Four out of Five Sisters leaves me wanting more...

Day two in Kintail and the opportunity to bag five sisters in a day...please don't tell me any of you would pass that up?? I certainly wasn't going to, that's for sure. lol

From our base at Kintail lodge we set off quite early in the morning (okay ten ish is early enough for me when I have no long drive to face) and headed along to the start point at the bottom of the Bealach an Lapain (also the start point for the Brothers ridge; see Never go walking with a Bon Jovi fan...lesson learned).  

When we arrived at the Bealach an Lapain the rain decided to join us also...waterproofs on and off we went, along the A87 to the faint path heading into the undergrowth. The ascent of Bealach an Lapain is arduous and strength sapping, almost as bad the second time than the last time I did it, a real thigh stretcher. Louise was doing her best to keep up with the pace, gotta love her for the effort and enthusiasm she puts into these walks. The rain eased slightly as we rose up the slopes and the views were opening up splendidly for us. The rise up the slopes is only a kilometre long but is 550m in height in that short distance...that's a fair old gradient!!

The path swings by the forestry area that is now sadly bereft of trees...a scar on the wilderness feel to the area. The route continues to rise and rise and rise, but at least there was a decent path all the way to the Bealach (unlike the last time Mike, when we howked straight up the slopes!!!). 
Once we reached the bealach the hard work was behind us...or most of it anyway. We took the opportunity to change out of waterproofs, as the weather had changed for the better, and set about worrying how long this would take us considering the Bealach na Lapain had taken two hours!!

Poor Louise was feeling slightly below par today and hadn't said anything on the way up...but things weren't right as we approached the first hurdle of the day (if you discount the bealach as one). Having tried to walk through similar problems in the past I could only sympathise...but was having none of her girly excuses and told her to man up!!! So on we plodded towards the first summit of the day...but not yet a Munro summit.

Apparently the hardest part of our day was behind us...well the proof would be in the pudding of that one. The first Sister to be breached today (can I describe it as a breaching on here??) was Sgurr nan Spainteach, or the peak of the Spaniards to give it it's literal meaning, 990m but no Munro...never the less a fine traverse and a nice clear path to boot. The wind had started to pick up where it left off yesterday, blowing us along nicely towards our second Sister of the day (and first Munro) Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe 1027m.

I persuaded Louise that if we could make it as far as here then we could make it the whole way...which actually turned out to be true. The further on we went the better she was feeling (I think) she certainly stopped telling me otherwise so I could only assume that she had perked up...of course this could be due to me threatening to kick her ar*e if she didn't man up and complete the round with me!! The summit of Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe 1027m is the second highest point of the day...Jelly McBaby loved the view from here and was pleased to see that the rain had been replaced by glorious sunshine and the wind had died away also.

The views along the ridge to the next two Munro tops were superb, real take your breath away stuff. The views back to the Brothers ridge were equally as sensational...it was an interesting comparison to be made...the Brothers ridge and the Sisters ridge...certainly from this angle the Sisters already looked as though it was a lot more sharp and gnarly then the Brothers could ever hope to be. Loch Duich was very prominant in our view now and provided an adequate backdrop to some of our (non posing) summit shots. We also had an absolutely stunning view of the two Munro's to come on this round...excellent day in prospect. The ridge stretches out in front of you, on a day like this, in all her glory, just begging to be walked...no need to beg my dear, I was going to do you anyway! The third Sister, and second Munro, on the route is Sgurr na Carnach 1002m and involves a rough passage to get to. There are many twists in the path and a few steep sections, as there are all the way along the length of the ridge today, but she is well worth all the grunting and effort and sweat it takes to climb atop her. She only gained Munro status in 1997, after another of those measuring surveys that so often now seem to see us lose another one from the list, but had obviously been getting climbed as part of the round anyway.

The views from here, especially towards the Forcan ridge, were as stunning as any I have previously seen in Kintail. We were able to pick out the route that we plan to take tomorrow (weather and legs willing) almost all the way along the ridge...canna wait! But for the here and now we were happy to celebrate our second Munro of the day with some more summit poses for the camera...that doesn't make me vain by the way...it just means I like to acknowledge my achievements and preserve them for generations of little McBabies to come. From the summit cairn the path carries on north and down to the Bealach na Carnach, this involves some easy scrambling through rocks, before starting to rise sharply again at the other side.

The path rising up the slopes of Sgurr Fhuaran is in the main easy to follow, visibility wise at least, as it snakes it's way up through some rough rocky ground. It is, however, also exceptionally steep and rises for over 200m back to the rocky summit cairn. When I pulled up onto the summit and saw the cairn of Sgurr Fhuaran 1067m, the tallest of the summits today, our fourth Sister and third Munro, I foolishly believed that would be the last of the ascending and that the rest of the trek back would be a let down...wrong wrong wrong!!!

The ridge continues to snake out in front of you and has one last Sister lying in wait for you along the way. But that could wait for at least five minutes as we, again, posed for pictures on the summit and finished off the sandwiches. I only hope that the pictures I have taken do any of this route some justice...if not then go sample it for yourself...it's amazing! With the Munro's on the route complete some wallkers simply want to get down to the glen below, and this is their first safe opportunity to do so since climbing the Bealach na Lapain at the start of the route. You can chose to follow the west ridge down to Loch Shiel below, then walk back along the road to wherever your car is parked. This was never in our thoughts or plans today (we had parked my car at the end of our planned route in Ault a' Chruinn) so were doing the fifth Sister regardless.

The path is steep undulating and very good underfoot on the descent from Sgurr Fhuaran. As we started our descent a walker approached up the slopes. He had been out with his family and had struck out on his own to bag Sgurr Fhuaran, and was then going to about turn and head back to meet the family. I assumed he would be returning via the same path as ourselves and fully expected him to catch us on the return. We passed pleasantries and then headed off in different directions, if perhaps only temporarily. We descended to the Bealach Buidhe and followed the path as it snaked it's way along the edge of the corries below...some of the most impressive drops on the entire ridge can be found here...wobbly leg time again for me standing on the edge of some of them. The next peak on the route is Sgurr nan Saighead 929m (neither a Sister or a Munro) and there are alternative paths to choose. One of them skirts around her slopes and the other goes straight up and over...no choice really. From the top there is a path back down to the bealach and more impressive views into Coire na h-Uaighe. There is then another small bump to climb before being faced by Beinn Bhuidhe 869m and a choice of paths again. Unfortunately, on this occasion, I have to admit to not reading the directions fully and assuming that we had already scaled all five Sisters...meaning we chose the path around Beinn Bhuidhe and followed a steep descent down to Allt a Chruinn, crossing the river and following the path back on the north bank. This meant that we missed out on traversing the fifth and final Sister of the day, Sgurr na Moraich 876m, by following the route downloaded from walkhighlands into my GPS...even more gutting is that I didn't actually find this out until I sat down to type up this report!!! Even though four Sisters in an afternoon is impressive, I still feel somewhat cheated by not getting the fifth!! This also explains why the walker we saw never actually caught us and seemed to disappear altogether, he clearly went over the top of the end Sister to gain the path further on (not sure how much longer that would have taken us to do but I imagine it would have been considerable given the terrain). So we followed the path along the Allt a Chruinn, stopping all too briefly to admire the view down to the loch below (I say all too briefly because as I rummaged for my phone to get a decent picture I was eaten alive by the return of the dreaded midge!!!) to it's conclusion in the village of Ault a' Chruinn where the car was waiting, baking in the roasting evening sun. Thankfully the small shop was still open and we were able to purchase an ice lolly to cool us down. From car to car it took us just under the suggested eight hours to complete, pretty impressive given how Louise was feeling for most of it. During the descent of the river my phone had revealed a couple of missed calls during the course of the day...Chris being one and Angus the other...I returned these calls when my signal allowed and found that both wanted to come along tomorrow for the Forcan ridge, but had fitness (Chris) and work (Angus) issues to resolve before that can happen...I await a text from both in the morning to let me know either way.

  

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PS

There were two other walkers on the ridge with us today, staying just ahead of us at all times and never being gained on. The main reason for this was they just never stopped at the summits to admire the views, they just seemed to get there and move swiftly on...on a day like today!!! If I ever get THAT obsessed with bagging Munro's, forsaking the beauty of this wonderful land of ours to merely "get it done as quickly as possible"  then please take me out the back and shoot me!!!

Adendum; The Forcan ridge had to be called off on Friday as the weather was too inclement. We drove to the start point and watched as the rain poured down and the cloud hung too low over the tops to give us any hope of a view. If and when I do the Forcan Ridge I want it to be in clear conditions so that I get the most out of it, the views and the feel of exposure on the rocks. So after a quick stop at Cluanie Inn for a hot chocolate, we headed off in different directions until we meet up again in September to attempt Glen Affric.