, which by default was to be our target for today. I say by default as we originally had grand plans for this weekend (a four Munro classic around Loch Mullardoch) which had to be scrapped when plans were being left too late in the week to prepare. It was also not helped by me being full of the cold for the past week and not wanting to let anyone down through a lack of fitness. In the end it turned out to be just myself and Fiona McKay that ventured out on the long lonely road to Sutherland...on a journey towards a peak that I had failed to reach on my last Munro sojourn this far north as a result of crashing my car back in February 2010. Even as I passed the Evanton turn off on the A9 northwards I could feel my senses tingling at the memory of that dark winter night...I swear I could even smell the battery acid in my nostrils as the memories came flooding back to me!! I avoided the turn off towards Evanton and kept on the A9 towards Tain, not wanting to tempt fate again, as I continue my one man boycott of the B9176 at every opportunity.

Given the remote location it meant an early start, as usual, but that is offset by the chances of returning home before dark given the lengthening days. I picked Fiona up at six and off we headed, with just a brief stop at Tesco in Inverness for supplies, on the long road to Vagastie bridge. We passed through Bonnar bridge and Lairg, both remote settlements in their own right, before the road narrowed to a single track for the final leg of our journey. 

Vagastie bridge is exactly what it says...a bridge! It sits on the A836 a little over 2.5k north from the Crask Inn and is no different from any of the other bridges we crossed as we headed along that single track road. There is a small parking verge about 150m south of the bridge, with enough space for three cars, which was where we parked up and left the car. Our journey continued now on foot, the best way to bag a Munro I feel, and took us east across open moorland to the foot of Cnoc Sgriodain. There were no views of the Munro from here, just a faint outline of where it should be, as the cloud base was as low as I had feared it may be. The forecast was for improvement throughout the day but my worry now was that we had arrived too early to enjoy the benefits of that.

The path lead us through a small gate and on towards the ascending grass slope of Cnoc Sgriodain. The faint path heads around this rise but we were keeping on an ENE route to the summit cairns on this small plateau. The views began to improve as height was gained but still there lay the thick layer of cloud over the summit of Ben Klibreck ahead. Once we had reached the second summit cairn on Cnoc Sgriodain we began to traverse downwards and into peat bogs. Thankfully the weather has been moderately dry around these parts of late and passing through the peat bogs was less uncomfortable than it could have been. Care still had to be taken when crossing the wider bogs, especially around patches of sunken moss (more of that on the return route) as Fiona had found to her cost on her last Munro excursion (she had since purchased a new pair of gaiters). The distant hills were all far too difficult to make out today due to the haze but with the majority of the land being so flat it would be easy to identify each steep massif on a clear day.

Once across the peat bogs the faint track leads back uphill once more and presents a choice of routes. There is the opportunity to traverse to the summit of Creag an Lochain, which affords views down to Loch an Fhuarain, or alternatively follow the path that traverses around the western flanks of Creag an Lochain which provides decent views of Loch nan Eun. We took the second option on this occasion and discussed the possibility of alternating the route back to take in the summit of Creag an Lochain. A clear but boggy path cuts around the western flanks and as we slogged through it the weather appeared to be brightening. The cloud was on the rise and the slopes ahead were starting to clear...could we yet get lucky??

The land below us to the north was filled with a myriad of tiny lochans, all dazzling as the sun started hitting them, like tiny jewels on the landscape. The path beneath our feet started to rise once more as we approached the bealach leading to A'Choich. Pulling onto the bealach we elected to follow the ridge around and maintain height, rather than dropping down into more peat bogs and face an even steeper climb than was necessary at the end of it. Ahead lay a band of rocks that needed passing through but nothing too strenuous. Beyond these rocks the path could be easily followed as it zig-zagged up the slopes through grass and stones.

I had let Fiona set the early pace today and she did well considering it is only her fourth Munro, but on the steep inclines I led the way and pulled her along with me (slave driver was one of the nicer things I can print that she called me). An old trick when you cannot see the summit is to say "just a few more feet" or "just over this next rise" or on this occasion "you can stop in 50m" knowing full well that the summit was just 40m above us. We pulled onto the summit of Ben Klibreck at 12.15 a little over 2.5 hours since leaving the car. Fiona was very pleased with herself and would have been able to communicate that, were she able to breathe!! There is both a triangulation point and a small shelter at the 961m summit, which provided us with somewhere to sit and eat our sandwiches before heading back down. Jelly McBaby was out and about on the summit, as usual, and posing for the obligatory "selfie".

Another old trick on the Munro's is to say "let's start heading down and stopping further down out of the wind to get our sandwich" which we always say but never do...as was the case again here today. We set off down the slopes, following the same path, and simply reversed our outward route to return to the car. As we were returning on the path around Creag an Lochain I noticed that the cloud was starting to clear off Ben Klibreck behind us, so we waited for a few moments to see if we would get a view of the summit (if not one from the summit)?? Sure enough within a few minutes the cloud had lifted and there she was, the stony prominence that we had minutes previously traversed.

Happy with our days work we continued on towards Cnoc Sgriodain and began to cross the peat bogs once more. Taking the time to tell Fiona where best to stand I failed to pay attention to my own feet and splashed into one of those sucking green gloopy pools that can fill boots, gaiters, trousers with smelly liquid...but thankfully pulled my leg out before I went in too deep. My gaiters did their job!

We passed a couple of blokes on their way up to the summit as we came back down and knew that they were getting the best of the day, but we were more than satisfied with our efforts and achievements regardless of the lack of views from the summit.

The route was complete and we were back at the car in a little over 4.5 hours...very impressive timings. All that remained now was the long drive home once more and planning the next Munro outing.

 

227 down...55 remaining.

 

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I will have to find a reason to return and enjoy a well deserved pint at the Crask Inn... 

     

Conival & Ben More Assynt from Inchnadamph...

So, no Munro trips in ten weeks then two come along in three days. Hopefully this is not going to prove the norm this year, I certainly don't intend to go ten weeks again without being on a Munro if I can help it. Unlike the trip on Sunday, when I had some old and new company, this one was just myself and Jelly McBaby alone again. As usual I checked the weather forecasts in a number of areas the day prior to departure and the winner was the far north, my first trip to Assynt, and a long drive to Inchnadamph to be precise. As with Sunday this meant an early rise at four o'clock and leaving home at five to drive the four hours to get to Inchnadamph, via Inverness and Ullapool. Leaving so early in the morning you don't really get a feel for what the day will bring weather wise, early morning mist can often burn off and reveal bright sunny hours and the promise of stunning views of real clarity. The sun came up as I approached Inverness but the clouds filled the sky and I thought I was doomed to a day of gloom...that was until I approached Braemore junction and the sun appeared above me bringing the longed for promise of cloud free Munro's and stunning views over Assynt which holds such beautiful mountains as Suilven-Canisp-Cul Mor-Stac Pollaidh-Quinag and of course the two Munro's that I would be tackling today.

I arrived at Inchnadamph car park by the hotel and looked out across Loch Assynt in bright sunshine and a warmish glow from the morning sun, though there was a chill in the air that hinted at what lay ahead of me.

Quinag bathed in sunshine with just a wisp of cloud around her summit looked mighty enticing, but I had other plans for my day. I intended increasing my Munro tally by two and bagging Conival and Ben More Assynt, doubling my years total in the process. I headed north from the car park along the road side to the entrance to the Inchnadamph lodge & hostel.

The initial track proved to be rather hard on my feet, coming so soon after my last trip, but I had read that the approach track could prove rather boggy in places and also the initial slopes would likely be wet, combining this with the likelihood of snow at the summit I had elected to continue with my winter boots again. As it turns out the approach paths were dry as a bone and the slopes were nothing like as wet as I have previously encountered. There would indeed be snow on the approach to the summits but it was blasted hard by the winds and I could have gotten away with my lighter summer boots after all. I continued on and soon crossed the Allt Poll an Droighinn, the views behind me of Quinag improving with each step, the views ahead of Conival promising a steep challenge.

I passed the holiday cottage of Glenbain and a chambered cairn on my left and continued on towards my targets, following the clear path alongside the river. Unfortunately I followed the river path just a little too long and realised that I should have been gaining some height so that I didn't have too arduous a climb all at once when I reached the foot of Conival. I remedied this by scaling a rivulet of water cascading through the steep slope to gain the required height that would bring me up to the grassy basin north of Gleann Dubh. As I was ascending I realised that there were four interested onlookers above me, probably wondering what this fool was doing coming up the hard way!!

More likely they were annoyed that I was between them and their water supply below. Once I was back on track and beyond Glean Dubh the glen ahead sloped towards Conival and above me Beinn an Fhurain. The weather appeared to be changing above me and clouds were now sweeping in over Conival and staying there, whereas before they were wisps fleetingly passing by her summit, this was starting to look more ominous. I stopped at a huge chunk of moraine to change my layers to something more suitable for the altering weather.

Once satisfied that I had on the appropriate clothing to keep out the increasing wind chill, and no doubt dampening air caused by the lowering cloud base, I continued on up and around the slopes of the Allt a'Choinne Mhill until finally I reached a small hanging valley beneath the bealach of Beinn an Fhurain and Conival. I crossed the stream and scrambled up through a rocky band to reach the ridge that would eventually lead me to the summit of Conival. Visibility had vanished as I crossed the stream and now there would just be views of thickening mist, interspersed with some moments of thinning mist! I would see absolutely no sign of the impressive Coire a'Mhadaidh or the quartzite buttresses of Na Tuadhan.

Even without visibility there was a feeling of desolation about this place, the surface akin to a lunar landscape, anywhere I could see there lay snow and rock. The temperature dipped even lower now that the sun had disappeared and I was glad of my recent purchases (ME eclipse zip tee & Arc'teryx Nuclei hoody) for keeping my core warm and dry. I followed the ridge around until I was skimming the rim of the corrie (this is not a euphemism) and was met by an icy blast of wind that literally almost knocked me off my feet!! I had to lean into the wind blast that was howling in from the snow filled corrie in order to keep my balance as I traversed around it. I can only imagine how pretty this view would be on a clear day. An upward traverse through rocks and snow and I located the summit cairn of Conival (wind shelter) at 988m and immediately took shelter for a bite to eat and intake of fluids. I removed my rucksack and noticed that the moisture on it had frozen and the clips needed thawing to release. A ham sandwich and lucozade were more than enough to refuel me for the next section of struggle against the elements.

On a clear day I would have seen the fine ridge that heads off to Ben More Assynt to the east, but not today. I set about scrambling down some large boulders, crossing bands of snow that saddled the fine ridge, scrambling up more boulders and rocks and eventually locating the summit cairn of Ben More Assynt 998m.

I stopped here only long enough to take a picture of Jelly McBaby on the frozen summit cairn, then headed back to retrace my steps to Conival, cursing soft expletives of the lack of views and vowing to return to the area in better conditions. The wind thankfully had not decided to change direction so was now helping me back along the ridge rather than halting my progress. There were a couple of hairy moments of crossing snow piled up on either side of the narrow ridge with the prospect of a slide down into either corrie not on my things to do list for today.

Then, just as a way to tease me into thinking I may actually get some views, the mist briefly cleared and I fired off a quick snap to prove that there were still blue skies above me, then it disappeared as quickly as it had cleared!

The rest of the trek involved a return on the outbound route back to the car. Once below the mist the weather improved, the wind died away and the temperature returned to a level that I could start to remove layers again, and I simply retraced my steps down the slopes and along the path back to the car park. I was pleasantly surprised to note that I managed to complete this trek in six hours (recommended 7-9 hours) and that I would probably arrive home in the dying moments of daylight.

On the drive back I noticed that Suilven was finally visible so stopped the car to take a quick shot.

Further down the road to Ullapool I stopped for another quick snap of a hill I believe to be Stac Pollaidh, although I am not 100% certain of this.

I now have 56 Munro's remaining to be bagged and will attempt to make headway on this in the coming weeks/months, but I would hope to find time to stay in Ullapool for a few days and traverse some of the other fine peaks that adorn the area.

 

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Hope the link to the pictures works...and also the hyperlinks to Inchnadamph and Assynt.

Gairich from Loch Quoich Dam...

One solitary Munro so far this year, and that was back in January, even our recent CMB trip to Kinlochleven provided no more than a low level trek over the Devil's Staircase to Kinlochleven, it really has been a bad few months weather wise. Discussions had been on-going this week as to the potential to double my current Munro year total on the weekend just passed. A number of options had been mooted, mostly north-west initially, but I settled on a return to one of my favourite spots in Britain, the beautiful Loch Quoich. I have previously been here twice, both times with Louise, and climbed the three Munro's on the north shore of the loch. This trip gave me the opportunity to traverse the Munro on the south shore of the loch, Gairich, with the possibility to push on and attempt Sgurr an Fhuarain (Corbett) and Sgurr Mor (Munro) which are more commonly bagged from Loch Arkaig further south. I was to be joined on this walk by an old friend (Chris Bain) and a new companion (Fiona McKay) from work. We had arranged to meet in Mintlaw at five on Sunday morning, I would collect Fiona on my way through Longside and we would wait for Chris at the main roundabout in Mintlaw...unfortunately Chris slept in (he denied that he had forgotten to turn his clock forward) and we had to delay our departure by an hour, instead meeting up with him in New Pitsligo at six. Chris spent the first leg of the journey taking pelters in the back seat for his tardiness.

Fiona elected to drive, she had just taken delivery of a new car and wanted to give it a decent spin, if one of us agreed to drive on the way back as she wasn't used to driving distances. Chris and I mumbled something that sounded like agreement and off we set on the long road to Loch Quoich Dam, passing through Inverness-Fort Augustus-Invergarry en route.

We arrived at the Dam, a third of the way along the minor road to Kinloch Hourn, around nine and located a spot to park next to the Dam. There was already a blue van sitting in the parking spot with two guys who appeared to be fishing. Chris took an instant suspicion towards them, especially when he noted that there appeared to be a freshly cut section of roofing with the lead removed from the building beneath the Dam, and then set the fear into Fiona that the car would be stolen by the time we returned later in the day!!

Quarter past nine and off we set, leaving the car to the mercy of the (poachers/pikeys) ahem, gentlemen in the car park. First we had to cross the Dam, and our first obstacle of the day was the apparently locked gate leading onto the Dam. I rattled the right side of the gate and found it to be locked, then assumed that the left side of the gate would also be locked so put my foot on to it in preparation to climb over when it swung open away from me..."put that in your blog" I have indeed Mr Bain.

I have been on some remote, rough, craggy, steep, dangerous Munro's in my travels but none with a drowning warning before...

Thankfully the drowning warning was for the loch only, not the Munro, so we continued on our merry way. Gairich can be seen from the moment you arrive at the Dam, but the view from the middle of the Dam shows almost the entire route ahead, through the boggy path along the shore, up onto the ridge of Druim na Gaid Salaich, and then the ascent of the craggy north-east corrie. But first of all we had to get across there!

 

The path around the loch was every bit as boggy as we had been expecting, possibly even more so in places, and the going was rather slow to begin with as every footstep had to be carefully chosen to avoid slipping in the goo, or sinking in the gunk...unfortunately Fiona had to learn this by experience and stepped into a sink hole up to her knee! She even managed to leave a perfect footprint behind in the water-filled hole!

I had only just been discussing the merits of her buying a set of gaiters for just such an occurrence, not that they would have saved her on this occasion, when she plunged in! This also allowed Chris to explain why it is best to also carry a spare set of socks in your pack. Thankfully Fiona did not let this little mishap deter her from keeping her eyes on the prize and we were soon back on our way. We passed the southern end of Lochan an Fhigheadair before crossing a low bealach on the moor, then descending towards the forestry below the Bealach na Faire, and crossing the stalker's path heading from the loch to Glen Kingie.

We crossed the path, which is nothing like crossing the streams (Ghostbusters) and carried on up the slope ahead of Druim na Gaid Salaich in zig zag style. This path soon disappears as the ridge flattens out and becomes a faint trail through the peat bogs on the extensive plateau of Bac nam Foid. Although the air was chill and clear the visibility was no more than hazy at best. From our position I would have been hoping for clear unobstructed views of Spidean Mialach and Gleouraich (Munro's) to the north and Fraoch Bheinn and Sgurr Mhurlagain (Corbett's) to the south-west, but such was the strength of the haze that the only clear view of anything was Gairich straight ahead.

Most of the snow from the past few months has gone and only some stubborn patches remain scarring the corries and rock faces. We continued on to the foot of the steep slope, passing a number of small frozen lochans on Bac nam Foid. The stalkers path ascends in a series of zig zags to the foot of the steeper slopes, well to the left of the ridge. The east ridge we were ascending has one section of minor scrambling to negotiate before the summit can be reached, which we managed with all the grace and nimbleness expected of three fortysomethings on their first Munro trek in a matter of weeks.

Once beyond the minor scramble and final band of snow we pulled up onto the snowy topped summit and approached the cairn and shelter at 919m. Jelly McBaby appeared for the obligatory pic and had three takes before he could keep his balance on the windy top long enough for me to snap him.

Fiona and Chris were happy to oblige when I asked for a summit snap, even though Chris was clearly too hungry to put his sandwich down for even a second. As well as gaiters and spare socks I think Fiona would agree that a Kirby grip can come in handy also...

Spidean Mialach and Gleouraich, and even Sgurr a Mhaoraich on the north shore of Loch Quoich were becoming slightly more visible finally...

Sgurr an Fhuarain and Sgurr Mor could almost be made out at the far end of the plateau...but could in no way be considered achievable today!

With the temperature dropping in the wind chill it was time to finish lunch and beat a retreat off the summit. The route out was reversed on the return, with great care being taken on the scramble down the steeper section and through the snow, and the only point of note was when I accidentally hit Chris with a snowball on the back of the head which ran down into his jacket...oops!

Fiona even managed to avoid stepping in the same hole on the way back, possibly helped by taking an impromptu detour off path and heading closer to the loch shore on the return route, and we made it back to the car again just before four o'clock. All that remained now was the return drive home and to that end I agreed to drive so that Fiona could stretch out in the back, and Chris could imitate a nodding dog in the front passenger seat from time to time.

 

I now have the chance to double my years tally again tomorrow when I head to Ullapool and an attempt at Ben More Assynt and Conival...fingers crossed that the weather stays kind for me.

 

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Hope the link works...