free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
I had been looking forward to doing this pair of hills for some years and now, camping in Kinlochewe, I had the perfect opportunity. The skies were a bit grey, however, as I left the campsite just after 9am and drove alongside Loch Maree and parked at the green barn a few hundred metres east of Loch Bad an Sgalaig. I set off over the bridge opposite the car park then followed the wide path through the newly planted pinewood, past a rocky knoll on the left and then stepped crossed the Abhainn Loch na h-Oidhche burn, which was just a trickle.
At a point marked by two giant glacial erratics, I set off eastwards towards a narrow gully to the left of the steep NW buttress of Beinn an Eoin. Once in the gully, I followed traces of a path to a larger open gully and worked my way round to the NE side of the hill, past a number of crags and where I could get onto the main ridge of the mountain. From this point, the walking was excellent, passing over three minor tops until the final, much steeper summit ridge. With a combination of a few scrambling moves and bypassing the harder sections to the west, I made it to the top, a narrow ridge, only a few metres wide. It had taken three and a half hours to get there, and I was ready for my first lunch. The sky was still rather grey, however, the visibility was good with all peaks clear of cloud.
- Baosbheinn above Loch na h-Oidche from halfway along Beinn an Eòin
- View towards summit of Beinn an Eòin from the 715m point
- The insignificant cairn at the true summit of Beinn an Eòin
- Looking north from summit - almost entire length of Baosbheinn visible
- Looking SE to end of summit ridge of Beinn an Eòin - Beinn Dearg in mid-distance and Liathach behind
It was now decision time - to get to Baosbheinn, did I want to try the descent off the southern end, which involved traversing steep bands of sandstone crags with some down-climbing, or reverse tracks and ascend via the easy NE ridge? I decided to play safe and chose the latter option, so set off back along the ridge to the NE end. I had a few problems finding the route round to the final gully, but eventually recognised my earlier upward route and was soon heading down and back to the end of Loch na h-Oidhche.
There was no path across to the NE ridge of Baosbheinn so I had to work my way across rough ground with a few detours around pools and streams. As I got closer I could start climbing onto easier but steeper ground and was soon heading up the easy-angled shoulder on short grass and heather.
- The uniform slope leading almost all the way to the summit of Baosbheinn
On reaching a small col at the top of the slope, I walked round and up to the left onto the summit plateau and to the cairn. The clouds had gradually dispersed as I was ascending and at the top, it was mostly blue sky with good visibility in all directions.
- Looking back down and across to Coire Mòr from near summit of Baosbheinn
- Looking NW from summit of Baosbheinn to its subsidiary peaks
- Loch a' Bhealaich and, in distance, Loch Torridon
- Beinn Eighe, Beinn Dearg (with Liathach behind) and Beinn Alligin from Baosbheinn summit
After a good rest and more food, I began the descent, reversing my tracks back down to the loch, rather than continuing on to the northern tops - there's always next time! I made rapid progress back down to the floor of the glen and was soon striding along the good path I had come in on. There was still a matter of almost 5 miles to walk but the going was easy and either flat or slightly downhill all the way. I certainly felt quite weary towards the end - I had done five consecutive long days - but I'd already decided to drive home the next day - maybe just as well!
Near the end, I caught up with a couple of young ladies who had been rock-climbing and discovered the car park had been closed for road-resurfacing not long after I'd got there and they had had to park half a mile away. In normal times I would have offered a lift but with Covid, there was no expectation on either side so I bade them good luck. I got back to the car about 7pm and was soon back at the campsite for a welcome shower and meal. As it was my last night away and I had run out of beer, I set off for the Kinlochewe Hotel, hoping to get a drink - however - due to Covid, they were only allowing in people who had booked a meal so I returned disappointed and had a diet coke instead!