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Easily my hardest experience in the mountains

Easily my hardest experience in the mountains


Postby The English Alpinist » Sun Feb 13, 2022 3:04 am

Route description: An Caisteal and Beinn a'Chròin, near Crianlarich

Munros included on this walk: An Caisteal, Beinn a' Chròin, Beinn Chabhair

Date walked: 09/02/2022

Time taken: 9 hours

Distance: 19 km

Ascent: 1662m

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I'm sure others have gone through tougher, but I thought I would take the liberty of reiterating here, for reasons which are obvious in my report, so if somebody with less than my medium experience and even more than my risk-taking tendency benefits then all the good:
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.
And... Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter!

7 col north.JPG
At the Beinn Chabhair-Beiin a' Chroin bealach, view north.


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Sometimes we should be careful what we wish for. I was bemoaning the lack of snow experience so far this winter, but on the Munros of Crianlarich this week no such problem... well, is that not what I wanted? I slept very lightly the night before, which is not the best start, because apart from the usual anticipation it was that word, 'cloudy', which we know what means for visibility especially when put with a white landscape. The wind was not so bad, though, only up to 40kph, with a chill factor of -12 or so, all in all not enough excuse to cancel. It's not the most untrodden part of the country and for this region I had the best possible map, the superwalker 25000, so off I went, further encouraged by the sight of two other guys getting ready to set off as I pulled up by Derrydaroch Farm. Ben Crabhair did not look at all bad - nice and white - and the clouds obscuring only the highest reaches.

1 Crabhair.JPG
The first objective, Beinn Chabhair, doesn't look so bad!

2 into the snow.JPG
Up into the snow we go.

3 ice rocks.JPG
A common feature of the day.

4 selfie yes.JPG
Made it; Beinn Chabhair 3,061 feet (933m).

The approach march from Derrydaroch could not be simpler, along a gravel track, but at the end of it at the top of the Coire a' Chuilinn the fun starts. Here one leaves the valley to pick a way up Chabhair, aiming for a col on the top itself, or just 'up' any old how, or perhaps go via the big Bealach between Chabhair and Beinn a' Chroin. I chose what turned out to be a mixture of the first two, having initially intended the col, as I'd be using the Bealach anyway to link to Chroin, and didn't really want to use my efforts to visit it twice. It became increasingly more strenuous the further up into the snowline it went - quelle surprise - and the terrain harder and harder to read. I reckoned I arrived at the top in the general territory of the col, clueless which way to go in the cloud and the bumpy, mazy terrain, so it was compass to the rescue. Signs of a path emerged higher up, and I was at the summit of Beinn Chabhair feeling it had been slower and more tiring than I would like, but so far so good!

5 awful descent.JPG
Going down, the problem was this.

6 slog up to col.JPG
I finally gain the Bealach, from too far south.

8 col south.JPG
The view south from the Bealach (first pic has the view north).

Just below the summit I was pleased to encounter the two guys from earlier, still on their way up; they'd gone via the Bealach thus offering more proof than just a tiny needle that I was correctly heading for it myself. It also suggested that the snow this way might be even tougher. It was. There was no sign whatsoever of a path down, besides their footprints, and when I lost these I was once more reliant on map and compass. The going seemed to get ridiculously steeper. When would the Bealach come? I found myself seeking narrow shelfs down and running out of them, having to use my ice axe as a climbing hand-axe to lower myself. I had general C2 crampons, but did not like trusting them to toe-hold. Thankfully they held above some very bad drops - hell, what incredible, essential things these are - but my luck ran out trying to negotiate one last rocky gully. I plunged off it, some 10 feet, and bounced, rolled and slid spectacularly for another 20 before managing to arrest. I judged it would at least be a soft landing there, otherwise I like to think I would have preferred the ignomy of just acceptng I was damn stuck and calling for rescue rather than attempting it. Scary though, and I was hurt; my ankle.

Too late, I realised I had come down in the bad craggy stuff well below the Bealach, as the visibility I now had down to the valley south proved. In further beauty of hindsight, I soon worked out I had not trusted the compass enough, needing to go virtually north-east but veering due east too often because the foreground 'looked wrong'. Also, I realised I had not so much as 'lost' those guys' footprints, but rather consciously ignored them in the end because I feared they had probably skirted the Bealach a bit to head up, and they'd lead me too far north of it if I continued following them. Great stuff from me! Well, I dusted myself down, shaken up and my ankle was sore, but it seemed I could walk okay. I would get to the Bealach and then make a decision; for now, fortunately I'd still be able to get myself down on my own steam. I had wasted time and a lot of energy, quite apart from the dire possibility of my ankle packing in by the time I got on the very top of Beinn a' Chroin.


9 Chroin summit.JPG
Beinn a' Chroin summit (I'm fairly sure), the 942 one (3,091 feet).

10 crags problem.JPG
This type of thing again... another fall coming.

11 regain bealach.JPG
Getting back at the An Caisteal Bealach, just.

12 fearsome bealach.JPG
I go for An Caisteal; looking back, the perils of the crags to Chroin in these conditions can be seen.

I felt my decision to keep going was just about sensible; I did still have time, and I could always regroup at the Bealach Buidhe up above, and fight my way back down from there if I was too fragile. If, on the other hand, if I was feeling okay, I would go for the ascent of Beinn a'Chroin, and regroup once again back at Bealach Buidhe. I had come for the trio of Munros, a long journey, yet trying to stay alert to the stubborness I can put on myself because of this. I fancied the paths up there would be better defined, but they certainly weren't at first, and I slogged and plunged through snow drifts - constantly thinking 'forget this' - but bit by bit I found myself at the Bealach in less time than it felt. Now for the crags below Chroin - a path allegedly existed that negotiated them - and I saw some encouraging footprints, probably not today's though. This time I did lose these, gave up on finding the 'correct' way through the rocks, and decided to simply get the hell up them. After a moment of fearing I was stuck, I managed it okay. On top, I soon found west cairn, and from there evidence of a trail was good to the recently established true summit at 942m.

I then set out for east top, but it seemed disturbingly far away (perspective constantly playing tricks with my addled mind) and I was worried about my energy as well as getting back down the crags. I gave it a miss, reckoning I must have bagged the summit-proper by venturing that far (unless they change it to east again). Now I had the bright idea of using my map to estimate a way to skirt the crags instead of attempting to find the path down and possibly ending up in the same down-climbing crisis of earlier. At first this was promising, then it wasn't. Awkward ground came, then more awkward. Here we go again. I was trusting my crampons on some disconcerting slopy edges. At one place I chanced a jump of about 3 feet, judging my spikes would grip and the knoll would hold; they did. Then another icy gully, and this time either they or the axe did not (can't remember) and I enjoyed my second plunge of the day, from less height but with an even more impressive roll-out than before. This time I lost the axe (opening up that wrist-strap or not to wrist-strap debate), and had to grovel up some 30 feet to retreive it, but I was not hurt.


13 Chroin in all glory.JPG
The Beinn a' Chroin ridge in all its glory, one can understand the 'true summit' shenanigens.

14 Crabhair from Caisteal.JPG
Beinn Crabhair in all its glory, seen from An Caisteal.

15 Caisteal summit.JPG
An Caisteal summit, 3,264 feet (995m). Proud, satisfied, relieved, I don't know.

I was possibly in a mild form of shock, wondering just how skilful or damn lucky I'd been, which I feel kind of gave me the adrenaline to continue despite feeling well sapped. The ankle seemed fine if a bit sore, I had time, so I told myself just plod on up An Caisteal however slowly, and that getting back any other route would not be all that much easier anyhow. Route-finding was now no problem, due north and a mostly visible trail to boot, just strenuous. I was very thirsty, with no water left (all the stuff around me being annoyingly frozen). I sucked on chunks of ice, feeling a bit like Bear Grylls when he demonstrates giving yourself any little boost to survive. Happily, I had a Nature Valley oat bar, which I always carry in reserve but rarely end up needing. Now this really came into its own, for with with my current energy-levels my chances of catching and skinning a hare were low. I was rewarded with a temporary clearance on top and awesome views of everything, but just as I left the summit the wind picked up stronger than the forecast. Cold, tired, alone, get the hell down. Following the ridge all the way over Sron Garbh was perhaps not the quickest choice, it seemed endless and not at all smooth, but it was fool-proof and offered yet more great views. What a fine adventure I'd had!

16 glorious descent.JPG
Descent views down Twistin Hill certainly glorious, but on it went...

17 dusk view.JPG
I beat nightfall, no problem!

PS:I have some thinking to do on how much I should push my luck in winter conditions, and partly my incentive to write at length is as a testimony to my son who is showing an interest in mountaineering. It's a case of do as I say, but not necessarily as I do!
PPS: After sitting in Crianlarich Hotel for 2 hours afterwards, I found I could not stand on that ankle at all, and it had swelled up. Any prospect of the next day's walk was out of the question (but the forecast was awful anyway and I'd have gone home through knackeredness). I suspect that cold feet up there had maybe been a blessing in disguise, staving off the symptoms being felt. Now, 2 days later, it hurts less and I think no damage done and no visit to casualty necessary.
PPPS: Beinn a' Chroin means 'Hill of the Sheepfold' according to W.H., but 'Hill of Danger' according to McNeish - well, I know which I am taking!
Last edited by The English Alpinist on Tue Feb 15, 2022 2:10 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Easily my hardest experience in the mountains

Postby Mal Grey » Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:19 pm

Thank you for sharing; it sounds like an exciting day with plenty of lessons or reminders for all of us. Its so easy to get confused, even when you KNOW the compass is right, the terrain can just push you in different directions and you have to be very aware of it. I don't know these hills, but from the map you can see the terrain is quite complex, with bealachs and ridges not necessarily being where you'd expect them to naturally be, adding to the fun!

Personally, I would turn around and find another way before ever jumping down anything when on my own, especially when wearing crampons. Glad you got away with it, and please don't take this the wrong way, we all have to make choices in the hills. Hope the ankle continues to heal quickly.
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Re: Easily my hardest experience in the mountains

Postby Dave Hewitt » Sun Feb 13, 2022 1:53 pm

Glad you survived that. As Mal says, opting for any kind of jump in winter isn't a good idea - if feasible, go back up and find another way round or (a common winter technique) turn to face inwards and go down the awkward section that way - the axe and crampons should help considerably with that. A much-missed friend and I used to do a lot of winter stuff together and he reckoned it wasn't a proper winter if at some point we didn't go down something facing inwards. I once got myself out of a considerable pickle with an inwards-facing descent that went on for about 15 minutes.

Re routes generally, those three Munros are quite a big day in summer, more so at this time of year given the complex terrain. Be careful of transferring summer combinations of hills to a winter agenda - it doesn't work that way, eg one well-known example in the southern Highlands is that while Ben Vorlich and Stuc a' Chroin form a standard summer Munro pair, in winter they can be quite difficult to get between and plenty of the locals/regulars treat them as two distinct days out at this time of year. It's perhaps useful to look at hill stats in terms of such things - like a lot of people I have a lifetime Munros-per-day average of 1.8, but if I abstract out the Jan/Feb Munro outings it drops to 1.2 for those. Different game.

Similarly, thinking about summer paths on the higher ground isn't necessarily a good idea in winter - quite apart from them not being visible a lot of the time, quite often they lead into places that are sketchy or awkward in winter. Better just to navigate on the ground as you go, and if that links with a useful path or a set of prints, then it's a bonus. Beinn a' Chroin is a good example of this - even in summer the modern path up that little rocky prow isn't always a good idea, eg on a wet/greasy day. It's not clear why that path has evolved - 25 years ago it scarcely existed. Better to use the old route up/down the front, through the one reasonable gap in the crags, but that involves pretty precise route-finding.

Anyway, a learning experience (as it always is in winter)!
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Re: Easily my hardest experience in the mountains

Postby Sgurr » Sun Feb 13, 2022 6:56 pm

We pointed our US friend towards these when we couldn't for once accompany him. Not entirely sure how good he was at reading O/S maps and had been rather alarmed to hear that the other time we left him to his own devices, when lost he had simply climbed back a hill and waited until someone came, which luckily they did. He had no cloud and it was in May, but even so, he found the terrain difficult here and emailed me with pics to ask where he had actually been. Folk from WH confirmed my suspicions that he had in fact done both that he set out to do. so in winter and in that weather, you did well, especially afyer being injured.
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Re: Easily my hardest experience in the mountains

Postby The English Alpinist » Mon Feb 14, 2022 12:11 am

Lots of food for thought and thanks for all the information guys, it confirms some of my suspicions about what I did well and what I did wrong, and the strangeness of the terrain around there. It's the wierdest 'Bealach' I've ever seen, the faces of the mountains just kind of merge into each other really with no separation (from what I could see). I did do some of the inward facing down-climbing, my instinct telling me it was the only way, and it was (mostly) successful. Needless to say that would have been totally utterly impossible without both crampons and axe, and the very basics of having my crampons fitted on securely (their first outing in several years) is quite possibly why I'm here to talk about it now. I think both times I fell the rocks I was attempting were just too steep and the axe could not get enough purchase. I only tried it because I reckoned it would be a rock-free landing in the way the gully was bottoming out, but it was certainly a risk and not a nice feeling when gravity won! 'Panic' in decision making is a massive danger in these circumstances I reckon, or even being so tired that you don't care anymore. I know I coudn't face climbing back up agaiin, feeling that I might still not find a way, so I took a (just about) 'calculated' risk. Going on with the 'injury' and tiredness was less of a risk, I think, because I can read my body pretty well from years of being a runner. Then again I can't yet read winter Munro terrain and its demands as well as that. The biggest overall issue to take from this is definitely translating summer route planning into winter.
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Re: Easily my hardest experience in the mountains

Postby HalfManHalfTitanium » Mon Feb 14, 2022 12:16 pm

Thanks very much for sharing. Having done one of these hills on a wet day, and then two of them on a perfect day in May, I'm impressed at all three of them in claggy winter conditions!

I can confirm that there is absolutely no point in trying to find the east summit of Beinn a'Chroin unless it's clear. It's only worth visiting for the views, and there is quite a dip between the main summit and the east summit.

I can also confirm that taking in An Caisteal would be no harder than missing it out. The terrain down into the glens either side is lumpy, steep and confusing. For my photos in nice conditions, see https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=80675

It's an interesting point about decision making. I wonder if the human mind is more sophisticated than we think in these circumstances and can process a wide variety of risk factors, some subconsciously. As you say "I know I coudn't face climbing back up again, feeling that I might still not find a way, so I took a (just about) 'calculated' risk."

I also agree with the various points about transition summer to winter. In summer these hills seen quite friendly, and the paths are obvious (although I don't know about the bealach east of Beinn Chabhair). But in claggy winter conditions, these hills are a good example of how lumpy terrain can be really hard to read and to relate to what the map and compass are saying, and the steep slopes can be dangerous in unexpected places.

Well done - every trip into the hills is a lesson!

Tim
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Re: Easily my hardest experience in the mountains

Postby The English Alpinist » Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:39 pm

Hi Tim, very interesting thoughts. Yes, on those parts where I was 'in trouble' it was a kind of mix of instinct, common sense with a fair bit of frustration but not quite desperation!. It was almost as if a sixth sense kicked in where I knew I'd be ok if I fell, nevertheless I got a bit lucky. I avoided breaking something by the skin of my teeth (still sore and puffy now but it's getitng better). I'm taking it as a sobering warning not to be too ambitious in winter, and to hone my map and compass skills even more. I probably should have gathered a bit more information beforehand too. Sometimes it's good to practise map and compass skills in the clag on unknown terrain but danger is danger and I think, in hindsight, a but more insurance was called for. I'll have a very good perusal of your photos and report now!
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Re: Easily my hardest experience in the mountains

Postby BlackPanther » Tue Feb 15, 2022 3:34 pm

I'm joining the "thank you for sharing" club :D

We had our own adventure on this duo. Three years ago, we set off to climb them in winter conditions. It was a lovely, sunny day but very cold and a lot of loose snow on higher ground. We went up An Caisteal first via Twistin' Ridge then descended to the bealach, but having had a good look at the route up Beinn a'Chroin, we chickened out and dropped to Coire Earb. We had crampons and axes and we are no novices when it comes to winter traverses, but it just didn't feel right. Another pair of walkers caught up with us when we stopped for lunch - they were doing the same route and also abandoned the scramble up the second Munro.

Here's my account of that day:
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=79577

We returned the next summer and had an absolute cracker of a day, no problems with the iffy section. That just shows how an easy summer ridge can change into a proper challenge in winter time. I think every one of us, hillwalkers, has a story like that to tell.
Cheers :D
BP
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Re: Easily my hardest experience in the mountains

Postby The English Alpinist » Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:58 pm

Really interesting, thanks BP. I think if I could have seen the full nature of the climb to Beinn a Chroin whilst I was snow-ploughing up from the Chabhair Bealach, I would have said 'no thanks!' too. In a way my advantage was I had to take things one step at a time in the murk, and then just psyche myself up for the next step having got that far. I'll have a read of your report, cheers.
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