Back to where we started from

[BlackPanther]

The first serious climb Kevin did since he injured his ribs - and hopefully not the last!

We decided to return to the area where the accident happened, to face the demons I guess. The target was Meall a' Ghiubhais. We had visited the summit several times before, and in different seasons/weather conditions, but every time we used the Mountain Trail (steep and scramble-ish but very entertaining!). This time though, we preferred to take a longer route from the main Torridon Visitor Centre. This is the approach used for Ruadh-stac Beag and both hills can be combined in a nice circular, but having had discovered a new "bonkers" route up the former only a few weeks ago, today we were happy to concentrate on Meall a' Ghiubhais only. Kevin's injury would prevent him from doing too much steep ascent anyway.

We kind-of combined the RSB path route with the upper sections of the Mountain Trail, ending up with a half-traverse of the Corbett:

Track_MEALL A GHIUCHAIS 14.3KM.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

The car park was empty, obviously the summer campervan brigade went back home We took some time exploring the local pine forest, admiring cones of different shapes and sizes...

The Giant Cone of Torridon

...as well as dinner material:

Ceppy the Cep!

Higher up the path, we noticed that the day was shaping up nicely, much to our delight!

First sight of Beinn Eighe

He Who Always Knows It All Best now turned to One Happy To Be Out Again

On the flatter section above the Allt Sguabaidh ravine, with views north to Slioch and the Fisherfields:

First snow on the distant Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair:

Beinn a'Mhuinidh and the Allt Sguabaidh ravine in the morning autumn sun:

Our idea was to carry on up the path to the highest point on the col (about 200m west of the group of small lochans), aim up the steeper slopes of Meall a' Ghiubhais alongside a shallow gully (seen in the photo below), then traverse below the scree line and climb to the summit:

The wee lochans serve as a fantastic spot for snaps called "mountains and their reflections":

Ruadh-stac Beag and the south-eastern end of Beinn Eighe reflected in the lochan closest to the path

Zoom to our menace from last month:

The ascent steepened but because we were mostly following grassy slopes, we didn't have to worry about losing balance (like in our scree battle on Ruadh-stac Beag):

Ruadh-stac Beag and part of Beinn Eighe ridge are always in the background:

We managed to avoid all loose scree up until the very final metres below the top, but we didn't mind a bit of rock-hopping towards the end, especially that we could smell the summit cairn already!

Nearly there...

A few loose boulders just below the summit:

Lucy on the top of Meall a' Ghiubhais. Even she has done this one before...

Kevin's panoramas from the summit:

The N top, Slioch and Loch Maree in the background

South to Beinn Eighe and Ruadh-stac Beag

West to Beinn an Eun and Baosbheinn

More first snow on the distant Fannichs:

Zoom to Beainn a'Chearcaill, Beinn an Eun and Baosbheinn:

An Teallach peeking out from behind Slioch:

After a longer break on the summit, we traversed to the N top, a better viewpoint to Slioch, Loch Maree and the Fisherfield mountains:

Kevin looking for the best spot to take another pano

I think he found it!

No wonder Meall a' Ghiubhais has a reputation of a great viewpoint. I was surprised we haven't meet anybody so far, but maybe we were out earlier than the rest of local hillwalkers...

THE pano

Zoom to the Spear:

Rather than retrace our steps, we took a shortcut on steeper slopes and dropped straight to the Mountain Trail, negotiating some scree on the way:

Kevin descending to the Mountain Trail, Slioch and Beinn a'Mhuinidh in the background. The latter is due a second visit from us, I have even worked out an alternative route. Which is probably boggy, peat-haggy and will make my husband livid

Meall a' Ghiubhais and Loch Allt an Daraich from the upper section of the Mountain Trail:

The cloud was coming in and by the time we reached the viewpoint on Leathad Buidhe, the good light for photos was gone, but weather was still reasonable if a bit cold.
Heading for the viewpoint:

Five minutes break by the cairn, with superb views in the background.

Beware, mountains, HE IS BACK!!!

We could have descended via the Trail but that would mean 3km of walking along the road which we didn't fancy. A more pleasant option was to head south over easy, mostly stony ground, crossing a couple of streams en route, to pick the path we used in ascent and follow it back to the car park. Piece of cake.
Meall a' Ghiubhais and a picturesque waterfall:

We haven't done any hillwalking since as weather was rubbish (and Kevin was too lazy to move off the sofa) but hopefully, the coming weekend will give us the opportunity to head out again. Maybe to Torridon, but it all depends. I'd love to spend another day on the hills in autumnal colours, before we all get frozen solid for winter

[tigerburnie]

Great read and nice pictures