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Munros: Beinn Sgritheall.
Grahams: Beinn a' Chapuill
Date: 17 and 18/10/2014.
Distance: 24km.
Ascent: 1540m.
Time taken: 7 hours, 45 minutes.
Weather: Warm, sunshine and occasional showers, turning grey and windy. Heavy rain at night.
After a couple of days slobbing around York and Birmingham, I needed some fresh air. Amazingly, Gill offered me the car for an overnighter. More ambitious ideas included Streap and the hills east of there, and Knoydart for those elusive Corbetts. In the end, the weather dictated going slightly further north, so I headed for Kintail again. I have long had an overnight trip planned to this area to pick up my remaining Grahams and revisit the Saddle and Beinn Sgritheall. Having the car available made the plans a little more flexible.
Initially I parked up under the Saddle in Glen Shiel with the intention of a quick walk up Biod na Fhithich, possibly continuing onto the Saddle, but with the weather looking up, I decided to carry on to Glenelg and go up Beinn a' Chapuill and Beinn Sgritheall first.
5 Sisters from Mam Ratagain:
A’ Ghlas Bheinn:
I parked at the campsite near Moyle and crossed the river - fairly shallow here. The walk around to Gleann Beag was wet and on an indistinct path, but the scenery and weather more than compensated. What had looked like a cautiously promising morning was now one of those perfect warm autumn days which can suddenly appear, squeezed between cold snaps.
Sgurr Mhic Bharraich above Glen More:
I nipped into the bothy for a quick look - appears to have been tarted up recently and was very nice. I had a quick flick through the bothy book - you can always find some familiar names there (even if they aren't the ones you were looking for). I considered dumping my stuff and staying here on the way back, but it was already 1:30 pm and the weather looked great for camping somewhere en route.
You find all sorts in the bothy book:
Suardalan and Sgurr Mhic Bharraich:
The path improved shortly after the bothy, and the autumn colours were almost enough to have me thinking about a long circuit around the glens, rather than going up high.
Beinn Sgritheall:
Beinn Sgritheall and Beinn a’ Chapuill:
Beinn a’ Chapuill from Gleann Beag:
Bad am Fhithich Mor:
Autumn colours in Gleann Beag:
Sense soon prevailed and I got onto the east ridge of Beinn a' Chapuill by the wobbly bridge. The ground beyond this was briefly terrible, and the short ascent up the side of the plantation was a rather nasty deer ked trap.
Wobbly bridge:
Once on the ridge, the wind hit me for the first time today, and the keds were cleared away in double time. This was a great ascent route - the appeal of it is obvious from the map. There were even faint traces of path in a couple of places.
Back to Sgurr Mhic Bharraich:
E ridge of Beinn a’ Chapuill:
Gleann Beag:
Up the ridge:
Back down the ridge:
Back to the 5 Sisters:
…and the Saddle and Beinn nan Caorach:
I stopped for a break on the summit, where the wind was strong and the clouds had moved in. Still good views to the north and east, although I had to go to another summit to see Loch Hourn. There was a steep slabby descent to Bealach na h-Oidhche, which offered a number of good camping spots. However, I had more time so decided to push on. The chance of getting up Beinn Sgritheall in decent weather was too much to pass up. I was also really looking forward to the northern ridge.
Beinn Sgritheall from Beinn a’ Chapuill:
North to Torridon:
Knoydart and Loch Hourn:
Beinn Sgritheall:
Sound of Sleat:
N and NW ridge of Beinn Sgritheall:
In the event, this ridge provided the most pleasant way up Beinn Sgritheall. Easy angled grass eventually gave way to boulders once on the crest of the ridge. Plenty of stags bellowing in the corrie.
5 Sisters:
Plenty of these about:
Slabby SE face of Beinn a’ Chapuill:
Northern corries and glens of Beinn Sgritheall:
On the main N ridge the going was easy and the views into the corries on either side good. I could look down onto Loch a' Choire Mhin, which was a potential camping spot.
Beinn na h-Eaglaise and Loch a’ Choire Mhin:
On the N ridge:
Summit of Beinn Sgritheall:
After a quick wander over the NW top (which I'd missed last time), I became taken with the idea of camping up here. Between the tops was a shallow grassy hollow with a couple of small pools. It was easy enough to find a corner where the wind was restricted to an occasional buffet, and without giving it much more thought, I had pitched my tent.
Camping spot:
On the ridge above the tent:
Once that was done, it was an easy 5 minutes to the summit, which was clear if a bit grey. On my previous visit 11 years ago, a crystal clear winter's day (although not one with a great deal of snow) suddenly turned to clag a few minutes before the summit. We also ended up making the final descent to Arnisdale in the dark - something I didn't think would happen this time.
Loch Hourn:
Arnisdale:
Sound of Sleat:
Back down to the tent:
I returned via one of the pools for some water, and got dinner on. This being October, it was soon dark (no sunset sadly), and I was tucked up in my tent before 7pm.
Tea time:
I was curious how much wind my tent would stand up to, it only being a cheapish model. It seemed to be handling the odd buffet pretty well, although these came on so suddenly they usually surprised me. However as the night wore on, the buffeting became more regular and stronger. The wind was possibly swinging round a little, and after a few periods of the tent practically collapsing in on me, I wondered if this was such a smart idea. Of course it wasn't - I'd known the forecast before I left and hadn't even planned to camp this high originally. Looking out, there was no moon and little starlight (as well as some rain), but the summit was still clear of cloud.
After another bit of tent contortion, I decided it would be better to leave now in a controlled manner than have the tent ripped away from me. I packed up my stuff, and in the next lull, I dismantled the tent. It was much easier than expected, managed by taking the poles out first then sitting on it to stop it blowing away. In fact I discovered when taking it down that it was still perfectly secure - I was probably better off than I thought in the tent. Never mind - I was never going to get any sleep and I felt my night navigation could do with a little practice!
It was just after midnight when I set off from the summit. Up on the ridge, the full force of the wind made it difficult to move properly, but I was soon able to find the normal ascent route from Arnisdale. It was quite impressive looking over the edge to the lights of Arnisdale - they looked to be almost vertically below
. I couldn't see much else though, so was glad of my headtorch. There is a short scrambly section which is barely noticeable in daylight, but provided some entertainment in the dark, wind and rain. After that, the going was easier - down to the 830m col then north into Coire Min. I was glad I had been looking at potential descent routes on the way up, as it helped guide me on the way down. Slippy rock led to pleasant grass, but even down at the lochan, the wind was fierce. I doubt I'd have been any better off if I'd camped here.
I had no real desire to get the wet tent out in the dark again even if the wind had dropped, so decided to keep going back to the bothy. While the going was slow, I didn't have any reason to hurry, so took my time finding the best route and avoiding falling over. There was a brief concern when trying to drop into the lower Coire Dubh, but other than that, it was a steady squelch back to the wobbly footbridge where I rejoined my outward route.
The rain came on more heavily in the last 30 minutes to the bothy, so I was completely drenched by the time I got there. It was about 2:50 am, so I was quite happy with the time I'd made from the summit. There appeared to be other bothy inhabitants, so I got back into my sleeping bag fairly sharply, enjoying the lack of gusting and flapping fabric.
Inside Suardalan:
Later that morning, I was woken by the other bothy dwellers moving around, and decided to get up. Somehow a group of 10 had managed to neatly fit themselves into 2 rooms, leaving the 3rd free. I chatted briefly before heading back to the car.
Leaving the bothy:
Last look back at Beinn Sgritheall:
I took the same route as I'd used on the way in, while the other group headed off to join the forestry track to the north of the river. When I reached the spot opposite the car, I found the river had risen significantly, and provided an entertaining wade. The other group only took a few minutes longer, so I'd recommend that route in future.
An interesting mixture of autumn colours, impressive scenery and midnight blundering, but even the more trying parts of the trip were strangely satisfying.
