Best Bothy/Mountain Combination?

[Buckybronco]

Folks,

Just curious as to what you think is the best bothy/mountain experience that Scotland has to offer. From my own adventures I would have to say that to date Shenavall/An Teallach has it sewn up. The remoteness of the bothy, its magnificent setting, and the majesty of An Teallach coupled with the interesting scrambling makes for a thus far unbeatable combination. Anyone got any other preferences??

[basscadet]

I think my favourite was secret howff and square face combo

[Kevin29035]

Always thought Shenavall was on an awkward side of An Teallach, but it's up there!

Barrisdale/Ladhar Bheinn has to be equal to, if not greater imo in terms of aesthetics of route - long coastal walk, a bothy, then up the side of the mountain by the sea and traversing this dramatic + soaring fin to finish on the summit.

[malky_c]

Top of my to-do list would be Hecla and Usnish bothy on South Uist.

Barrisdale is good in theory, but the actual bothy is a bit rubbish inside in some respects. It has power and running water but no character (except maybe that of a '70s council house) and no fireplace. For that reason, I'd be more inclined to pick Sourlies/Sgurr na Ciche in that area.

Some others that spring to mind (I haven't actually been to all of these yet):

Camasunary/Bla Bheinn
Oban/An Stac
Corrour/Cairn Toul and Devil's Point
McCooks/Ben Alder
Suileag/Suilven

Like Kevin, I'd not be that likely to use Shenaval for An Teallach. Maybe for Beinn a' Claidheimh or Beinn Dearg Mor on the other side of the glen. Mind you, I did drop down to it off the back of An Teallach once, so I suppose it is workable.

[Buckybronco]

Yeah I walked into Shenavall from Dundonnell on the Friday night and had a night's kip. On the Saturday I headed back for maybe 1-2 km along the trail and took off up Sail Liath to rund round the An Teallach ridge from the Corrag Bhuidhe pinnacles end. After the 2nd top I dropped into the corrie beside the loch and looped around it back to Shenavall. Then on the Sunday it was a walk back out to Dundonnell. It makes for a great weekend!

I am planning the McCooks/Ben Alder combination for next month. I have done the Corrour/Cairn Toul combo and found Corrour to be way too busy and with loads of people running around and doing the Lairig Ghru. I treasure the remoteness/solitude aspect of bothying so that was a bit disappointing. Interested to see your other combinations though.

[Kevin29035]

I dropped off An Teallach to link a night in Shenavall into Fisherfield in July. The full 3000-foot descent was pretty tedious-going, though always fun to go a new way.

Oban/An Stac is some good esoterica! Most bothies seem to have 'their' mountain, Sourlies/Ciche is another. The ones that don't follow this rule would probably be the Hutchison, Faindouran, Tarf, all those rounded eastern things, positioned between several Munros but none really grabbing the attention.

[Sgurr]

I would agree with malky that Oban An Stac is pretty good, and Suileag Suilven. Below, Suilven from the bothy. My only regret was that SOMEONE had taken the book of Norman McCaig verse that was mentioned in the bothy book as having been there lat year, so I had to wait until I got home to find this

Climbing Suilven by Norman MacCaig

I nod and nod to my own shadow and thrust
A mountain down and down.
Between my feet a loch shines in the brown,
It's silver paper crinkled and edged with rust.
My lungs say No;
But down and down this treadmill hill must go.

Parishes dwindle. But my parish is
This stone, that tuft, this stone
And the cramped quarters of my flesh and bone.
I claw that tall horizon down to this;
And suddenly
My shadow jumps huge miles away from me.




On a more prosaic level, if you want a flushing toilet, Ben Dronaig is for you, plus of course, Ben Dronaig or Cheesecake et al (sorry purists, I know it isn't called that)

[malky_c]

I have done the Corrour/Cairn Toul combo and found Corrour to be way too busy and with loads of people running around and doing the Lairig Ghru. I treasure the remoteness/solitude aspect of bothying so that was a bit disappointing.

Much as I like meeting other folk in bothies, I agree you don't want to be somewhere that feels like a motorway service station. Both times I stayed in Corrour I was pretty lucky in that respect, although before it had a renovation (about 2006?) it was the pits. That's the trouble with trying to pair a bothy with an iconic mountin, I suppose.

[Kevin29035]

I have done the Corrour/Cairn Toul combo and found Corrour to be way too busy and with loads of people running around and doing the Lairig Ghru. I treasure the remoteness/solitude aspect of bothying so that was a bit disappointing.

Much as I like meeting other folk in bothies, I agree you don't want to be somewhere that feels like a motorway service station. Both times I stayed in Corrour I was pretty lucky in that respect, although before it had a renovation (about 2006?) it was the pits. That's the trouble with trying to pair a bothy with an iconic mountin, I suppose.

Must have been pretty lucky myself - twice (maybe three times? lose count) I've overnighted in Corrour it's been pretty quiet. The Lairig Ghru is busy and you notice a lot of groups going through.

I was disappointed to see a couple summers ago the Fords of Avon stacked with rubbish from DofE groups. Wonder where it all ended up; the curse of popularity.

[mountainboy12]

Corrour Bothy and The Devil's Point

P6011020 by Mountainboy12, on Flickr

[clivegrif]

Hey, thats a great photo there Mountainboy!

Looks absolutely awesome!

[Boris_the_Bold]

The top three on my 'Been there/Done That' would be:

Sgurr Mor from Kinbreak
A Mhaighdean from Shenavall and
Lurg Mhor & & B-a-C Sheasgaich (aka Cheesecake) from Bearnais

However, if I can vote for combinations on my 'Must Do' list then I'd go for:
Lurg Mhor & B-a-C Sheasgaich from Bendronaig and/or
Beinn Dearg Mor from Shenavall (which solves the 'Shenavall is on the wrong of An Teallach' problem!)



BtB

[Kevin29035]

Beinn Dearg Mor from Shenavall (which solves the 'Shenavall is on the wrong of An Teallach' problem!)

Crafty! As much Shenavall's mountain as An Teallach I think!

[Buckybronco]

I wasnt trying to imply that a specific bothy belongs with a specific mountain - rather I was trying to see if anyone had come up with any great ideas for adventures which tie the two together beautifully - and it can be a group of mountains with a bothy, or a number of bothies linking a number of mountains etc you get the picture. Just looking for great adventure ideas!!!!!!

Shenavall worked as a base for An Teallach because its a looooong drive to Dundonnell and a looooong drive back.

Cheers

[Kevin29035]

I wasnt trying to imply that a specific bothy belongs with a specific mountain - rather I was trying to see if anyone had come up with any great ideas for adventures which tie the two together beautifully - and it can be a group of mountains with a bothy, or a number of bothies linking a number of mountains etc you get the picture. Just looking for great adventure ideas!!!!!!

Shenavall worked as a base for An Teallach because its a looooong drive to Dundonnell and a looooong drive back.

Cheers

I dunno, easy enough to do it as a Dundonnell round trip, Shenavall really comes into it's own for the mountains to the south.

For bothy/mountain trips the best place I've ever been is the Cairngorms. There's nowhere more natural to connect bothies and mountains imo.