walkhighlands

Share your personal walking route experiences in Scotland, and comment on other peoples' reports.
Warning Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.

Late summer sunshine on the Innses

Late summer sunshine on the Innses


Postby DaveSan » Sun Jan 16, 2022 5:31 pm

Route description: Cruach Innse and Sgùrr Innse

Corbetts included on this walk: Cruach Innse, Sgùrr Innse

Date walked: 02/09/2021

Time taken: 5 hours

Distance: 13 km

Ascent: 890m

Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).

After a superb morning climbing above a cloud inversion on Ben Tee, I was headed to Spean Bridge, where I dropped in for a quick coffee and cake before driving to the car park just after the first bridge on the road to Corriechoille. Having read several accounts of how bad the track is from the latter to the car park beyond, I decided to cycle in and see how far I could get.
Once through an open gate, I was glad I'd not driven as the surface was awful with pot-holes, large stones and gravel. It was so bumpy I could barely stay on the bike and about 100 yards past the parking area, I gave up and padlocked the bike. Conditions couldn't have been better with the sun blazing out of a cloudless blue sky as I set off on foot along the stony track through an area of forestry and into the open glen, the Lairig Leacach. The Munros of the Grey Corries loomed impressively ahead on the right, dwarfing Cruach Innse on the left. I had decided to climb the far hill first, so carried on along the path to its highest point and when it was opposite the lowest point between the two hills, made my way on rough grass up to the southern end of the wide bealach.
The steeply angled north face of Sgurr Innse loomed directly ahead and looked quite intimidating. After a short but steep scramble over boulders and scree to the right of the face, I made my way diagonally leftwards on fragments of path interspersed with some easy scrambling. On reaching the north shoulder of the hill, the angle relented and an easy walk took me onto the rocky summit plateau with the cairn perched on a small crag. The views all round were superb - a fantastic viewpoint after a short but enjoyable clamber up from the bealach.
IMG_20210902_154908470_HDR.jpg
Looking west from Sgurr Innse to Stob Choire Claurigh

IMG_20210902_154926575_HDR.jpg
Cruach Innse from Sgurr Innse

IMG_20210902_154935367.jpg
Stob Ban from Sgurr Innse

IMG_20210902_154940738_HDR.jpg
Stob Coire Easain and Stob a' Choire Mheadhoin from Sgurr Innse

I rested awhile in the pleasant sunshine, finding it hard to believe I'd climbed all the higher peaks nearby in the distant past - most of them in the winter! It was now time to get back down and with the multitude of paths developed over the years, I lost my route up, but somehow managed to rejoin it near the bottom. I traversed over the wide bealach to the foot of Cruach Innse and climbed up to its large flat stony summit via a series of grassy rakes which weaved around a multitude of crags.
IMG_20210902_170206665_HDR.jpg
Sgurr Innse in mid-distance from Cruach Innse with Stob Coire Easain and Stob a' Choire Mheadhoin beyond

It was now 5pm, but the sun was still blazing down with only a few developing clouds. I headed off the northern end on grassy slopes, going past a number of crags before heading SW back to the main track. The low afternoon sun coloured the lower slopes of grass in tints of gold and bronze and were quite mesmerising to walk over.
IMG_20210902_173031005.jpg
A mesmerising carpet of gold and bronze grass

If I was expecting a fast return back down to the bike, then I was in for a surprise, as the track was strewn with large rocks and boulders and ball-bearing gravel, making progress fairly tedious in places. With much relief and with sore feet, I reached the bike and held on tightly to negotiate the track down to Corriechoille. In contrast, the tarmac road was pure bliss and was an enjoyable way to end the day - and what a day - Ben Tee with a cloud inversion in the morning and two interesting hills in the afternoon in blazing sunshine.

Dè an latha sgoinneil !
DaveSan
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 61
Munros:36   Corbetts:221
Fionas:10   Donalds:7
Hewitts:131
Wainwrights:194   
Joined: Jun 27, 2017
Location: Tallentire, Cumbria

Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).



Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Walk reports - Scotland

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Neil Mackie, TheWeardaleWanderer and 67 guests