Beyond the summit we found a sheltered cleft for lunch looking down on all the new forestry which had frustrated us at Christmas and then we continued over Leacann nan Gall and the Bealach na Sreine onto Black Craig, one of the lesser tops in Dawson's tables. This very boggy ridge was at its least unpleasant after the long dry spell. By the time we reached its totally unmarked summit mist was swirling across it and during the night Scotland enjoyed its first heavy rain for nearly a month.
[Beinn Mhor and Beinn Bheag from Beinn Ruadh]
By the time we reached the only break in the trees we were struggling through nearly a foot of powdery snow. Every tree was laden with snow, a perfect setting for Christmas Day. Above the track the going, through what was usually rough grass and heather, became well nigh impossible. We were sinking in up to our thighs in places. I remembered similar conditions for my first attempt on Ullscarf many years before. It was becoming clear that this hill would likewise defeat us. The summit lay more than three kilometres away, a journey destined to take three hours in these conditions and little less on the return which was not a realistic possibility on this short winter day.
We decided to content ourselves with the first top on the ridge, a spot height of 526m on the map. This was struggle enough but on gaining the top we were rewarded with a winter panorama of incredible splendour. The day was cloudless and stunningly clear. Every hill was purest white. Only the largest rocks were visible through the deep snow. A group of striking hills, which we concluded to be those on the Isle of Mull, glowed gold on the far western horizon. Southwards Creag Tharsuinn itself appeared as a bold dark grey silhouette directly against the low winter sun. Only the most demented table-ticker could rate as failure a day which climaxed on such a summit.
We went up exactly the same way in June but this time we took the bicycles up the forest track. There was little danger of failing to climb it on this long summer day and indeed I feared that it would be an anticlimax after that superb expedition in the snow. It was not. The first delight was the discovery of a beautifully dappled deer calf lying motionless in the grass. It gazed at the camera with big brown eyes, then we moved on quickly not wanting to keep its mother away [picture].
The north ridge of the hill was most enjoyable, being far steeper and more craggy on the eastern side than the map had led us to imagine and holding tiny lochans and little rocky clefts and corners before running up sharply to the narrow and totally unmarked north top which is probably a touch higher than the somewhat flatter and also unmarked one which carries the spot height on the map. [on the north ridge]
It was a day of sudden vicious hail showers but between them the sun shone amidst bubbling clouds so the views were splendid with the distant Isle of Arran particularly conspicuous to the south. A sheltered cranny amongst the eastern crags gave us a lovely lunch spot with Beinn Mhor and Beinn Bheag rising steeply above the forest below.
Although this hill does not really form a pair with Creag Tharsuinn, and only the bicycles made it sensible to climb both in one day, it has a summit which is very similar, being a narrow grassy ridge which drops off steeply to the east and carries no cairn whatsoever, although in this case there is a rock and a fence post at the very top.
The bird's eye view of Loch Eck was very fine, backed by yesterday's mountain, Creag Ruadh [picture], while closer at hand Bheinn Mhor was looking most dramatic, reflecting the sunlight from its wet and rocky ridges and still holding a few patches of snow; undoubtedly a hill to look forward to with pleasurable anticipation. The downhill ride back on the excellent and not too steep forest road was a great finish to today's splendid expedition.
We decided to give it ten minutes to stop raining. After nine minutes it stopped but no sooner had we set foot on the steep western flanks of Beinn Bhreac than it came on as hard as ever. We donned the waterproofs and climbed on. I was thinking of what I had been writing about the Elsies, or Grahams as we were now supposed to call them. In my introduction I had said that I expected them to be less interesting than the Munros and Corbetts but so far they had given us mostly delight. Here, I thought, is the one to set the balance right. There must be some which are hardly worth climbing, so today I'll admit that this is nothing more than a boring grassy slog. Then it cleared for a moment to reveal a startling view of The Cobbler. In an instant it was gone, obscured by the next storm rolling in, but I began to suspect that this was not after all going to be the bottom of the barrel hill of my predictions.
We certainly had not taken the best route up this mountain but the sudden totally unexpected vista which appeared as we took the very last step to the trig point was perhaps more memorable than it would have been if we had enjoyed it all the way up the south ridge. Of course it should not have taken us by surprise. Even the most casual glance at the map shows that this is probably the best viewpoint of all for Loch Lomond. The sun was glinting through the storm throwing the array of islands into silhouette against the sparkling waters. This view southwards was similar to the one which we had admired from the ridges of Mid Hill but Beinn Bhreac gives the northwards view as well, right up to the tapering head of the loch surrounded by misty mountains.
Ben Reoch just misses the tables although we had certainly completed more than the necessary 500 feet of reascent by the time we reached the summit via the south top which gives lovely retrospective views of Beinn Bhreac. Ben Reoch must be the finest viewpoint of all for The Cobbler but for the moment its shapely summits remained veiled in mist.
The descent towards Tullich Hill was uncomfortably steep and the direct ascent on the other side of this deep col appeared barred by cliffs. We worked round to the right of them, taking the obvious line along their foot marked by scattered boulders fallen from above. By the time we reached the top all the clouds had dispersed and it was another glorious sunny afternoon. The Cobbler now was showing its striking profile amongst the other craggy summits of the Arrochar Alps. [picture] Cnoc Coinnich, now totally devoid of snow, lay westwards and to the south all the other hills in this wedge of high ground between Loch Lomond and Loch Long now seemed like old friends with only Beinn Chaorach left to do.
Tullich Hill is quite a craggy one and even the south-east ridge, which sets off from the top as smooth and grassy as they come, splits up round a rocky little corrie further down. We finished the circuit a good deal more happily than we had started, pleased that the rain had stopped just in time to persuade us up that first hill.
At the summit we noticed for the first time the strong west wind which made the return no easier than the outward ride. We met several groups of walkers on these tracks, although none climbing to our summit, which perhaps suggests that not everybody is unhappy to see tarmac so high in the hills. [Ben Lawers from Greag Garbh summit]
It turned out less arduous than it looked, the ascent from the col being quite an attractive one up a line of little crags. The real excitement was in the view however with Ben Lui just peeping above the clouds which had cleared from Ben Oss as we came up the ridge. [picture] The Corbett Beinn Chuirn was perhaps the most dramatic of all, seen straight into the sun, with mist swirling over its steep northern cliffs. We came straight down southwards, relieved to find a clear line through the trees, and thus back to Tyndrum Lower station after a most rewarding circuit.
It was a rather amazing day. At Mallaig the sea had been calm enough for reflections yet as soon as we set foot on the north-west ridge of Beinn na Caillich we were almost blown off. The steepness and stoniness was quite an advantage, making it easier to hold onto something as we went up. It was stunningly clear and the retrospective views towards Glamaig and its neighbours were magnificent [picture]. As we climbed, Sgurr nan Gillean appeared [picture] and added to the drama but there were hints of trouble ahead for wisps of cloud were whirling above us at tremendous speed. The summit has an enormous cairn, very welcome in these conditions for its eastern side gave a vestige of shelter and allowed us to appreciate our amazing situation. Clouds were moving across so fast that the incredible views were only to be snatched in fractions of a second. The whole of the Western Highlands seemed to flash before our eyes. The sun glinted on the sea for an instant. The clouds swept in again. Peeping round the cairn, straight into the gale, Sgurr nan Gillean was as sharp in the view as the rock beneath my fingers but it was gone in the blink of an eyelid.
The rest of the Cuillin remained obscured and so did Beinn Dearg Mhor. We followed the attractive ridge to its summit, practically crawling over the windswept bealach. It was a real disappointment to be in thick mist here for we had expected a marvellous view of Blaven which we had only glimpsed on the way up. It was particularly frustrating to notice that these hills seemed to be the only ones covered in cloud. Our consolation was the remarkable and unusual experience on the first summit.
The north ridge of Beinn Dearg Mhor ends abruptly in crags but a lesser ridge divides the little Coire Garbh from the vast Coire Reidh. It is found by crossing the upper Coire Laogh and it gave us an easy way down.
We started from Bealach Udal, working onto the south ridge of Sgurr na Coinnich which took us up to a little top west of the lochan with a marvellous distant view of the Cuillins [picture], which indeed we had enjoyed all the way up. Arrival at the trig point revealed an incredible panorama of mainland hills as well as the impossibly steep south ridge of Beinn na Caillich [picture]. The mountains of Skye often benefit from a bit of lateral thinking, the Bhasteir Tooth being the most amazing example. In this case we soon figured out the plan of skirting along the obvious western shelf and coming up by the easy north ridge. [Kyle of Lochalsh from the ridge]
This time there were no surprises in the view from the top but that did not make it one jot less enjoyable. [the Cuillin from the summit] [Sgurr na Coinnich from the summit] We sat down on the sheltered eastern side for a long time, picking out the lovely mountains of the Western Highlands and remembering the glorious days which we had spent ascending them.
We backed off down the north ridge and then swung east towards the sea. New forestry, not hinted at on our old map, promised problems but after climbing the fence at a sharp corner we were lucky to locate an old but persistent vehicle track which led us to the forest road. Soon we realised that something of interest lay below and we took the little track which led by steps and bridges to the otter watching hide constructed by the Forestry Commission. Lots of people were here. Unfortunately we saw no otters, which was not really a surprise for we have seen only three in all our visits to Scotland. There were many seals however which made the diversion well worthwhile. Back at the bealach the Cuillins suddenly reappeared, not unexpected of course but their hazy outline, now straight into the sun, was so different from the morning clarity that it had the same breathtaking effect as a totally surprise view.
Two days of dreadful weather followed but on Sunday we woke with sunrise in a blue sky. We picked a way through peat diggings to the well defined south ridge of Uisgnaval Mor. The splendid panorama improved with every step up this pleasant grassy ridge. [picture] The summit cairn is reached by a simple walk from this direction but perches above cliffs which give the impression of a rocky tor when seen from the north. A sharp drop and almost equally steep reascent brought us to a sheltered lunch spot amongst the summit boulders of Teilesval, looking across to the ridges of Clisham, a hill which we had climbed many years before in thick mist.
It was sunny today with the cloud well broken but the strong west wind made it seem more like April than June and the waterproofs, donned for a fleeting shower, were worn for warmth until we reached Glen Meavaig. The grassy north ridge of Teilesval swings east above Loch Stuladale and the climb onto Stulaval was easier than it looked while the descent by the long ridge of Creag Chleistir was pure delight with lovely glimpses of Loch Chleistir below the northern crags. [Clisham and Uisgnaval Mor from Stulaval] We then strolled down the track below the impressive nose of Sron Scourst which is so conspicuous in the view of this hill from the south.
The south-east ridge of Tirga Mor is fairly absorbing in its lower reaches as one scrambles up steep slabs, so it was not until the flatter grass above that we noticed that we had not climbed, as expected, into mist. Superb views lay behind us instead, across islands and inlets sparkling in the early eastern sunshine. [picture] The trig point crowns a narrow rocky crest and opened up the prospect westwards of more sea and sunshine. We crossed the flat northern top and then worked our way down to the northern end of Loch Ashavat with magnificent views on the way of the great overhanging face of Sron Ulladale, the northern end of the Oreval ridge. [picture]
The climb onto Hallival from here is straightforward albeit boggy in places and the big boulder field at the top can be evaded by getting well over onto the ridge as soon as possible and enjoying the view down onto Loch Voshimid and Lochan an Fheoir. [on the ridge] [Clisham and Uisgnaval Mor from the top]
The south ridge of Hallival is superb with even a little pinnacle to add to the excitement. [picture] Oreval, only three metres higher, offers neither a pleasant connecting ridge nor an interesting summit. Two cairns vie for supremacy but both appear to be overtopped by an unmarked jumble of boulders. Mist was swirling around the summit and we counted ourselves amazingly lucky to have enjoyed such superb conditions for most of a day which had started with such ominous clouds on the summits. Indeed this circuit must rank as one of the great walks of Britain and we felt very privileged to have done it in this window of good weather for, although we soon dropped back into sunshine, we looked back from the trig point on Cleisaval to see mist again on all the higher tops.
[the 3 Harris Grahams from Caultrashal Beag to the north]
my homepage
