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Hillwalking and scrambling are inherently risky things to do and there have been quiet a few reports on WH recently that have involved tragedy or injury:
On the General Discussion page the sad tale of Patric Monroe’s tragic demise ‘Advice for bagging all Munros in a single go’
Gld73’s (mis)adventure on Beinn Eion
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=118250On the General Discussion page Malands ‘Word of Warning’
I’ll add my own tale of woe, which in no way compares to those reports but which demonstrates how quickly things can go wrong and sometimes luck can lend a hand. So the first part of this report concerns a very nice route onto BnB and the second the consequence of sometime minor error.
- The route taken
The WalkHad things gone to plan last week I would have not been in BnB but on Beinn a Bheithir, the reason for the change was that my son and walking companion, Ben, had dropped out of this year’s holiday two days before the start with a serious back injury (one which he is thankfully recovering from). This involved a rescheduling of accommodation and a change of some routes. I have a large folder of potential routes and one, which had been in the folder for some time involved ticking off two outstanding Munro Tops on BnB, via the (grade 2?) scramble over Gearr Aonach (better known as the middle of the Three Sisters). I had assembled reports and photos of the route to help with route finding.
- Two of the Three Sisters - Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh from the very busy car park. The makings of a very good day!
- The mid-morning view of Coire nan Lochan - at the time I did not know this would be my exit route
- Gearr Aonach from the North
- Close ups of the route
- The nose of Gearr Aonach from the bridge over the Coe
This was the last walk of the holiday, which was getting better and better; the weather was wonderful and I didn’t have a long walk to do; so I dawdled, left the hostel late, and stopped to take photos along the lovely path in North Ballachluish, opposite Beinn a Bheithir. I parked in the layby opposite Coire nan Lochan and started off towards the Lost valley about 10;30. The intention was to pick off the two outstanding Munro Tops on BnB (Stob Coire nan Lochan and Stob Coire nan Beith) via the Gearr Aonach zig zags and the SCnL’s NE ridge and descend by Coire nan Beitheach. Walking away from the car park I asked someone who was clearly a regular hill walker directions to the Lost Valley path and he immediately pointed to the Coire Nan Lochan path; an amusing conversation followed about the blind leading the blind and he turned around and we both headed in the right direction. Malcom from Glasgow had walked the hill 30 years ago in winter so wouldn’t have recognized the hill in brilliant sunshine; we went across the bridge up the wire way and onto the lower path. We were chatting away so intently that I missed the turn for the upper path and only definitely realised this when we reached the ford over the stream. We said our goodbyes as Malcom went off to take photos up in the Lost Valley. I turned back and quickly found the upper path and walking diagonally uphill, the route up to the Gearr Aonach cliffs.
- The cliffs of Gearr Aonach from Coire Gabhail path.
- The faint path towards the cliffs
- The rough path up from Coire Gabhail
- Path up. The start of the zig zags is just before the dark (shadowy) buttress. I went past this following a path possibly used by climbers, then turned back
- Looking back at the high level path into Coire Gabhail. Taken close to the cliff.
- Start of the zig zags - look out for the overhanging rock and sloping slab beneath
- Inclined path heading North around the nose of Gearr Aonach.
- The main scramble follows the base of these vertical slabs
- Steep path, looking down into Coire Gabhail.
- The inclined slab, straightforward in you stick to the right hand side.
From the Coire floor the path up was fairly clear, over rubble and grass, close to the bottom of the cliff. In a couple of places the path faded but it was easy to pick up again. I passed a small dark outcrop and an overhanging shelf, determined to follow what was clearly the path but after about 50m this became fainter and fainter, ending up at the cliff. I presumed that this was used by climbers and I had missed a turn; I got the paperwork out and recognized the overhang I had seen earlier as the start of the scramble; moving away from the cliff it became move obvious. Up to the overhandg were a couple of bare slabs I had passed and disregarded; once on top of these and under the overhang I could see the path slanting upwards. The path wound around the curve of the hill and then to the bottom of a sloping slab which being bone dry was straightforward to ascend using the blocks on the right hand side. Beyond that there was the only grade 2 stretch of the scramble, rocky gullies, and a few steps. At one point I had to remove my bag (being heavy as I had packed for normal weather) in order to ascend a block. At the top of this steep section the ground flattened out and wound back towards the nose. Another inclined slab and ruble path, all straightforward – this was turning out to be a very good day the weather superb and the scenery wonderful.
- Start of steep scrambling
- Looking back down to end of path
- Blocky scrambling
- looking back down scramble
- The path above scramble heading South
- Path heading North round the nose
The accident It was clear I was getting near the crest, no more cliffs or rocky bands only small outcrops. I came to a point in the path where it appeared to go left uphill steeply on a rubble chute; there was no obvious path continuing across the slope so I started upwards. The crest of the hill was about 15m above me and I avoided the loose rubble by using small rocks and steps in the heather clad slope. After about 7m I looked over and noticed, about 30m away, what was obviously a continuation of the path I had been on; I wasn’t on or near the path after all. A little annoyed I decided to continue on given that it would have been as much work, and risk, to climb down as to climb up.
- The path just before I mistakenly turned uphill, the actual path veers off to the right and stays level.
- Looking up to site of the accident - the rock with my name on it is on the right hand end of the outcrop on the skyline, The slope is steeper than it looks in the photo.
- Looking down to the path just before the accident - it turned out i should have returned to this path.
The sequence of events happened very quickly but are still vivid in my mind. Firstly I was buzzed by a drone that dropped over the edge of the hill and shot down into the coire. Whilst muttering some obscenity I heard a commotion on the A 82 below; vehicles were making a hell of a racket trying to get past a bus stopped on the A82 carriageway, presumably to take photos, this soon cleared and I continued to climb. Close to the top I reached for the edge of a large boulder just as another blast of lorry air horn reached me; I turned around just as I dragged on the boulder, I hadn’t tested it and a lump of it (about the side of a building block) came away, bounced on the heather below and was heading for my foot. Instinctively I tried to bat it away with the back of my hand; I came off worse than the boulder but it thankfully grazed past my leg. I looked horrified as it gathered speed and bounced onto the path and over the edge. I noticed a little blood on my glove, assuming a graze I continued up the last couple of meters of slope and seeing a nice comfortable flat block walked over to sit down.
As I peeled back my now wet glove I realized I had something more than a graze. On the back of my hand was a deep gouge and enough blood flow to make me think I had damaged a vein. Firstly the wound was filthy, bits of glove, heather and soil were all stuck to the back of my hand. I carry two water bottles so I sluiced the wound with water; every time I cleared the blood I saw how deep the wound was. I could still move all my fingers and had feeling in them; the wound was not excessively painful so I then opened a couple of surgical wipes and cleaned my hand and the wounds as best I could. The main problem was the blood flow; a crepe bandage would soak through very quickly and not give enough compression, I hit on the idea of using my largest blister plaster. Drying the sides of the wound with tissue I plonked the plaster over it and then taped it with strong binding medical tape; to top it all off I pulled on a latex glove from the medical kit.
I sat still for a while seeing if my lash up would hold, stay calm, and think about whether to continue the walk or take an escape route. I quickly concluded the latter as I was not convinced I had cleaned out the wound and would probably need stitches (especially if a vein was damaged). Our previous approach had been via the Beinn Fhada ridge and then down into the Larig Eilde; I had never used the ‘regular routes’ onto the hill but knew that the Coire nan Lochan route would have plenty of people on it and was definitely a better option than a down scramble with a hand injury. It was also time for lunch (the accident happened about 1;00pm) so I had a sandwich and plenty of drink – I needed to be in a condition to make the right decisions and moves. I also had time to reflect on how the accident had happened. The bleeding appeared to have abated so I went for a short walk around the flat end of the hill to assess my condition. Of course I spotted the cairn where the path reached the top of the hill, a good 50m from where I had done.
- The 692 point on Gearr Aonach from where I carried out my repairs.
- The 'nose' of Gearr Aonach - there is a small cairn indicating the top of the scramble route.
The walk continued
- The Beinn Fhada ridge, route of our previous approach to BnB. Lumpier than I remember.
- There is an easy to follow path along the top of the ridge
- View South from the 692 point on Gearr Aonach - well worth the climb (but maybe not the aggravation)
- The outcrop marked as 692m on OS maps
- The exit path comes into view - right of bottom centre and going up to the right of the large rounded rock outcrop. I didn't take the left hand branch by the waterfall as i did not expect many people on it.
- Stob coire nan Lochan
- The NE ridge of Stob coire nan Lochan - my intended route to the peaks beyond.
- The peak
- The cliffs above Coire nan lochan
The task was simple – get off the hill and to the hospital with the minimum of risk; get near people in case I needed help and take it easy. I confess I took a few photos on the way. SCnL is a beautiful hill and I would have loved to have ascended the NE ridge but I stuck to the plan. The top of Gearr Aonach in undulating but there is a clear path; the views of SCnL and Stob Coire Sgreahmach are brilliant and fortunately distracting. I eventually got to the Lochan, the water was incredibly clear, and then over to the path that comes off the Aonach Dubh. There were a few walkers around but all but one going uphill – still I felt OK and that I could get down on my own. The first part of the path down was rough and I had expectations of a difficult decent. After the bouldery scree there was some stepped (dry) grass and once across the steam that came down off the waterfall, lots of good steps. The walk out turned out to be slow but safe and really beautiful; that path runs alongside a cascade which was cooling and distracting. My glove had not filled with blood as I expected and I chatted to a few people still on their way up (at 4 in the afternoon?). It was a stunning day and although I had curtailed a great walk, I had survived something that could have been much worse.
- The rough start to the path down Coire nan Lochan; it gets better after 100m or so. the main path right of centre at bottom
- The View North down Coire nan lochan, Am Bodach opposite
- The beautiful cascade down Coire nan Lochan
I made it to the car at 4;11 and drove off to A & E in Fort William.
Whatever complaints people have about the NHS at present, it’s (a) still there and (b) still works. I turned up at A & E, paid for parking and was second in the queue, after half an hour’s wait I was attended by a student and very good nurse practitioner. Wound assessed, cleaned up and dressed. I suggested the student do the steri strips as it was straightforward and I was not too worried about the cosmetic aspects.
- The results of misadventure - A lash up combining blister plaster, surgical tape and latex glove proved effective if not stylish
I consider myself to have been lucky and didn’t resent the loss of what could have been my best day in the Scottish hills. As someone who has worked in construction all my working life I am familiar with the need to analyse why accidents happen and how to prevent reoccurrence. I am normally a cautious scrambler and doubly so when I’m not with Ben, I tend to test every hold before applying weight and try to take the least risky line. In this case, not only did I stray from the well-used route but got distracted from the task in hand; it didn’t help that I was close to the end of the scramble.
I've always carried a first aid kit but this must be the first time in ages I've used it. I cannot recommend it too highly, along with the correct maps, compass, foil blanket, torch, battery backup, whistle. As gld73 demonstrates, you never can predict when you will need them.
This is a really good route and my accident should not deter others, who are suitable experienced and equipped, from using it. I will return to complete the circuit, next time with Ben.
