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The young: we see them every day, skipping by with their blank happy expressions, or pausing, furrowing their dull brows and straining their undeveloped brains in a futile effort to understand their place in the world, before more skipping. Here are two of the worst specimens. See them here, in their late 20s, with their branded clothing, environmental conscientiousness, and incomprehensible pop-cultural references.
- Youth 1 and Youth 2
Perhaps you're thinking that they don't look too bad. At least they're not that teenage brand of youth. And they're not actually mugging someone in this photograph, or doing something worse, such as listening to their post-2000 music. But I assure you, they are utterly abhorrent. A few key points to consider:
-On our day off from walking, the youths decided to go on a small run up the West Highland Way from Kinlochleven to the dam (climbing a thousand feet).

(This is an emoji, which youths use.)
-They forced me to watch football.
-They forced me to watch Love Island. Bastards!
Worst of all, this is our second annual Scotland trip (see last year's report here:
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=109873). The youths, like radiation, are exponentially worse on repeated exposure. At least this time, Youth 1 had developed some knee pain. Youth 2 was still insufferably sprightly. And both were training for marathons.
In any case, the plan for this year's break was to stay in Kinlochleven and walk the Mamores. Originally we were wondering if we might try the whole ridge. There were four clear days (8 to 11 July). But Friday 8th was rainy, and a long walk on Saturday might have left us unable to do anything on the remaining two days. We settled for tackling the Mamore outliers on Saturday and decided (since none of us had climbed it) to do some kind of walk finishing on Ben Nevis on Sunday or Monday.
Saturday 9 July 2022Sgùrr Èilde Mòr and Binnein Beag
Distance: 23.5 km
Ascent: 1500 metres
Time taken: 9 hours
I was thinking of Sgùrr Èilde Mòr and Binnein Beag as a relatively small outing to knock off a couple of Munro outliers. It's easy to forget how big the climb is when ascending from sea level. It's quite a tiring day.
The path from Kinlochleven up to An Cumhann is steeper than it looks on the map, although the route is clear. We soon fell into our usual pattern: the youths scurrying ahead and me plodding behind. At least there is a little respite when the path meets the road, before the pull up to Coire an Lochain. The youths were keen to press on so as to log a good time on their respective Strava accounts. Following them, I imagined a computer error deleting all their data.
- Urgh, uphill. Buachaille Etive Mòr in the distance.
- The youths are getting away
When I finally caught up, the views from Coire an Lochain were excellent. The weather had started out a bit murky, but it was rapidly developing into a gorgeous day (notwithstanding the mixed forecast).
- Not a bad view from Coire an Lochain
- Young people spoiling the ambience.
Then it was time to climb Sgùrr Èilde Mòr, 250 meters above the plateau. I suggested we might climb halfway, regroup (i.e. I could catch up), and then climb the other half. But Youth 2 thought that stopping halfway might break his rhythm, or some nonsense, so sped off up the mountainside like a rat (or mouse, or shrew, or vole, or some other unforgivably tiny creature).
The main path up Sgùrr Èilde Mòr is extremely steep and eroded, especially near the top. On reflection, I really hate mountains. And the whole natural world too, come to think of it. Quarry them down to nothing, I say, and build another whisky shop. And a couch and hammock emporium. Nevertheless, the top had some rather nice views. When I arrived, the youths were tucking into first lunch. I don't understand why they need to eat every half hour like hobbits.
- My heroic arrival at the summit
- View from the west ridge of Sgùrr Èilde Mòr
- Binnein Beag and the Nevis range behind
The youths decided to descend the steep, eroded path we had climbed, because they're idiots. As a magnificent mountain adventurer, I opted to walk down the rocky prow of the ridge (much easier underfoot) and then rejoin the path lower down via a boulder field. We didn't waste time at the bottom but set off immediately on the stalkers' path towards the bealach between Binnein Beag and Binnein Mòr. (The stalkers' paths on this side of the Mamores are superb.) There's a convenient place to refill water bottles where the path crosses the Allt Coire a' Bhinnein. The youths didn't refill their bottles. They were suspicious of any liquid that didn't come from a colourful sports drink bottle, probably named Zap, or Pow, or some other Batman sound effect.
Although there's some descent and re-ascent, the route to the bottom of Binnein Beag was not too bad, and the climb up Binnein Beag itself is easier than the route up Sgùrr Èilde Mòr. The youths rushed off to the top, as usual. I followed, cursing, before finding them having another lunch on the summit of the mountain. At least the views were, if anything, even better than the first peak.
- The path to Binnein Beag
- Binnein Mòr looking impressive
- The Ring of Steall
- The Nevis Range
- Looking back to Sgùrr Èilde Mòr
We returned along the stalkers' path to Coire an Lochain. It adds a fair bit to the ascent to the route but, again, the path is very good. Once I caught up with youths at the loch, they decided to swim. Apparently they hadn't had enough exercise yet. I walked up a bit to escape their exuberance and photograph Sgùrr Èilde Mòr.
- Foolish splashing
- Sgùrr Èilde Mòr
- The peaks of Glen Coe, partially obscured by vomitous 20-something-year-olds.
The walk back down to Kinlochleven in the afternoon sun with the now-soggy youths was very pleasant. For a treat, I spent the descent explaining post-Wittgenstein philosophy of action, which, I am sure, must have enhanced their enjoyment of the walk immensely.
- Back to Kinlochleven
Before moving on to the next walk, a final important note. It turns out the youths hate all small- and medium-sized dogs, and all dog-owners. Please feel free to judge them harshly.
Monday 11 July 2022Aonach Mòr, Aonach Beag, Càrn Mòr Dearg and Ben Nevis
Distance: 22 km
Ascent: 1550 meters
Time taken: 8.5 hours
Sunday was reasonably clear, but very windy. We settled on Monday for our next walk. The MWIS forecast predicted an overcast morning but an "almost certain" chance of cloud-free Munros by midday. Given we wanted to include Ben Nevis and there was no way I was walking up the dull side of the mountain, we considered climbing Càrn Mòr Dearg first and ascending Ben Nevis via the CMD Arête. However, I noticed that if we first ascended the Aonachs via the Gondola, we could add a couple of Munros to the walk without any additional ascent. So that was the plan.
The Gondola, it turns out, is a definite rip-off, which only offers day passes and not single tickets (£23 per person). But its use was key to our plans, so we swallowed the cost. There looks to be nothing pleasant about the path alongside the ski development (and there's also nothing pleasant about the path above the ski development). If not taking the Gondola, I strongly recommend climbing the other side of the mountain from Glen Nevis.
We parked around 9:30 am and drank a coffee on the way up the ski lift.
- The youths don't exist if I don't look at them
From the top of the Gondola, there is a 500-meter trudge up to the Aonach Mòr (which was still hiding in the cloud). I guess different people find different kinds of terrain difficult, but I thought this ascent was particularly unpleasant: a steep, unremitting grassy slope with no interesting features to navigate. Even the youths seemed to dislike it, but it did not stop them hurrying ahead, doubtlessly monitoring their heart rates on their watches. I eventually found them sitting at the top of the ridge looking especially smug.
- Smug bastards
The Aonach plateau is an enjoyable walk, however, even in the cloud. I got several photographs of the youths disappearing ahead into the mist, oblivious of my glower, and the odd view of the two peaks as we covered the brief descent and re-ascent between Mòr and Beag.
- Pursuing the smug bastards. Maybe they'll fall off the cliff.
- Aonach Beag in the cloud
- Aonach Mòr's eastern cliffs
From the mid-point between between Mòr and Beag, there's a faint path towards the west that begins to descend to the bealach between the Aonachs and Càrn Mòr Dearg. The path is almost invisible at the top and is not shown on the OS map. It is shown, however, as a green footpath on the Walkhighlands non-OS map (and that map is accurate). We could not initially find the path at the top, but traversed towards Càrn Mòr Dearg and then descended until my phone GPS put us on the Walkhighlands path. And when we hit the right spot, the line of the path suddenly became visible as a flattened line across the grass. It does become much more obvious further on, during the descent down the spur of Aonach Mòr to the bealach. I would strongly recommend trying to stick to the path, because the descent is steep and rocky, and taking one's own line off the mountain would not be pleasant.
As we descended (slowly, because of Youth 1's knee), Càrn Mòr Dearg emerged from the cloud ahead of us. It was possible to see a path ascending the peak's eastern ridge.
- Càrn Mòr Dearg. The path is faintly visible.
The climb up Càrn Mòr Dearg looks steep and forbidding from below, and might be hard on the legs to descend, but actually it is quite a good ascent route. The path is obvious, the ground is solid, and the occasional patches of boulders are stable. I had reached the bealach first because (surprisingly) my knees were not causing me any trouble, and I am (of course) nimble like the noble gazelle. So I decided to get a head start on the climb. Around 80 meters up, Youth 2 came powering past me. As I had forgotten to pack my walking nunchucks, I was unable to hobble him before he was past. At 200 meters, Youth 1 passed me. I felt less of an urge to hobble Youth 1; I sympathise with his knee trouble. Also he's less optimistic than Youth 2. 250 meters into the ascent, I was beginning to flag a bit, and made quite slow going of the final ridge line (although it is enlivened by some optional scrambling). Obviously once I got to the top, the youths were having one of their many lunches. And the cloud had now properly cleared.
- Predictably, here comes Youth 2.
- And Youth 1
- Ridges on Càrn Mòr Dearg
- The Aonachs, out of cloud
- My first view of Ben Nevis's north-east face
I was not entirely sure what to expect with the CMD Arête. I was imagining a narrow ridge with fairly minimal scrambling. In fact, there is quite a bit of scrambling, at least if one stays on the crest of the ridge. The crest is covered with (generally stable) boulders. I wasn't sure if the youths would be willing to tackle the top of the ridge rather than taking the bypass path; they are not particularly happy with heights. In the event, however, we followed the crest the whole way. The youths picked their way around the boulders like Bambi learning to walk, and for once I got to take photos of them following me.
- The bouldery crest of the CMD Arête
- Ahahahahaha! Look at them.
- Ok, they look more intrepid here. Utter dicks.
- Mamores
- Stob Bàn
- Ben Nevis is somewhat impressive
The youths had their revenge speeding up the summit slope of Ben Nevis. But the ascent is not too large, although it is rocky and sometimes loose. We took the obligatory photos at the summit, and I walked out for a shot of the top of Castle Ridge (with some climbers inching their way across Tower Gap).
- Unfortunately both of the youths made it.
- The picture becomes 35% more handsome with me replacing Youth 2.
- Tower Ridge (on my bucket list)
The youths had their required third lunch. But they were getting cold due to a lack of body fat, and so we didn't hang around. The descent of the tourist path was uneventful, beyond Youth 1's knee acting up, but the south-west side of the mountain is particularly boring. (There were, however, pleasant views down Loch Linnhe towards Mull.)
We skirted Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe, and looked for a route down towards the Allt a'Mhuillinn. There is a faint (possibly new) path starting on the far side of the stream exiting the Lochan; we saw a group of walkers heading down it. But I wasn't sure if it lead into the valley or round Meall an t-Suidhe, so we stuck to an initially pathless route on the near side of the stream. Fairly soon we met an ATV track which headed down to where the deer fence crosses the Allt a'Mhuillinn (and joined the faint path the other group were descending).
- Looking back at Ben Nevis
The crossing of the Allt a'Mhuillinn was possible on stones alongside the deer fence. Then we followed the forest tracks back to the car park at the Gondola, avoiding the odd bit of heavy machinery moving earth. The forest tracks are an easy path (although not short after a long walk) and it was mercifully midge-less.
I don't know if the youths will want to return to the highlands for a third year running. I have vague plans for some walks from Braemar -- more distance and less ascent -- assuming my legs are still working and a sensible Government initiative hasn't transported the youths to Australia before then.