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After camping on Cùl Mòr, via Cùl Beag, the previous day, I was keen to do something a bit less strenuous. I opted for a route to Glas Bheinn via Eas a’ Chùal Aluinn. At just over 9 miles it would easily make a day walk, but I was keen to camp on top of Glas Bheinn, so took it very steady. If the only objective was to get to the summit then this would be a long way round, compared to the direct route. However, I was also keen to catch a glimpse of Eas a’ Chùal Aluinn and explore a little bit of the rugged terrain in between. It also did the mountain justice as I got to see it from different aspects and traverse the length of its summit.
I started my walk at the small pull in next to the right of way sign and preceded to break through the morning cobwebs that spanned the path down to Loch na Gainmhich. Here there’s a spectacular view over the loch to Quinag, which was looking fine in the morning sunshine beneath clear blue skies. The good path then continues to the beautiful Loch Bealach a’ Bhùirich, which has great views of the bulky northern corries and ridges of Glas Bhienn, as well as the ever eye catching Quinag. At the bealach itself, the path begins its sizable decent to the top of Eas a’ Chùal Aluinn, through a landscape of heathery knolls. Here I crossed to the other bank to try and get the best view I could of the water tumbling to near sea level below. Wherever I went I could only ever see the top of the falls, but this didn’t detract from the experience, as the view of the waterfall and to the sea loch beyond was sensational. I’d also got there early enough in the day for the waterfall to be still lit up by the sun. I hung around for a while eating food and taking pictures.
- Quinag across Loch na Gainmhich
- Spidean Còinich across Loch Bealach a’ Bhùirich
- Eas a’ Chùal Aluinn
- Remote looking Beinn Leòid
After a while I headed upwards to begin my long ascent of Glas Bheinn. Rather than backtracking, I decided to cut across and pick up the stalkers path that heads southeast to a small lochan. Once here I realised that it was still quite early in the day, and, with a sudden optimistic burst of enthusiasm, considered adding the rocky summit of Beinn Uidhe. I continued along the good path until it either faded to nothing or I lost it, either way I couldn’t find it again and decided to rest at another small lochan and have a think. I could see a distant path clinging to the rock and scree as it traversed Coire Leacach to the south of Beinn Uidhe. I decided that it looked very far away over rough pathless ground, and I’d rather stick to the plan of it being an easy day. Decision made, I backtracked and picked up the stalkers path once more, this time heading in the opposite direction back to the first small lochan.
Once at the lochan a path splits off to head up towards Bealach na h-Uidhe. This path was good, the weather was still amazing, and I was making very good time. In fact, despite all my dawdling, I had ages to make it up Glas Bheinn. I decided to take my easy day idea as far as it would go and have a two-hour nap. This was perfect, there were light winds, warm sunshine and just the sound of water flowing and birds tweeting. I woke, slightly confused as to where I was, and dazzled by the bright sunshine. However, I was refreshed and collected some water from the lochan (as it happened there were a few places on the top to collect water that would save carrying it up. As long as you don’t mind filtering from lochans) and continued my climb up the zig zag path to the bealach. Once there a view south opened up, including the rocky mass of Ben More Assynt and Conival and the even rockier Beinn Uidhe. Looking back at the rock-strewn hill, I was quite glad I didn’t have to traverse it, as it would have definitely gone against my easy day ethos.
- Perfect place for a nap
- The extremely rocky looking Beinn Uidhe with Ben More Assynt and Conival beyond
I now had the last difficulty of the day to negotiate, a steep rocky climb up the nose-like eastern ridge of Glas Bheinn. Near the top, this narrows unexpectedly, giving a short ridge walk of sorts onto the summit plateaux. The top of the hill is a large expense of rock and grass with the larger drops down to the northern corries. The summit itself is perched on top of a rocky outcrop and, despite the relatively flat top, provides great views over a large expanse of the northwest. However, it is the kind of summit that you have to wander around a bit to get the best of the views.
- Ben More Assynt and Conival
- Staircase of lochs down to the sea
- Foinaven and Arkle far to the north looked spectacular
- Not sure which mountain that is, or even which direction I was pointing the camera, but it looks good
- Stac Pollaidh far to the south
- Seana Bhraigh with Beinn Dearg lurking in the background
- Looking down to Ardvreck Castle surrounded by Loch Assynt
The wind up the top wasn’t quite as strong as the previous night on Cùl Mòr, however, I was still keen to find some shelter to pitch the tent. Luckily Glas Bheinn is perfect for tents, with loads of options. I found the ideal spot, in the shelter of some steeper ground, near the cairn that marks the view over Loch Assynt. I had a few hours until sunset, but, with the shelter, I didn’t need to hide in the tent like the previous night. I could just enjoy sitting and taking it all in, wandering around every now and then to look at the changing light on the mountains to the north.
- A nice sheltered pitch with a view to the opposite side of Suilven than the night before on Cùl Mòr (it must be the most mirror image mountain I've seen)
- Golden light illuminating the view north west
- Rocky summits of Ben More Assynt, Conival and Breabag lit up red
- Canisp and Suilven in the fading light
- Ben More Assynt and Conival now looking very red
Eventually the sun dipped behind Quinag and a slither of the moon, as well as Venus, appeared hanging above it. As I’d had a big nap I wasn’t as tired as usual, and I knew there would be a good star show once darkness fell. I retreated to the tent for a bit, emerging at midnight once the light had faded. I could see stars all around and the flashing of distant lighthouses. Once my eyes adjusted further the milky way became obvious as did a strange pale thing to the north. At first it looked like a fogbow, but given there was no fog, or even cloud, that seemed unlikely. I then thought about the direction, and my latitude, and checked the aurora app which showed a yellow alert for minor activity. Optimistically, I grabbed my camera stuff and headed a few minutes up the hill to the rim of Coire Dearg, to get an unobstructed view north. Here I was amazed to see a pale green ribbon slowly morphing on the horizon, with great pillars of purple occasionally extending skywards. Due to the cold wind, and my lacklustre astrophotography skills, I decided to enjoy it with my eyes and just take some photos on my phone. This saved a lot of faffing and the inevitable blurry photo disappointment. After about 15 minutes I could stand the cold wind no longer and walked back down to the tent where I managed to get to sleep despite the excitement.
- Sun sets beyond Quinag
- I felt so lucky to get a glimpse of the northern lights
The next morning, I was up very early, packing down the tent at first light. I’d normally wait around for sunrise, but I had one more thing I wanted to do before the long drive home. I descended the direct north-western ridge of the mountain in the twilight. The path then drops down a steep grassy gully to Lairig Unapool. I was at the car as the first of the light hit the peak of my next objective, Spidean Còinich. I tried to reduce my smell accumulated over two full days and nights on the mountains and then drove the short distance to the car park. I still hadn’t seen anyone in two days, but it was now a sunny Saturday so I anticipated seeing a few people, or more disturbingly them smelling me!
I won’t dwell on the climb of Spidean Coinich too much, as I’m sure it’s a crime to only climb one of the three Quinag Corbetts. It was an enjoyable way to end my trip though, made even more enjoyable by being able to leave my camping stuff in the car. The slabby climb, views from the summit, and the narrowing ridge after the summit all made for an entertaining little circuit of just under 5 miles. After two and a half days of walking, the path from Bealach a’ Chornaidh back to the car park, seemed to go on for ages. However, my weary legs did enjoy its relatively shallow gradient and my eyes enjoyed the spectacular surroundings. By now some of the low cloud from the east had broken though, and was occasionally shrouding the summits, which helped with my guilt of not pushing on for the other two Corbetts. I think it was only half 9 by the time I got back to the empty car park, and I’d still seen nobody. This meant there was no chance of a citizen’s arrest or anyone smelling me. The perfect end to a perfect (minus the wind) trip.
- Early morning sun lighting up Spidean Coinich and Sàil Gharbh
- Canisp, Cùl Mòr and Suilven
- Zoomed to the North West Buttress of Suilven
- Conival doing a good job of holding back the low cloud in the east
- Cùl Mòr
- Canisp and Loch Assynt
- Very neat layers of sandstone near the summit of Spidean Còinich
- This photo doesn't really give an idea of how enjoyable the ridge beyond the summit of Spidean Còinich is
- Looking back where I'd come from
- The route back to the car
- Perfect timing as the cloud breaks through and lowers onto the tops once I'm down
