With a week off work arranged I intended to take full advantage of the opportunity to increase my Munro tally...so a jaunt to Torridon was organised. It was planned that I would leave Aberdeen early on Wednesday morning and bag Fionn Beinn on the way up to my accommodation at Achnasheen. I had booked into the bunkhouse at Ledgowan lodge for two nights with Louise, who was working Wednesday and wouldn't be arriving until night time. Unfortunately the weather didn't play ball with me and those plans were hastily rearranged. I went out for tea on Tuesday evening instead with Gibb and had a lazy morning on the Wednesday before setting off just after lunch-time. The drive up to Achnasheen was wet to say the least, especially passing through Nairn, and I must admit I had fears of a complete washout to my trip. Arriving in Achnasheen around five didn't allay those concerns one bit, the sky was full of rain and didn't look very much like clearing. Worse than that, the wind was picking up and the car was already being buffeted around, with more of the same now forecast for tomorrow!!! Louise arrived around seven and the weather hadn't improved any, it was still raining and windy, and worse than that the forecast on MWIS had changed again!! Now it was forecasting the weather we had been expecting on Friday for tomorrow...Liathach (our original plan for tomorrow) was now in real doubt!! Angus called to let me know that he would probably be able to come up and meet us, if Liathach was still a viable option, in the morning. I had to be brutally honest with him about the weather at the moment and how it was sounding for tomorrow, knowing that he would in all essence drop it as a realistic aim. The good thing is that the Munro's have been around since time began, certainly up in Torridon they have anyway, and will always be there for climbing when the weather improves. Angus made the right call and binned it, a near five hour drive in the middle of a hectic work week was asking a lot on the off chance.
Thursday morning and the weather never improved in the slightest...so Liathach was sidelined and Beinn Eighe or Beinn Alligin would be the alternative climb. We decided upon Beinn Eighe as the wind was far too strong to be stuck on the horns of Alligin (and there would be no point in doing Beinn Alligin without the horns). Having read the route description of the three sets of Munro's available in the area it was also the one with the least exposure...that was a clincher in this wind. The average wind speed at the moment was between 25-35mph, with gusts forecast of between 40-50mph...way too strong to be caught out on an exposed path or crossing pinnacles I fear.
Even with the weather being as it was today we still gave it an extra hour to see if it would calm down any...which it didn't!! So it was just before eleven o'clock when we set off from the Coire Mhic Fhearchair car park, in Glen Torridon, and walked back along the road for 2k until we turned off where the newly regenerated path starts by the Allt Coire an Laoigh.
There is a large cairn that signifies the start of the walk and pays homage to the footpath trust for the work carried out. I can vouch for the fact that the path was of excellent quality on the way up, indeed right to the foot of Coire an Laoigh, so a big hand to all involved. The weather had decided that as well as being wet and windy it would also be as misty as possible to try and detract from our enjoyment of a fine pair of Munro's and an exciting ridge walk...even at this low height the mist was trying to spoil our views back down Glen Torridon and out to Loch Clair...certainly there was nothing of note to see on the way ahead!!
The initial walk up the slopes was gentle to begin with, building to a steeper incline as we gained height. With the path being of such high quality it was easy to follow the route into the corrie. Once there the terrain changed and the path disappeared under us as we picked our way through various sizes of rocks. The path appeared again at the far end of the corrie just as we started to ascend for real (as it were) in a steep slog up a zig zag route that would hopefully take us out at the top of the ridge between Stuc Coire an Laoigh and Beinn Eighe. Indeed that's exactly where we came out, at a large cairn on the ridge, and should have seen a view straight across to Liathach, but nothing nada zilch to be seen today!! The wind picked up even more strength as we gathered around the cairn to sort out our attire...hats and gloves required for Louise...gloves for me (first time since February) to try to fend off the cutting chill that the wind caused to our wet clothing. From here the path steepens again through quartzite scree and reaches a large trig point and cairn at 972m...this should not be confused for the summit!! The summit sits 20m higher and out on a short ridge to the right of the trig point as you appear at it on the path (NNE direction) which should be taken very carefully in wet rocks and high winds. There is a bypass path beneath the summit, avoiding the rocky outcrop of quartzite, but taking in a mild scramble up a quartzite (staircase) through the rocks. The cairn is nothing to write home about but does a fine job of marking the summit at 993m. Jelly McBaby braved the elements and posed for a pic on the cairn.
We decided to head back down to the trig point for some shelter and a sandwich, sooner rather than later in this wind, and carefully picked our way back down through the quartzite rocks (which were slippier than a hun in front of an SFA panel) to the relative comfort provided by the shelter around the trig point. I was really feeling the cold now, a legacy of leaving off my hardshell for too long earlier, so added a baselayer beneath my softshell jacket to stave off the effects of windchill. It may only be a thin top but it's amazing the difference it made. Louise decided to pose for a pic at the trig point, as well as earlier at the cairn, before we headed off into the misty unknown ahead of us...
It's at this point, as we started down the path from Spidean Coire nan Clach, that we had been hoping for the mist to clear and give us some views of the vast corrie beneath us. Unfortunately the weather is one thing we have absolutely no control over...a bit like flatulence!! The walk along the ridge, skirting increasingly close to the edge, was still magnificent (just knowing what was probably out there, you can almost imagine it in your minds eye as you walk along), helped in no small way by the occasional glimpse of sharp pointy rocks poking through the mist beneath us to our right.
With the increase in wind also came a brief increase in the rain...but thankfully that abated after a short dousing. We continued to descend on the path, then ascend again as we sought out the grassy mound that we knew lay beneath Coinneach Mhor. It is unusual, in these parts anyway, for a grassy patch to grow so high up, everywhere else is strewn with razor sharp quartz rocks, but once we reached it it provided yet another distraction from the weather. The rise through this patch proved gentler than anything previously walked today and we were soon on the top of Coinneach Mhor 902m. Beneath us to the NNW was the magnificence of the Triple Buttress, which we would hopefully see in all her glory on the descent later. But for now we only had one thought in our minds, getting down the other side of Coinneach Mhor. This was in stark contrast to the gentle grass slopes we had just ascended, returning once more to razor sharp rocks with a narrow winding path between them. We stood on the bealach separating Ruadh-stac Mhor from the main bulk of Beinn Eighe and couldn't believe our luck...the mist started to rise and reveal Beinn Eighe in most of her glory.
We could even see part of the way ahead of us now also, at least the start of the path leading across the bealach and up the lower slopes of Ruadh-stac Mhor, if not all the way to the top of the 2nd Munro. The view down to Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair was as stunning as we had hoped for all day. As the mist continued to clear we were able to pick out not only the whole of the ridge we had traversed, but also the far summit cairn (and lower trig point) of Spidean Coire nan Clach. Beyond them were also the visible tops of Ruadh-stac Beag and Sgurr Ban. But it was the view of the scree slopes leading down from the bealach to the loch below that caught my eye...
And then most unexpectedly we spotted two figures ascending the far slopes...gaining height on Ruadh-stac Mhor. Given that we hadn't seen or heard (which happens through the mist, voices travel further apparently) anyone all day we could only assume at this stage that they had traversed the scree slopes and were doing the route clockwise (we were doing it anti-clockwise). Then on the far off ridge of Spidean Coire nan Clach I spotted two other figures coming in our direction, but at least forty five minutes behind us. After a short break to take as many pics as we could before the mist undoubtedly descended around us again, we set off across the bealach and up the far slopes. Unbeknown to me I set off at a terribly fast pace and left poor Louise behind...I can only apologise for that but as I said to her at the time (well when I realised and slowed for her) it must be summit fever that makes me take off like that. Ruadh-stac Mhor rises up 150m above the bealach, traversing North from the main ridge. It was a decent haul up to get there, a couple of rises then flatter areas then a sharp rise to the summit cairn at the end 1010m. The couple we had spotted on the way up were still sitting there, finishing their tea and contemplating the rest of their day ahead. they asked how the rest of the route was, which appeared to make up their minds for them. I offered around jelly babies, which were gratefully accepted, as I prepared Jelly McBaby for his summit pose on the cairn.
We bid farewell and good luck to these two as they had a long haul ahead of them...and the weather looked like turning nasty again very soon. We stayed on the summit, slightly beneath so as to get some shelter from the wind, to finish off sandwiches and some much needed lucozade. When we went to the cairn for pics I almost laughed as Louise was blown by a huge gust of wind and couldn't stand upright until it died away. With our pics taken and bags secured once more we set off back down the slopes to the bealach...just as we arrived at the foot of the drop to the scree chute we passed the other couple we had seen on the far ridge...they were indeed around forty five minutes behind us. We approached the scree chute and thought that the best option in the wet conditions was to hug the side of the slope, rather than slide down the middle of it (which is great fun when it's dry underfoot but rather risky in the greasy wet condition of today). So off we set down the chute, taking great care, until we reached the bottom of the route and realised that the path had once more disappeared. We headed to the left for a bit and meandered through a mix of rocks and grass, one as greasy and wet as the other, down two steep dips in the slope, until we finally bottomed out at the loch below. From here the view back up to the Triple Buttress was awesome...possibly even enhanced by the layer of mist clinging to it's sides and weaving between the rocks, blown by the wind.
It gave the entire scene an almost ethereal look about it. We reached the base of the corrie floor and began to skirt around the loch...finding a few lumps of what looked like aircraft wreckage strewn around the shores of the loch. There were some breathtaking views back up the corrie, it's walls looking almost impregnable from down here, and we could here the sound of Deer calling out to each other, as if they were telling us to get away so they could get on with their lives in peace. The rain started heavy again as we crossed the stream at the Far end of the loch and picked out the descending path around Sail Mhor...could this day really get any wetter??? Certainly my light summer hardshell has seen it's best days behind it and needs upgrading...(not another new jacket) as it wets out far too quickly and doesn't stop enough moisture getting through to the layers beneath. Thankfully I purchased a winter hardshell last year which I can wear for the next few months at least...though it is going to be rather cumbersome for the next month I would imagine (it really comes into it's own in winter when the temperatures really drop and sleet and snow are trying to find a weakness in your outer layers.
Anyway, enough of that for just now, back to the walk...Sail Mhor rose up out of the far side of the loch like a sandstone fortress...
We only had just over 6k to go to get back to our car...hopefully all down hill as well. With the mist thickening once more and the rain increasing as we trudged down and around Sail Mhor, the best part of the day was now behind us...we couldn't even hope for a glimpse of Liathach on the way around into Coire Mhic Fhearchair!! The rest of the walk back was a real trudge, head down and the constant whish whish of goretex rubbing against itself...real disheartening at times...but we had had a cracking day so couldn't allow that to get us down. With about 3.5k left to go we encountered one last obstacle in our path...a river to cross on stepping stones!!!
Louise crossed like a graceful gazelle...I plodded across like bambi on ice...then couldn't switch off my camera for laughing so much. The rest of the walk ended in near darkness and complete wetness...I was so glad to reach the car and get my soaking outer layers off. We made it back for half six...only 7.5 hrs after departing...which cheered Louise up as she thought she had been slowing us down...not at all. I do think I could have shaved an hour off of that, but then I always go quicker on my own, and the recommendation was between 7-9 hrs so no shame there. I drove the fifteen miles back to Achnasheen in damp clothes and was promised a shandy when we got there to warm me up. A quick phone call home to let Gibb know that I was safe and alive, necked the shandy then jumped in a hot shower...ah bliss after a long wet cold day on the hills!! We left our jackets in the hotel drying room but didn't hold out much hope of them being dry by morning...not that it really mattered as the forecast was for gale force winds, increasing in strength as the day progressed, so we had already decided that we had done our Munro's for this trip and would just head back after breakfast...
The following morning did indeed bring high winds, forecast at around 35-40mph with gust between 60-65mph...not conducive to safe Munroing so the correct decision had been made...the rain was also battering off the windows and woke me from my wine induced slumber. Only another five required to reach my years target...51...which will take me to 200 in total...now where to next???
Looks good John, been looking at this as a solo effort some time, maybe in the new year. Only 120 mins drive from home.
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