by AspiringHiker » Sat May 01, 2021 10:05 pm
Hi gaffr, i was actually hoping you might pinch in as I've seen your Braeriach trip reports here. We are doing multiday backpacking trip in the Aviemore area and I think going from Rotheimurchus up to Loch Eanaich (camp overnight) to Braeriach to Sron na Lairige to Lairig Ghru to Rotheimurchus would be a nice change from the forest sections.
We are reasonably fit with 20k walk without stopping being normal on a weekend, but we haven't done off-trail hiking, only multiple Scottish trails in Loch Lomond area and flatter areas further a field. I want to be sure that the route to the peak and back can be done without walking through any point where a wrong step will send you flying far down. We won't do silly things like walking on snow or go up if forecast is not good; we also have previous experience of weathering a storm on a hill side and know it's not a good idea. We are keen to try, but not looking for risks.
I was thinking the sensible route for us might be following trail that runs next to Beanaidh Bheag and then using the zig-zag trail along Allt Buidheannach. Is that the route you took North of Coire Bogha? The path you mentioned through Coire Dhondail seems too steep and rocky for our purposes. From what I see on the OS map, the gradient directly between the end of zig-zag path and the peak is about the same as that between Coire's Lochain and Ruadh so I'm undecided which is best. Is that correct?