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At last I'm in the mood to post something again. I know, I was silent for such a long time that most of Walkhighlanders have probably forgotten that once upon a time there was a crazy Polish girl on the forum, writing all sorts of mountain nonsense stories, from multi Munro trips to plane crash sites...
Well, I lost my mojo for writing, I admit, but never lost my hunger for hill adventures. I've been out and about all the time, mostly discovering new routes up local mountains, visiting crash sites and other interesting spots in the beautiful Scottish landscape... Nothing could stop me from adding more and more adventures to my book of memories, wish I had the mental strength to sit down and write about it all... But the time has come now to unleash the wild cat again. Time for my WH KONTERNASTUP (=counteroffensive)!
As wise military generals say, every counteroffensive begins with a successful reconnaissance. So this report is my first attempt to regain my ability to write in English. Recently, I have submerged myself in eastern European languages, refreshing my ability to write and read the cyryllic alphabet, so now writing in English again feels a bit... weird. Apologies if I sound a bit rough around the edges. I'll do my best to deliver an interesting story.
I don't think the route I'm going to describe needs many words to advertise it, In my opinion, the photos will do it well enough. Last weekend, with weather simply stunning all over Scotland, Kevin suggested climbing one of the long pending big multi-Corbett routes in the south-west. We were torn between the Beinn Mhic Cedidh & Beinn Odhar Bheag circuit and the Rois Bheinn round, opted for the former as it was slightly shorter.
But if I expected easy going on these two Corbetts, I was so wrong! The Odhar Siblings as I call them, are tough old cookies. Rough terrain from the very start, lots of steep slopes, no paths and on a dry day, no streams to refill your water bottles once on the ridge. These hills can be a journey to hell if done in less friendly weather, but we were so lucky to do them on a superb, sunny day... Still, it was a brutal, exhausting day. Well, no one said that the konternastup would be easy...
We followed the WH route most of the way, taking a shortcut on the way down to avoid walking back along the road:
Starting from the layby at NM856813, we climbed over the padlocked gate and carefully crossed the railway. I heard stories about this route being notoriously wet and squelchy, but the weather has been so dry recently that we hardly noticed any bog... A faint path could be followed along a small stream, up the grassy slopes:
The morning was roasting already and me with my UV allergy, I had to stop and reapply the sticky sunscreen all the time. Generally, I avoid walking in shorts unless it is absolutely necessary, to escape from rubbing the horrible stuff in my legs as well. Recently I switched from walking trousers to tighter leggins. They may make me look two sizes fatter than I am but who cares about such detail in the middle of f***ing nowhere
We reached the first col, a small watershed, from here we would turn south and climb directly up the steepening slopes of Beinn Odhar Mhor. The more distant summit behind me is the lower of the two Corbetts, Beinn Mhic Cedidh.
The morning haar with Eig and Rum in the background:
The way up, not exactly difficult. All rock can be avoided (we didn't, of course
):
We didn't hurry up exactly, knowing that in this heat we had to be reasonable with pace. We carried 3l of water each but on this roasting pan we would need every drop we could spare.
At about 600m we spotted a nice rocky ridge and couldn't resist going up the rocks rather than up the grass. A few easy pockets of scrambling, so enjoyable!
More rocks for having fun if you only wish...
Posing with the rocky ridge below me and more distant views of South Morar and Glenfinnian hills:
Beinn Odhar Bheag from about 50m below the top of Beinn Odhar Mhor. Funny, the Bheag is actually higher than the Mhor, but contouring around the lower top would be rather difficult...
...so we decided to follow the rock-studded slope right to the first summit. Beinn Odhar Mhor is a super-duper viewpoint and it should under no circumstances be skipped!
Kevin striking the Titanic pose
Yuppieee! The first stage of KONTERNASTUP successful! We defeated the initial steep climb to the main ridge. Now ten minutes break for a sandwich and a traditional meowing selfie. I'm still here, still wearing my
strichka, still believing in victory!
There used to be a trig point here, but not much left of it, not even good for sitting...
The views are simply stunning. One of the least frequented corners of the Highlands but one of the most beautiful at the same time.
The Bheag and the Rios-Bhein group in a panoramic snap:
beinn odhar bheag 110 by
Kevin Dalziel, on Flickr
View north towards Glenfinnian:
The Hogwart train is coming!
But there was no reason to be hurrah-optimistic just yet as the KONTERNASTUP was only beginning and we haven't even reached our first listed summit. It was time to push forward!
Beinn Odhar Bheag from the connecting ridge. What an absolute beauty of a mountain!
beinn odhar bheag 110 by
Kevin Dalziel, on Flickr
It's only about 100m of ascent to the summit of the first Corbett, but the route is dotted with additional attractions such as slabs...
...more slabs...
... vertical cliffs with great views down to Loch Shiel...
...and rocks perfect for scrambling fun!
Of course, despite the overwhelming heat, I simply couldn't stop myself from exploring the rocks
Panoramic view from half way up the final ascent, looking back to Beinn Odhar Mhor and Loch Shiel:
beinn odhar bheag 152 by
Kevin Dalziel, on Flickr
Kevin chasing me to the summit:
Lucy on her 150th Corbett! She's catching up with us!
We took a longer break on the summit, indulging in half cooked cheese sandwiches and magnificent views...
Loch Shiel:
beinn odhar bheag 198 by
Kevin Dalziel, on Flickr
View south, the S part of Loch Shiel and Roi-Bhein group:
beinn odhar bheag 199 by
Kevin Dalziel, on Flickr
Back to Beinn Odhar Mhor:
beinn odhar bheag 200 by
Kevin Dalziel, on Flickr
The drop between the two Corbetts is significant, over 300m and the reascent to the second top is... well, brutal to say the least, but my KONTERNASTUP was going so well that no fortification sin the world were going to stop me. Beware, Beinn Mhic Cedidh, here comes the meowing one!
The BRUTAL barrier between me and the victory:
beinn odhar bheag 217 by
Kevin Dalziel, on Flickr
Despite the roasting heat, birds were out and about, including this ptarmigan:
Charging up the brutal reascent:
Kevin tired but happy. He was desperate for some new Corbetts
Our second listed summit today and overall, our 179th Corbett. We are officially at 80%.
Panoramic view of Beinn Odhar Mhor nad Bheag:
beinn odhar bheag 228 by
Kevin Dalziel, on Flickr
The Rios Bheinn ridge, our last unclimbed Corbetts in Ardgour. And we are getting ready...
beinn odhar bheag 258 by
Kevin Dalziel, on Flickr
It was time for another break and more now fully cooked cheese sandwiches plus half-melted Double Decker bars
Lucy on her 151st Corbett:
Having now finally delivered a successful KONTERNASTUP, we took some time on the summit to rest and relax with the views in sight, before setting off to descend the N ridge of Beinn Mhic Cedidh:
Kevin was moaning since the early morning that he didn't fancy returning along the busy main road and he was looking for an alternative line, just to return to the original path up the lower slopes of Beinn Odhar Mhor. We decided to drop into upper Coire Buidhe and cross the Allt which had hardly any water in it. Kevin noticed an ATV track on the other side of the glen and he hoped it might be of use.
The descent from the ridge was steep but very grassy and on a dry day presented no problem whatsoever.
Allt a' Choire Bhuidhe down in the glen, may be a problem in spate but not after days of scorching heat:
The bottom of the glen was dotted with flowering orchids:
We picked the ATV track just above the river on the other side of the glen, but left it quickly to gain about 100m of height:
The easiest way back to the initial path is to follow the ATV track to a small bridge crossing a stream (unnamed on OS maps) and then walking up the grassy slopes to the top of the col, where the path can be picked. We took a slightly harder route, involving some contouring around to avoid a small waterfall:
The falls were just a drip now but in spring this could be a pretty spectacular view:
Once on the col, we walked past some impressive rocky cliffs:
Back on the original path, descending to the railway crossing and the layby:
Ahh what a day. Two Corbetts that could be a journey to hell if done in bad conditions, but such a joy to explore in good weather. I was so happy with my successful counteroffensive that I was still grinning like a Cheshire cat when we arrived home
