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I'll never feel proud of
choosing not to climb a hill. I just won't. But unlike several other blunders that were purely down to my own stupidity, this decision had sensible reasoning behind it, so I'm letting it slide.
Due to the combination of the weather, the (lack of) company, and the petrol in the tank, I went for the Mamores, wanting to start from the E and go as far as I could. On such a beautiful Sunday, seeing Glen Coe packed with people was no surprise. And Kinlochleven wasn't far behind, but I managed to slip into the last available space in the car park, maybe because my car was on the smaller side.

- Of course, it was Kinlochleven, so the paths were clear and well-maintained. I had to consult the walk descriptions a few times to make sure I didn't go down the wrong path at first
- But soon after, there was only one path to follow and views back down opened up
- While the way ahead was just as clear, even beyond the track
I can't say a bad word about the path around Sgor Eilde Beag. Crossing burns was no issue, and the 'tumbledown cairn' marking a sharp left turn was obvious as well. Estimating my altitude roughly against Meall na Duibhe and Glas Bheinn on the other side of Loch Eilde Mor, time passed by quickly, and I reached the col between the two Eildes. There, I took a shortcut between the small lochans, heading for the S bank of the largest one. I was following a faint path, but kept losing it. The target was unmistakable in front of me, though.
- In wetter weather, it would probably be most advisable to stick to the marked path following the largest lochan more closely. But with how dry it had been the past few weeks, any threats of bog were easily avoided
- Binnein Mor prominent when looking back from the other side of the lochan
Next to the lochan, I found the path from the map, which I then followed up the S flank of Sgurr Eilde Mor for a while - or at least until I realised I should think about turning left and heading uphill. Once I did that, there were still times when I thought I was following some kind of path, but mostly, it was just about finding the best way up through the terrain ahead.
- The terrain itself offered some patches of scree or scrambling-requiring places
It was a really fun climb. Up there, it wasn't even that hot, and I couldn't believe I got there in less than 2 hours from Kinlochleven; Naismith gave me 3.
- Some views S from Sgurr Eilde Mor
- As well as N. With all the red rocks around, Sgurr Eilde Mor felt more 'Dearg' than most hills carrying that name
Then, it was time to descend. I stuck to the ridge for a while, spotting a gully on my right, but thinking it was far too eroded to be the path. Except maybe half a minute later, I came to the realisation that remaining on the ridge for any further would get me into steeper, more technically challenging areas, and the path I thought I was following - well, there was none of it ahead of me. Looking down to my right, I also saw two people going up the 'too eroded to be a path' gully. Turns out that was the path after all!
Instead of climbing back up, I went to reach the path diagonally from my current position. Compared to the path itself... maybe my route was a bit steeper, but it also had larger rocks. Not that they were all stable, I still had to use all my limbs during the descent, but I find that preferable to gravel so loose I sink into it. When the ground got less steep, though, I appreciated having the path to follow.
- So I was back down... except I wasn't yet, because there was quite the dip between me and Binnein Beag
And as I was crossing Allt Coire a'Binnein, I felt I'd descended painfully low. The path was alright, though it got boggy in places N of the burn. But what was worse, I was starting to feel like I'd perhaps gone overboard on Sgurr Eilde Mor and used up too much energy. Not a good feeling after climbing just 1 Munro out of what I hoped would be 7.
- Number 2, let's go!
There was a path up Binnein Beag, but once again, I kept losing it in patches of scree. This might've been largely psychological, but the climb just felt
long. Indeed, instead of being an hour ahead of Naismith, the advantage had shrunk to 40 minutes - though I'm certain the difference was due to earlier points, not the final climb itself.
- Binnein Mor: How do I climb it? The grassy bits on the right looked to be the most agreeable
- The Grey Corries. That name fits perfectly
The path I'd taken to the lochan under Binnein Beag was, according to the map, meant to continue around the Munro and N of it. I wanted to descend the W side of the hill, turn left on the path, and follow it until the bend under the Achlais a'Bhinnein Mhoir corrie. But looking around from the summit, I couldn't find the path. The drop to the W also looked a bit scary initially, but when I came closer, I got to see the slope, and it didn't look that bad. Doable, I pronounced.
Except, similarly to Sgurr Eilde Mor, this hillside also had an eroded-looking gully, and it didn't take long to
sink in that the path/gully was unwalkable. But I still held onto the hope that following it would lead me to the mapped path, so I descended, looking for the grassiest pieces of slope next to it.
- The slope looks much simpler from below. In the end, though, I didn't find the path
Perhaps I would've known which faint line it was had I come from the other side, where it was visible enough around the lochan. No matter, though; I just crossed some pathless terrain - once again, potentially boggy, but not at the moment - until ascent started again under Binnein Mor.
- This hillside didn't look that bad from below, either
While I was going to head right eventually, passing around the lochans from the left side seemed easier. I didn't hang around the lochans for too long as the atmosphere around them was
abuzz, but promptly went up the grassy bit, then diagonally across the scree, and up the grass again. The last bit was pretty steep and had me grasping onto tussocks occasionally, but it was manageable. Once the shoulder was reached, momentary respite was found.
- Looking back at the three lochans from the shoulder; the eroded line on Binnein Beag is quite noticeable
- While the rest of the way to Binnein Mor didn't pose any difficulties
At some point, a path even appeared. Perhaps 20 minutes later, I could sit down on the summit of the Munro and enjoy a welcome sandwich. Surprisingly, in comparison to Binnein Beag, I didn't feel any worse or more tired on Binnein Mor. It had to be all just in my head, I thought, still believing I was in for the 7+4 round.
- The ridge immediately ahead looked gentle enough
- While An Gearanach and co. were still too far to tell
- Having started on the larger of the Eildes and followed it by both Binneins, it was time to go for the smaller one: Sgor Eilde Beag
On the way there, I followed the path over the S Top, then down to a lower col, and to the second Top - but the actual reascent required to bag either Top was negligible.
- That wouldn't be the case if I returned back to the S Top, though. I might've been in higher spirits than back on Binnein Beag, but that still felt like unnecessary spending of energy
- So I went directly across the grassy slope to the col between the S Top and Na Gruagaichean. Though I was trying to avoid patches of scree towards the end, that turned out to be easier than it seemed from a distance
From the col, I could follow a path again, and getting to the summit of the day's 4th Munro only took a few minutes and little effort. Granted, the path itself was lost once again in the rocky mess also known as the main summit of Na Gruagaichean.
- But at the same time, the summit had wonderful views down Loch Leven
- Or towards Ben Nevis, with the path prominent along the NW Top of Na Gruagaichean
Below the summit, the path rematerialised itself. The descent was not that simple, though; just above the col, there was a steep bit covered in fine, loose dirt that needed a hand to get through. Beyond the col, the path was good again, and I could tick off another Top.
- Binnein Mor from the W
As I descended down into the col, though, I was thinking. I'd marked that col as one of the places where I could leave the ridge if I couldn't go on; it was meant to have a path heading down to Kinlochleven, and I could see that path in the grass below.
- Whilst looking ahead, I couldn't find the path meant to serve as a shortcut to An Garbhanach, bypassing Stob Coire a'Chairn (which I only wanted to tackle on the way back from An Gearanach)
- And Am Bodach just looked threatening; I'd planned to only leave the ridge on its other side, but...
It was past 6 pm already. This might seem silly, but for dinner, I was depending on the Kinlochleven Co-op. On Naismith pace, I could perhaps just about make it before closing time, but I didn't think I'd be able to. I might've been still some 30 minutes faster than Naismith at that point, but the final descent was always the slowest.
Moreso, even if I'd caught the Co-op still open, assuming I'd've run the last part, would I have been okay driving back home? And even if so, it was a Sunday, so how did I expect to function normally on Monday?
- It couldn't be helped. 'No more, at least not today.' I had to give up, turn left, and head down the glen
The initial zig-zag below the col was quite boggy. The path then improved (except for going uphill in parts?!) until it returned back to the burns, where it got boggier and fainter again. I must've got confused in one of those places, as I crossed the burn there and back and kept following its bank; according to the map, the path was meant to stay quite some distance above it. Which was resolved when I came across a junction - with a much better and clearer path than the one I was on, coming from the left.
Down to the sheep pens, left on the track, then right on a path... Well. That path. In some places, it deserved that name, in others, it was just unwalkable if I didn't want to wade through it. No matter that it had been really dry for the past month or so. Maybe the path then improved a little bit below the 4-way junction, but still, I scared away two ducks swimming
in it, that should say enough.
- At the very end, after bending right, the path then improved in terms of dryness, though once the woods were reached, it also had places where it was steep and eroding
In the end, I reached Kinlochleven at around 8 pm, right on time according to Naismith, so I promptly and aptly got a breakfast sandwich from the Co-op. And as I was chewing through it in the car (the only one left in the car park now), getting ready to drive back, I solidified that I was more than okay with calling it quits after the 4 Munros. I could do the next 3 as planned in the future, and leave the last 3 Mamores for another walk - or I could do the whole Ring of Steall and have Stob Ban and Mullach nan Coirean as a shorter separate walk. Options exist, so as far as I get back fine afterwards, it doesn't matter which way I end up walking over the Mamores.
