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Against all odds

Against all odds


Postby BlackPanther » Thu Jan 07, 2021 9:08 pm

Route description: Beinn Tharsuinn, near Alness

Fionas included on this walk: Beinn Tharsuinn (Ardross)

Date walked: 02/01/2021

Time taken: 5 hours

Distance: 13.7 km

Ascent: 603m

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After weeks of nursing my sore knee, the time has come to test it on a proper hill, something more difficult than 300m of walking up and down a wide track. Beinn Tharsuinn seemed like a reasonable option: good access track to the bottom of the actual climb and relatively gentle slopes. We had done this route before and knew exactly what to expect. I was a bit apprehensive about my first significant climb after the injury and nagged Kevin to start as early as possible "in case I have to limp down at snail's pace". In the end, I needn't have worried. I could still feel some ache, especially in descent, but overall, my leg performed much better than expected :D
We shortened the WH route by coming down straight from the summit, rather than making a larger circuit including the wind farm:

Track_BEINN THARSUINN 13.7KM.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts


The initial approach turned out more slippery than an ice rink, Cautiously, we had packed Yaktrax grips and they helped us avoid a painful fall...
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 002.JPG

It was still early and the sun has just come up, the world still dressed in the colours of sunrise:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 006.JPG

Our target Graham kept its head in the cloud, we hoped it might burn off later, but even if it didn't... We were so hill-deprived that even a walk in the clag would do!
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 010.JPG

The track was less icy further on, so we removed the grips and continued to the quarry. It has grown in size since our previous visit and a new fence is in place, but we simply followed the edge of the fenced-off area and it took us around the quarry and onto the open hillside.
As it was bank holiday, the quarry was deserted:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 011.JPG

Above the quarry, we encountered only a thin layer of snow, easy walking. My knee felt OK at the moment so I didn't even think about it, just enjoyed the freedom of being out on the open hillside:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 012.JPG

Looking back down to the track in the glen, Dornoch Firth seen on the horizon:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 016.JPG

Beinn Tharsuinn windfarm across the corrie:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 018.JPG

It didn't take us long to reach the summit of Torr Leathann, a lower top of the Graham. No views, sadly:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 021.JPG

We had the grid reference for the summit proper, so we just set the GPS and descended to the bealach, where Kevin volunteered to investigate frozen peat hags:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 034.JPG

I decided to let him play on his own for the time being, after all I was the injured one in the party :lol:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 036.JPG

There was more snow on the final climb to the summit of Beinn Tharsuinn plus a few extra peat hags to negotiate:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 042.JPG

At some point the clag thinned and we had a moment of hope for some views at least...
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 045.JPG

But our optimism was short lived. In the end, the only view we saw was a total whiteout:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 049.JPG

Because we couldn't count on any vistas, we just concentrated on having fun in winter conditions, in my case it was too much fun with deep snow :lol: :lol:
Knee-deep in places:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 046.JPG

Black Panther slowly turning into a snowman:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 025.JPG

We found the trig point easily but didn't linger: it was cold and windy and no views. A new summit for Lucy (94th Graham):
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 050.JPG

First hill this year - no fireworks, just a local Graham, but hopefully, a good prelude to 2021. May it be better than 2020...
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 052.JPG

We didn't see the point in continuing to the windfarm, especially that the clag covered whole mountain, so the easiest descent was due east, back towards the quarry. More snow has accumulated on this side and we were caught in a snow shower...
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 053.JPG

...but we made a good progress and soon walked out of the cloud. My knee started aching a bit about half way down, but I was still very pleased with the progress so far. I can now climb easier hills and walk up/down rougher terrain without having to take painkillers. A few more weeks and I'll be jumping and hopping again!
Out of the cloud, the access track in front of us:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 029.JPG

Beinn Tharsuinn from the return walk:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 032.JPG

The next morning my leg was all right and I felt like trying another easy hill. We went for it and ended up fighting through knee- and thigh-deep snow, all in the name of returning to fitness :lol: TR to come soon.
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Re: Against all odds

Postby Mal Grey » Fri Jan 08, 2021 10:53 am

Glad to hear the knee is on the mend.

Can't beat a day out in the snow.
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Re: Against all odds

Postby Huff_n_Puff » Fri Jan 08, 2021 2:51 pm

Thanks for posting this BP, we can see this hill from the house and have been wondering about taking a walk with snow shoes up here. How tricky do you think it will be with the peat hags? :D
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Re: Against all odds

Postby BlackPanther » Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:33 pm

Mal Grey wrote:Glad to hear the knee is on the mend.

Can't beat a day out in the snow.


Thankfully, the injury is healing. I can't do any jogging until it is fully recovered, but at the moment it is too cold and snowy for running anyway.
BTW walking in snow is nearly as energy consuming as running :lol: :lol:

Huff_n_Puff wrote:hanks for posting this BP, we can see this hill from the house and have been wondering about taking a walk with snow shoes up here. How tricky do you think it will be with the peat hags?


The hags are not bad, there is only one large peat hag, a long ditch along the bealach, but the bottom was frozen solid (I bet it still is, with current temperatures!). You might have to take the snowshoes off to cross it, but the rest of hags should ba avoidable and the slopes are not steep. Our descent route is a bit bumpy lower down (overgrown with heather) but nothing drastic, either.
Kevin in the large hag:
2021-01-02 beinn tharsuinn 041.JPG

My older report from the same route, without snow and with better visibility:
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=37868
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Re: Against all odds

Postby malky_c » Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:47 pm

That made a fairly straightforward hill look suitably epic! I hadn't given much thought to approaching by that track before - maybe not a bad idea for a future local(ish) walk though. Hope your knee recovers quickly :) .
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Re: Against all odds

Postby Huff_n_Puff » Fri Jan 08, 2021 7:19 pm

Huff_n_Puff wrote:hanks for posting this BP, we can see this hill from the house and have been wondering about taking a walk with snow shoes up here. How tricky do you think it will be with the peat hags?


The hags are not bad, there is only one large peat hag, a long ditch along the bealach, but the bottom was frozen solid (I bet it still is, with current temperatures!). You might have to take the snowshoes off to cross it, but the rest of hags should ba avoidable and the slopes are not steep. Our descent route is a bit bumpy lower down (overgrown with heather) but nothing drastic, either.


Many thanks BP - good luck with the knee recovery, dare I say take it gently :shock: :roll: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Against all odds

Postby David-Main » Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:23 pm

Well done BP and Kevin. Looks good in the snow. I and Quincy (Heather) were there the week before in very icy conditions.
untitled--4.jpg
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Re: Against all odds

Postby gaffr » Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:03 am

We enjoyed our day out to Beinn Tharsuinn a couple of years ago.....see 'Welcome to Strathroy walkers and dumpers'.
At that time of our visit the start from the parking area was like the local rubbish dump with all sorts of household stuff just stuffed into the vegetation and hollows prior to the locked gate giving access for vehicles up to the Quarry.
Maybe it is a cleaned up area now?
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Re: Against all odds

Postby David-Main » Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:49 pm

gaffr wrote:We enjoyed our day out to Beinn Tharsuinn a couple of years ago.....see 'Welcome to Strathroy walkers and dumpers'.
At that time of our visit, the start from the parking area was like the local rubbish dump with all sorts of household stuff just stuffed into the vegetation and hollows prior to the locked gate giving access for vehicles up to the Quarry.
Maybe it is a cleaned-up area now?


No there were a couple of mattresses dumped there.
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Re: Against all odds

Postby BlackPanther » Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:01 pm

Thanks everyone :D
It was a grand day out despite the clag! My knee is getting better - managed 2 more easy Grahams since. I can still feel it a bit but the worst is hopefully over...

Because of the current situation, we will now stay close to home, only climbing local hills around Inverness, but it should still be fun considering the amount of snow up there!

The car park in Strathroy used to be a favourite spot for Gypsies, I saw them camping there several times when we drove past. I'm not saying it was the Gypsies who left the rubbish :wink:
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Re: Against all odds

Postby dogplodder » Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:58 pm

Huff_n_Puff wrote:Thanks for posting this BP, we can see this hill from the house and have been wondering about taking a walk with snow shoes up here. How tricky do you think it will be with the peat hags? :D


The first time Moira and I attempted this hill we turned back at the peat hags as we couldn't find an obvious way across. The second time we took a line straight for the summit from the track approaching the quarry and that worked out fine.
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Re: Against all odds

Postby m3doc » Mon Apr 19, 2021 6:08 pm

The NW top on your map has same 692m height as trig summit but OS has confirmed that it is 689m and will remove the 690m contour at next revision
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Re: Against all odds

Postby gaffr » Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:55 am

Never been in a Gipsy caravan but fairly sure that none of this junk would be part of their household. :)
1 DSC02091 (640x360).jpg
2 DSC02090 (640x360).jpg
3 DSC02089 (640x360).jpg
4 DSC02088 (640x360).jpg
5 DSC02087 (640x360).jpg

All of this lot found on the day of our visit to the hill.
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