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Last year we tackled Beinn Alligin on our first visit to Torridon and wishing to save Liathach for better weather we decided to give Beinn Eighe a try. We had just endured a miserable two days, spending a whole day on Skye sorting out a puncture (many thanks to Ewan MacRaes for their fantastic recovery service) and low level bouldering in the Coire below Sgurr a’ Chaorachain – strictly speaking my contribution was to stand in a muddy puddle for 3 hours and then rip the front valance off the car whilst manoeuvring out of the parking space. Once we stuck the valance back on with Gorilla tape purchased in Lochcarron we headed to SHY Torridon for a shower and a slap-down meal.
- The car park deer
The next morning we parked in the Coire Mhic Fhearchair car park, frequented by the country’s friendliest ‘wild’ deer. The day was windy with squally showers and the cloud base was down to about 900m with no prospect of clearing but having lost ‘two mountain’ days already this week due to bad weather we decided to go for it.
- Coire Dhuibh Mhor
- Crossing the stream or maybe the path
- My submission for Scottish Tourist Poster
- As we rounded Sail Mhor the vista opened up and the rain eased off
In almost continuous rain we took the Choire Dhuibh Mhoir stalkers part towards Mhic Fhearchair hoping it would clear up by the time we got to high ground, the route taken was essentially the WH route in reverse. By the time we rounded Sail Mhor and past the waterfall the weather was looking better, and we had time for our first snack. There was only one pair of walkers wandering around, they seemed to be exploring the West side of the Coire; we headed off along the shoreline towards the Triple Buttress and the scree slope at the Ruadh-stac Mor beleach. At the end of the Lochan we swung left (East) up the slope over boulders and flat slabs (with peculiar studs in the surface) towards the bottom of the scree fan. Initially heading up the right side we made slow progress. As the fan narrowed, I headed for the left side and found the going a lot better as there were outcrops of bedrock which gave better purchase.
- The path up to Coire Mhic Fhearchair
- The best coire in Scotland? - note underlying sandstone below quartzite of the triple buttress
- Sail Mhor scree fan and possible future route - see jmarkb Beinn Eighe scrambles - In Victorian footsteps
- Sail Mhor - sandstone cliffs and scree fans
- Coire panorama - with extra added scree
- More scree - the route up to the ridge
- Under the cliffs of Coinneach Mhor
- Sandstone slabs with strange inclusions - anyone know what they are?
- The route up to the bealach
- We came up the middle of the scree at first - not a good idea!
- The better route was up the North side
- Apparently some people do this for fun!
Once you are at high level you can see the path below runs right (North) from the scree chute and stays away from the Loch almost until the slabs. By sticking close to the Loch we found a more difficult route
Reaching the belach at 868m the views over to Spidean Coire nan Clac looked grim, the low cloud shrouding the Munro peak and draining what colour out of the landscape. Like most hills Beinn Eighe looks better in sunlight, in cloud there’s a definite sinister aspect, it shows it’s age, the quartzite looks corroded and rotten. The two Ruadh-stac ridges look more like capsized ships hulls rather than hills.
- Ben on Ruadh-stac Mor - notice fell runner on the skyline
- First summit of the day (probably)
We turned North along the shallow spine of Ruadh-stac Mor picking our way amongst the boulders. The wind at this point was strong and I found it difficult to stay upright on the uneven ground. The higher we got the more into the clag; as I stumbled yet again in the wind I caught a flash of yellow in my peripheral vision. A fell runner bounded by seemingly oblivious to the conditions; how they do that I don’t know. Given that he was the only person we encountered at high level all day I would have thought he was taking a risk running solo; we never found his corpse so presumed he must have got home.
- Coire Ruadh-stac with Ruadh-stac Bearg
- Pano of the ridge towards Spidean nan Clach
- Down below the clag
- The sandstone portion of the BE ridge
- Looking towards the Trig point as sandstone changes to quartzite
Having reached the Munro we turned about face, back over the belach and up onto Coinneach Mhor to a large cairn. I sat down in the lee of the cairn whilst Ben went off to the West to explore the plateau in dense mist; after about 15 slightly worrying minutes he came back. After another snack we headed East along the ridge and down out of the clag, the rock underneath changed from quartzite to sandstone for a while. The lower reaches of two Northern arms of the ridge looked dramatic, colossal and grim; it’s sheer cliffs, masses of scree and striking bands of rock were distorted and diffused by the poor light and low cloud. Coire Ruadh-staca looked a barren and bleak chasm, lacking the bold rock architecture or Lochan of Mhic Fhearchair, I suspect it unlikely to have many visitors.
- Along the East side of Coire Ruadh-stac
- Ruadh-stac Mor and plenty of scree
- Stuc Coire an Laoigh and plenty of scree
- Back in the clag and the Trig point summit
- Beyond the Trig point
- Spidean Coire nan Clag
- A somewhat meagre summit cairn
We carried on along the narrow ridge of the sandstone and back onto the beastly quartzite, the precipice on the left, the gentler slope on the right which curved round to the small prominence of Stuc Coire an Laoigh. There were tantalising glimpses through the mist to Loch Clair and South Torridon. I looked forward to the view from it’s tiny peak. As we ascended, we were back in the clag, coming up to the trig point at 972 we were aware that it wasn’t the Munro so we continued the path Northwards and Spidean Coire nan Clach loomed out of the murk. The last 30m or so was blocky and awkward, the breeze seemed much stronger now we were side on to it. The summit attained we sat around to enjoy the non-view, take the usual pictures and eat.
- The way down into Coire an Laoigh with plenty of scree
- Waterfall and scree
We picked our way down the east side of the ridge to the trig point and then left to the bealach, by the time we got there it was shrouded in mist so there being little point in heading out to Stuc Coire an Laoigh, we headed down into the Coire. The upper slope was scree and the lower grass with the path heavily eroded. Once down onto the gentle slopes the walking was pleasant if seemingly endless. We pass a small waterfall and then over the undulating ground to the road for the two mile walk to the car park.
In conclusion, Beinn Eighe is a great mountain and the day didn’t do it justice. I would like to revisit and am planning an end to end traverse taking in Sail Mhor and the Black Carls starting with jmarkb’s route up Sail Mhor. I would suspect it’s a bit over the top and beyond my capabilities but worth the try.