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This is my version of biathlon: biking and hiking in western Scotland to reach an inconveniently positioned Corbett!
By saying Leum Uilleim is awkwardly positioned, I mean it is not convenient for car-based baggers. The easiest way of reaching this hill is by taking the train to Corrour, but Kevin was adamant he didn't want to go anywhere near trains (public transport phobia due to COVID? I don't know...) so for us, there were two options: walking in with overnighting equipment or cycling to Corrour from the north. Had we had more tops to tick off in this area we might have opted for the overnighter, especially that weather was lovely, but we had already climbed everything else here, including Grahams. In such case, "biathlon" was the logical choice. Not that I really knew what I was signing up for
We started from Moy (the usual starting point for Beinn a'Chlachair & friends); the layby by the bridge was already full (it was a Saturday so no wonder) so we parked at another one about 200m west. With bikes it was not an issue.
The track leading to Corrour is generally decent though the gravel surface is harder to cycle on than tarmac or well-beaten dirt, very energy-sapping. Or maybe it just felt that way because the sun wasn't joking. Initially, in the forest it wasn't so bad despite the track heading constantly uphill...
...but as soon as we emerged on the open hillsides above Strath Ossian, the "biathlon" turned into "sauna-thlon":
The road actually climbs from 250 to over 400m. The distance from Moy to Corrour is roughly 25km and the track passes through some magnificent country. We had seen this scenery before and in winter conditions, when we walked
from Fersit to the summit of Ben na Lap but today we were going even further, "into the wild".
Looking back north at Binnein Shuas, a cracking Graham:
The first glimpse of today's target, William's Leap, across Loch Ossian (which I like pronouncing "Loch Ocean"
):
The final part of the cycle-in, along the loch, was again through the forest with some welcome shade. I didn't know how hot it was but if it is warm enough for me to wear shorts, it must be seriously baking!
We reached Corrous station at the same time as the midday train:
We chained our bikes to a tree (hoping they won't melt in the heat by the time we come back!), crossed the railway carefully and headed up the track towards our target Corbett:
We decided to go up Sròn an Lagain Ghairbh despite the other side of the c-shaped ridge looking much less steep. We prefer to tackle the steepest bits in ascent. Initially, it was easy walking on a good track/stalkers path:
...but later on we had to leave the path and hike across the boggy moorland. Thank heavens for the dry spell of weather or we might be forced to use snorkels
View back to Corrour and Loch Ossian from the lower reaches of Sròn an Lagain Ghairbh:
Once on the steeper section, we actually located a path avoiding all difficulties. We didn't exactly stick to it - Kevin prefers going of-piste
The climb is not long; after all it's only 500m of ascent from the station to the summit. Most of the ridge is grassy with an occasional rocky section.
- Happy Panther = Cheshire Cat
The Munros around Loch Treig: Chno Dearg and the Easains:
Kevin staring back at Loch Ossian and the long way back home:
The Grey Corries and Ben Nevis:
Once on the flatter section of the ridge, it was only a short walk to the big summit cairn. We met another walker who came up the other side, but it was otherwise very quiet. I was glad to see some cloud bubbling up; they didn't look threatening and the shade was welcome!
Corbett no. 172, 128 for wee Lucy:
Kevin in shorts, not a common occurrence but happens more often than Panther in shorts
View SW to Glenoce peaks:
Zoomed:
Nevis and the Mamores:
Whatever you say about Leum Uilleim, you can't take away the fact that it is an excellent viewpoint, especially to the more distant hills of Glencoe and Fort William. We would probably have saved this Corbett for winter if it wasn't for its awkward location. I don't know if we ever do it again, but we can walk off this mountain with our heads held high. We just turned a quickie into an odyssey - and it wasn't over just yet!
Time to go home - he's not happy at all
To complete the circuit, we continued our walk, descending via An Diollaid, easy walking on an estate track (a bit eroded here and there but nothing too tackling). We still had two bottles of water left but we were careful how much we drank; still a long journey home awaited
Views on the way back:
Leum Uilleim from the lower reaches of An Diollaid:
Back in Corrour, we were glad to see that the tyres on our bikes didn't go flat (it happened on another occasion when we left them in direct sun on a hot day). We jumped on and started the long cycle back. At least the afternoon weather wasn't such a baking oven, so we actually enjoyed the return leg much more than the cycle-in.
- I completed my biathlon!
Beinn na Lap and the cliffs of Creagan nan Gabhar from the top of the pass:
So this was the last listed summit in the Fort William area, but that doesn't mean that we will not come back here. We already have several ideas for new routes to repeat mountains and some of them are worth a go in winter conditions. But we have to rest our backsides a bit, before getting back on the bikes
In my next story we will return to our favourite subject in recent years - air crash sites. Another heartbreaking story from the far north - TR in progress.