free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
I was the only person stirring in the Ardmair campsite as I wolfed down two tubs of porridge with my tea at 6am – a fine day was in the offing and I didn’t want to waste any of it. The roads were all but deserted for the 25 minutes it took to reach the hotel car park at Inchnadamph. The 2.5 mile bike ride south to the Bone Caves car park was soon over and after locking the bike to the fence, I set off on foot up the gradually ascending valley beside the Allt nan Uamh. The riverbed soon became dry with large boulders and narrowed dramatically as it went past the Bone Caves on the steep cliffs opposite. The WH route suggests the caves are well worth a detour, but I gave them a miss to save time.
- View back down boulder-strewn valley, Canisp in distance
Eventually, a high vertical rock-step with water spilling over blocked any further progress and I looked for a way up out of the ravine onto the open hillside above. There were no obvious signs of any path, so I began carefully ascending a steep crumbling bank with a few embedded rocks to step on. That was too steep so I went a few yards further along but soon came to an impasse – the ground was just too unstable to trust so I reversed my steps carefully back down and up to the original place. I reckoned I could haul myself up to make up for the less than secure feet placements so I found a stable handhold for my left hand and as I grabbed a large rock with my right hand, it came loose and I just managed to stop it moving over me as it began sliding down.
This was getting a bit serious, so I checked a few more rocks and found one that felt secure and with a good deal of grunting and slithering, I made the 2 or 3 moves up onto the heather-clad hillside and away from the loose crumbling ravine bank. With adrenaline pumping, I scrambled up the steep heathery slope and soon the gradient eased and with a sigh of relief, I headed for the sun and the heathery moorland with the great bulk of Breabag ahead.
As I gained height, the spectacular ridge of Conival and Ben More Assynt gradually came into view over to the left. The climb up to Breabag seemed to go on forever with a number of false summits – easy to see how it could become confusing in mist. The wind-shelter at the summit was a welcome place to rest and admire the views all round.
- Summit of Breabag with Suilven and Canisp
- Zooming in on Suilven and Canisp
The route onwards was due north, all the way to Breabag Tarsuinn, directly opposite Conival. At this point I was still thinking I would have time to include the latter and its close neighbour – there were potentially 3 alternate routes for this:
1) drop down the SE side of Breabag and eventually cross over the River Oykel and head for the foot of Carn nan Conbhairean, climb up that and on to Ben More Assynt.
2) at the foot of Conival, head right and round to the foot of the steep slopes up to the bealach between the 2 peaks and then climb up to the bealach
3) at the foot of Conival, head left and cut across to the ‘normal’ ascent route up to Conival
I reluctantly discounted option 1 as it just seemed a very long way on pathless terrain with a potentially difficult river crossing – a decision I was to later regret. So, I began the long and gradual descent northwards, bypassing the highest points where possible.
- Heading north with Conival and Ben More Assynt ahead
The terrain was mostly easy on grass with some boulder sections and one split in the ground that gave superb views to the east.
- The dyke cutting across the ridge
- Enticing view of Conival and Ben More Assynt, now clear of cloud
- The sparkling lochans just before reaching Breabag Tarsuinn
Reaching Breabag Tarsuinn, I veered round to the right and was soon down at Bealach Traligil. I think I knew at this point I didn’t have the time to include the two Munros without a very late finish, so on a whim, I just decided to try the first part of option 2 and ‘have a look’.
So, I headed up on a slant around the SE shoulder of Conival until I could see the potential for climbing to the bealach – it looked impossible – just great runs of steep scree from top to bottom. I sat in the sunshine enjoying the views and then turned about and headed back to the bealach, resigned to leaving the two Munros for another day.
- Looking up at the steep slopes between the two Munros
The path down through the narrow bealach was a bit precipitous in places and I went too high on the far bank at one
point. Crossing over to the south side, I worked my way down until the ground levelled out. I glanced back several times at the enormous bulk of Conival, realising I had made the right choice – it would probably have added 4 hours to an already long day.
I made further stops on the way down, including a look inside some of the Traligil Caves, one of which had a stream running along and disappearing into the hillside. At last, I reached the main path on the far bank and enjoyed an easy amble back to the car – an excellent day with lots of interesting features and views.
