The waterfall was in magnificent spate but I did not stop to admire it as I cycled by with the day already well advanced and my goal a long long way distant. On reaching Loch Arkaig however I just had to stop and grab a picture of a magnificent rainbow, the first of several on this very showery day.
A mountain bike would have been more suitable than my little folder for the rather rough track to Invermallie bothy. I persisted only a couple of kilometres further and then abandoned the bike and went straight up onto the ridge, here called Mullach na Briobaig. It would probably have been faster to have kept to the track for another three kilometres or so but it was rewarding to walk virtually the whole ridge and once up the steep tussocky grass of the nose the going was mainly reasonable with only a few peat hags to negotiate. There were many colourful lochans and it was difficult to distinguish those shown on the map from lesser unmarked pools. This was unimportant however on this clear day with the summit not in any doubt despite its very tiny cairn.
I came straight down just west of the tiny Coire nam Fuaran. As soon as I left the ridge the bellowing of rutting stags echoed up from the glen below. I followed the track down Glen Mallie soon to be overtaken by a heavy shower with one of the finest rainbows I have ever seen.
We made a rendezvous with son Martin in the carpark. He had romped across to the top on our last visit. Now he is more interested in climbing than peak-bagging. The weather was far from ideal with heavy hail showers and a very strong west wind. Just as we had almost decided to abandon the attempt it brightened up and we set out. Because of its popularity the steep path to the ridge is very eroded, although it has been pitched in places. On reaching the ridge a marvellous view northwards is revealed with Suilven the most conspicuous hill. The wind was less awful than we expected but the route westwards was not obvious with a maze of paths meandering amongst the pinnacles. At one point it seemed impossible to avoid a very exposed wet slippery and sloping slab. I cast dignity to the winds and shuffled across on my bottom. By now Rowland had decided to retreat and descend by the less steep path on the northern side of the ridge. His motivation for the top was less than mine since he also elected long ago never to attempt the In Pinn.
Martin and I arrived at the bad step. At first he suggested a direct climb of the pinnacle. Although I could see plenty of holds this climb would be horrifically exposed. By descending on the left for a short distance we found an easier route up a steep slab in a very sheltered corner where I still elected to have the reassurance of a rope. A big rock to grab onto made this fairly easy after the first couple of moves. Soon we were approaching my long coveted summit but we had to crawl the last few feet to the cairn as we were suddenly struck by the wind again, sweeping up over the steep western cliffs.
The stroll down to Larg Hill and back up again was thoroughly enjoyable on this perfect day. I then wandered over to the little rocky top of Bennanbrack before dropping back onto my outward route. A more interesting return, had I had more daylight, would have been over Curleywee, the most striking top in this cluster of hills.
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