Binnein Shuas

[litljortindan]

Started the day by wandering along the wrong track but did get some nice reflections in what the map names as "reservoir" rather than part of Loch Laggan. Looked at the map and decided I might as well keep going but then ran into a dead end with uninviting swamp ahead so doubled back and headed for plan A of Binnein Shuas.
Didn't take long to get round to a suitable departure point from the track; I left 1km before Lochan na Earba. I see that this is also a loch split in two but Bing maps gives both parts the full glory of a word with the "na" placed on the land between. But why a mere lochan and not a loch, when it's all of 6km long. And why is the west end of Loch Laggan so demoted?
Troubled by these cartographical inconsistencies I battled my way up Binnein Shuas's eastern flank, hoping for views along the cliffs and loch. There were fine views, too, of the arc of hills to the east and south.
After a brief struggle I got my view of cliff and loch and then ambled round a couple more crags to emerge at the top. As luck would have it this coincided with the arrival some mist. But it had plenty of breaks in it so it was good luck on this occasion.
An easy descent back to the track and I decided on a quick detour to Lochan na Earba. Nice reflections.




The day's target.




Cut off the track about 1km before Lochan na Earba.












I was trying to stick to the eastern edge to try to get views along the cliffs and loch.












































Back at the track I decided to take a short detour to Lochan na Earba.

[Sgurr]

Fabulous reflections of clouds in the loch. What a great day.

[jmarkb]

Wow, you got some great shots there - lovely light and colours!

It is also possible to make a steep ascent right under the main crags on the SE side by following the climbers' paths from the end of the loch and up a heathery ramp to the point where you took the shots looking down (at 2:38 in the video).

I think "Lochan na Earba" can be explained by the fact that lochan is both the plural and the diminutive of loch in Gaelic. Not sure why the reservoir behind the Laggan Dam doesn't deserve a name on the map though!

[litljortindan]

Fabulous reflections of clouds in the loch. What a great day.

A bit of broken cloud often makes things more interesting I think. Timing wise, my error in the morning got me to the lochanside at just about the right time so it all worked out well.

[litljortindan]

Wow, you got some great shots there - lovely light and colours!

It is also possible to make a steep ascent right under the main crags on the SE side by following the climbers' paths from the end of the loch and up a heathery ramp to the point where you took the shots looking down (at 2:38 in the video).

I think "Lochan na Earba" can be explained by the fact that lochan is both the plural and the diminutive of loch in Gaelic. Not sure why the reservoir behind the Laggan Dam doesn't deserve a name on the map though!

I would like to be able to say I planned some late afternoon photos of the loch but it was more a product of my morning dopiness.
That other route sounds interesting; always interested in views of cliffs and crags against a watery background, as long as it doesn't get too steep.
Your lochan explanation sounds right but I don't think there can be too many other examples.

[jmarkb]

Your lochan explanation sounds right but I don't think there can be too many other examples.

There are a few places I can think of where a single "lochan" name on the map seems to refer to multiple bodies of water (the Lochan Uaine of Sgurr nan Lochan Uaine in Torridon for example) but they are all smaller ones which could be lochans in their own right! The opposite is more common - i.e. different names for parts of the same loch.

[rockhopper]

A good day for reflections right enough
Would echo comments above, some lovely, warm late autumn colours - cheers

[litljortindan]

A good day for reflections right enough
Would echo comments above, some lovely, warm late autumn colours - cheers

A surprisingly good day. I got lucky with the cloud as it was firmly lodged on some hills where others were clear.

[past my sell by date]

Nice report and pics. Fabulous climbing on Binnein Shuas - not too steep and covered in holds. Besides the favourite Ardverike wall (actually a slab) Kubla Khan is a great one pitched sustained severe - not hard but it never lets up