Càrn Gorm, Meall Garbh, Càrn Mairg and Creag Mhòr

[JWCW2014]

I always enjoy driving up to Glen Lyon because it reminds me of a particularly sunny holiday my wife and I took nearly 10 years ago (pre-children….) with three days of temperatures well above 25c. We were nearly cooked in a room on the top floor of a cheap hotel in Aberfeldy. That was the last time that I was lucky with timing a holiday and the weather, and the last time I found a cheap hotel room in summer in Scotland….

We started from the layby a kilometre or so passed Invervar. The turn off from the main track towards Carn Gorm requires a bridge crossing and whilst the bridge is not much above the water so poses little risk, the quality of repairs carried out seem to equal my futile attempts at botch job house repairs. If the burn isn’t in spate, wet feet might be preferable to feet poking through the wood and metal.

On the drive up there was a small amount of rain but the forecast held and as we started to climb the views with the sun poking through cloud improved.

Looking back down Glen Lyon

Whilst there was little snow remaining, at around 800m the remaining cover was fairly solid and tracks and burns fairly icy and though probably avoidable, we stuck to a slightly direct route up through harder snow. The forecast suggested winds gusting up to 40mph which felt accurate on ascent to the top of Carn Gorm. However, reaching the summit the winds dropped and were barely noticeable the rest of the day.

Taking advantage of walking company for a posed photo (making a change from recent trips of photos of cairns in mist and no people).

We dropped down on to the track and carried on round to Meall Garbh. The changing wind and the sun breaking in and out of the cloud made it a day for trying to adjust clothing to fight overheating/being frozen.

Over to the Lawers range

The route round over Meall a’ Bharr and then up to Carn Mairg was straightforward and we reached the summit and caught up with a large number of other walkers.

View back to Carn Gorm

The typical descent route from Carn Mairg was covered in fairly solid ice and I was unsure if the other walkers had slowed to decide how to proceed or were just stopping for some food. There was a mixture of shuffling and sliding going on considering how to get down.

Whilst the terrain was hardly serious we were both agreed that we liked to limit the risk of a colliding groin first with small boulders at speed and contoured round north slightly and finding an easier slope to descend.

The final pull up to Creag Mhor posed no challenges and with the sun increasing in intensity was much warmer. A quick stop for a sandwich and we began the descent, a relatively easy track back to down to meet the ascent route.

[WildAboutWalking]

Looks as though you had an excellent day on the hill.

We stayed in Glen Lyon for a week last October but avoided these hills as the North Chesthill Estate strongly discourage access during the stalking season.

Edit - bit confused by some of the hill names that you use.

[JWCW2014]

Looks as though you had an excellent day on the hill.

We stayed in Glen Lyon for a week last October but avoided these hills as the North Chesthill Estate strongly discourage access during the stalking season.

Edit - bit confused by some of the hill names that you use.

(If helpful) above I’ve used, running clockwise, Carn Gorm, Meall Garbh, Carn Mairg and Creag Mhor though on my more recent OS LR it’s got Creag Mhor as Meall na Aighan.

[jmarkb]

Creag Mhor was the name used in Munros Tables prior to the 1997 revision when it was changed to Meall nan Aighean. I believe this just reflected changes on the OS maps - the name Creag Mhor always belonged the 822m top to the SE (or the crags on its S flank), but it was originally used for the main summit which was not named on the maps.

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

Looks great - I especially like the very dramatic photo "Over to the Lawers range".

I had a very "monochrome" day when I did this round. It's a fine route for striding out along the tops and the long distance views. While going up Carn Gorm, a lumpy very snowy hill came into view and I wondered what it was, then I realised it was... Ben Nevis.

I found the descent from Cairn Mairg the most tricky bit too - I had to put on the crampons, which I hadn't needed up to that point. A combination of steeper gradient and more icy consolidated snow than on any other part of the route.

Tim

[WildAboutWalking]

(If helpful) above I’ve used, running clockwise, Carn Gorm, Meall Garbh, Carn Mairg and Creag Mhor though on my more recent OS LR it’s got Creag Mhor as Meall na Aighan.

Thanks - I did work it out in the end.