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A week after our re-visit to Arkle we still felt like doing something steep, rocky and ridgy. Weather for the weekend was going to be good in the north-west again (a rare occurrence in Scotland!) so we picked another Corbett to re-climb, this time in Torridon. The choice was between Ruadh-stac Beag and Meall a Ghiuthais and of course, we went for the more difficult of the two. In theory, it is possible to climb them both in one visit (it has been done by other Walkhighlanders) but we were not in a hurry. Here comes the advantage of living in Inverness-shire: Torridon is just an hour drive away and can be visited at any time, even on short winter days.
But it was mid-September and our main criterion for picking routes around this time is stalking. The usual approach to Ruadh-stac Beag (from the Beinn Eighe visitor centre) is on Scottish Natural Heritage land, so no problems with disturbing the local stalkers.
Originally, we just intended to follow the WH route, as we had done during our
previous visit to this hill, but... what a surprise! We ended up tackling a stupidly steep slope instead...
The morning in the visitor centre car park was rather cold and cloudy, with the air filled with drizzle and countless midges. Not a perfect start but forecast was for sunny spells later on so we didn't waste time and set off through the lovely pine forest:
The path follows the Allt Sguabaidh and is part of a longer mountain trail:
Cloudy conditions across the glen on Slioch:
The first stage was easy on a good path, we walked through a 10min shower, waiting patiently for the mist to lift. By the time we reached the group of three small lochans just south of the main path, conditions were already improving:
- Ruadh-stac Beag (right) and Creag Dhubh, the SE end of Beinn Eighe, reflected in one of the lochans
The very same peaks seen from the spot where we left the path:
After a short, pathless hike on the mixture of rock and heather, we reached the wide stream bed of Allt Toll a'Ghiubhais. Here, a faint path can be followed:
Looking back at Meall a'Ghiubhais, possibly our next target to revisit:
The eastern slopes of Ruadh-stac Beag, despite looking very steep and rocky, might have good scrambling routes for advanced scramblers:
We started talking about a possible diversion from the main path, maybe a direttissima to the summit? Not up the north-eastern crags but somewhere in the middle of the eastern slope? The lower half of the E side of the mountain is covered in scree, the upper end is crowned with some interesting rocks, where we could scramble to the summit. We thought it was a good idea and an interesting variation of the original route, so decided to give it a go... Didn't realize what was yet to come
- Let's do something different, pleeeease!
First, we had to cross the stream. Kevin started off well...
...but only a few seconds after I took this photo, he slipped on a loose stone and went A over T. Thankfully, he didn't fall into the water, but his ribcage hit a large rock. Ouch!
Initially, he brushed the accident off, laughing that he nearly managed to smash his ribs even before we started the direttissima
He paid for that sarcasm later... When the bruising came out in following days!
What we were about to tackle:
Someone once told me that most slopes look steeper than they are, but this one turned out to be the other way around. What we expected to be an easy rocky ground, was in reality a neverending battle with loose scree:
- Two steps up, one down!
The picture below shows the real angle of the slope we climbed. Had it been solid, we'd have no problem whatsoever, but the scree just made things unstable:
It took an awful amount of time (and patience) to work our way up the scree section; Kevin first discovered that it was a bit easier to climb up larger boulders, they didn't move as much:
- Show a little... patience...
Getting closer... I was so fed up with the loose scree, couldn't wait to reach the rocks above!
Believe me or not, it was actually getting STEEPER higher up!
- Please, no more...
Kevin was way ahead me, and surprisingly cheerful despite having bashed his ribs earlier on. He even had time to take a break and fiddle with his camera!
- Panoramic snap from the "direttissima", looking south to the S end of Beinn Eighe (Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe, the Carls and Sgurr Ban). Not to mention a tiny Panther buried in scree...
What a relief it was to reach the rocks in the upper section of the slope! It was still very steep and the mixture of loose rock and grass under our feet was only marginally more stable than the scree nightmare below, but we preferred the hard rock under our boots:
- Now up the rocks...gulp...
I was close to p***ing my pants but He Who Always Knows It All Best said he could see a nice'n'easy line of scrambling above us. Up we go!
- He was in such a hurry that he didn't even bother to put his camera and walking pole away!
After a few steps I realized that the ground was stable enough and the angle was not as bad as it looked like:
The final section was nearly vertical but we found a shallow chimney, looking doable. Kevin went up first and scrambled up to a large flat shelf. I passed our walking poles and cameras to him then clambered myself up as well, not without effort... He grabbed my hand and helped me get onto the shelf. Of course, my knees were all battered and bruised by now, but I didn't care
From the shelf, we went up a few more meters of easy scrambling and then up some loose ground above the crags, before the ground suddenly flattened out and bang! We were on the summit plateau. I couldn't resist a big, triumphant meow!
Looking down the crags:
From the time perspective, I don't want to do it again. The bottom half in particular, it was much worse than the Great Stone Chute (too many small, loose stones). Also, I wouldn't dare to recommend the "direttissima" to anybody, especially to those with no experience in scrambling. If you decide to do it, do it at your own responsibility.
We strolled casually to the summit cairn, where Lucy behaved like Mr Hickey again!
- My 133rd Corbett!
Views from the summit of Ruadh-stac Beag are somehow dominated by Beinn Eighe, the ridge of the latter surrounding the smaller "baby" hill like in a love-embrace. The only way to fit the whole line of BE ridge in one photo is the extra-long panorama:
Coinneach Mhor and Liathach behind:
Slioch and the Fisherfields:
Baosbheinn, Beinn an Eoin and Beinn a'Chearcaill:
Meall a' Ghiubhais and Loch Maree:
For the descent, there is only one plausible option, the south side of the Corbett. All sane people (=not us!) use this side as the ascent approach as well. It is still very unstable but several scree-filled paths have been worn in the loose rock...
...and Spidean Coire nan Clach looks spectacular from this side:
Panoramic snap of the eastern part of BE ridge from the bottom of the scree slope:
To vary the descent, we didn't drop down to the river bed but crossed to the other side and followed the higher ground below the steep slopes of Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe:
Zoom to the notorious Black Carls of Beinn Eighe:
From this side, we had a good opportunity to see and photograph the "direttissima" and...oh dear me... it looked impossible from this angle!
- Gulp!
Kevin couldn't believe his own eyes...
- I climbed THAT???
Our line of descent took us over some rocky yet almost flat terrain to the group of lochans close to the main path:
- Descent route
Beinn Eighe's NE tops reflected in a small, unnamed lochan:
It was another day of "hillwalking bordering on madness". Kevin paid for it with a damaged rib (most likely cracked). It kept him off the hills for three weeks. The funny thing is, he slipped and fell on relatively easy ground below the "direttissima", not during the scrambling part (I'm afraid had he slipped on the steep part, it would be more than one badly bruised rib!). He's now recovered enough to enjoy the outdoors again if in limited doses (no scrambling!). Hence my next two stories will be more benign, but hopefully, still interesting!
As for this route... Don't try it at home! Don't try in on any mountain unless you're just as mad as we are