Mission Mull Day 3: My Fiftieth (Munro, that is)

[The English Alpinist]

Looking back down the final ridge to Ben More, A' Chioch opposite.

This walk was preceded by 'Mission Mull Day 2: Almost Three Corbetts'
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=120393

This was inevitably the toughest of my three Mull walks, taking in four official peaks, including the prime objective of Mull's only Munro, Ben More, and my fiftieth in all. The mileage of about 14 was not so huge, but the land in Mull's wilds is extremely rough and mostly pathless - rocky in the upper reaches with coarse, lumpy and boggy grasses elsewhere, and this coupled with the need to descend and re-ascend rather a lot made for an endurance test. The actual mountain dangers were fairly small, unless getting lost, with the celebrated A' Chioch and Ben More's north-east ridge being the section that bordered on climbing and needs care and fitness, and would have felt to be a very different proposition in foul weather or winter. The compass would not have told the truth up there! (magnetic anomalies in the rocks), potentially a major problem in finding the way off the mountain safely.

Taking in three Fionas with Ben More; took 11 hours.

On Beinn a Mheadoin; Corra-bheinn ahead was not as severe as it looks.

Upper slopes of Corra-bheinn, no great peril.

On Corra-bheinn, looking back to Meadhoin & Cruach Choireadail (poking up behind it).

The twin summits of Corra-bheinn are negotiated (a squall came and went).

Cruachan Dearg (2nd and very slightly lesser summit of Corra-bheinn at 704m).

Down to the pass at Creag Mhic Fhionnlaidh, then the grand climax, Beinn Fhada (far right) & Ben More.

The first mountain, Cruach Choireadail, was the smallest, only just qualifying as a Fiona at 2,028 feet (618m), but was the most unpleasant to ascend. Absolutely no path up it, just raw moorland full of rivulets, rocks and channels. Hard work, but the going got better on the high ground, needing nothing worse than light scrambling over a few craggy bits and scree.The succession of early peaks - Cruach Choireadail, Beinn a' Mheadhoin, Corra-bheinn and Cruachan Dearg - were negotiated in decent time. Corra-bheinn was the second official one, being a Fiona at 2,313 feet (705m), but all the others had to be covered anyway to forge a route through to Ben More from this direction. Still, it was 5 hours by the time I reached the pass of Creag Mhic Fhionnlaidh (332m) below Ben More. The climactic section would entail another 4 hours of hard work up a long, steady spine to the col below it, whereupon I would need to steel myself to trudge up and down A' Chioch (subsidiary top of Ben More) and thence up and down Beinn Fhada (last Fiona) - and back again to finish triumphantly on Ben More itself.

A' Chioch and Ben More loom closer.

The ridge to Ben More looks a bit forbidding to me, but it's easy enough they say.

No way across, so I ascend directly to the right to get A' Chioch done, which was ok.

On A' Chioch, with Ben More obviously there, but not yet for me; got to go to Beinn Fhada first.

I felt okay at the pass, but the final grand climax phase proved to be not easy, but there was no great crisis. Firstly, a bit of lax map-reading had me scrambling to the col between A' Chioch and Ben More too high up, and it becoming obvious it would be impassable (or at least too dangerous to try). I had to improvise a direct ascent up the flank of A' Chioch, which was rocky and steep but thankfully not too steep. From its top, I had sight of Beinn Fhada in the distance - the 'wrong way' as it were - and here my stomach did sink at the prospect of this out-and-back work. Was it just a matter of effort, or was there actual danger in this? Those ridges do look a bit more dangerous than they actually are. Fatigue (and solo walking) can make it hard to tell, and fatigue of course can be a danger in itself with decision-making or at the very extreme getting incapacitated through sheer weakness. But I judged I was fine, and got on with it, not wanting to miss out now on a perfect 'mini compleation'.

On Beinn Fhada 45 mins later. 2,303 feet (702m).

Back in the bealach, glad there was plenty to drink.

Very very useful, I will not be without these in future.

I definitely still had time (for the ferry booked at the end of the day (but was willing to miss it if needbe!), and I reckoned I had energy. Water had been plentiful all day (one of the beauties of Scotland), and I'd been very self-disciplined in living out of the streams and lochans, constantly filling up my bottle and trying to drink more than I think I needed. In the mountains, you can't just drop out and retire by the roadside, as I did once or twice in my running heyday! After a 10k earlier this year, there were these two Isogels as a finish-line freebie. I'd never ever tried them (always swearing by simple lovely water), and they were living in my fridge doing nothing, so I thought I'd take them along for this trip. Back at the bealach beneath A' Choich, I really did feel a tad weak and anxious, my legs wobbling a bit coming down from Beinn Fhada. I gobbled the Isogels, and the effect was tangible. It goes to show, you do need a bit more than water when pushing the limits, especially over a large number of hours. Clearly, I was low on salts and minerals. So, I did it, and even met a young couple at the summit with whom I could share my celebratory '50th' - a sip of sherry. I'd also met a family of four lower on the ridge - these were the only people I'd met out there in the mountains over the entire 3 days.

Atop Ben More, all the day's previous peaks nicely in view except Beinn Fhada (left, out of shot).

3,169 feet (966m). Number 50! My fatigue-induced anxiety apparent, but the descent was to be fine.

That's the Allt Teanga Brideig, allegedly a path, but who's complaining now! It is accomplished.

Reflections: this 'mini-compleation' is very satisfying, knowing that realistically I may never get to the actual compleation of the Munros (I think it's 50/50 given logistics, age and motivation), let alone the rest. Thus, this will always be a stand-out memory, with Mull itself being a place of ruggedness, but also peace and cultural fascination, even with what little I saw of it (relatively). Will I ever see Mull again? (I've visited twice before). Maybe not. This saddens me, but that's a feeling I've had from many other places as a consequence of such roving over the expanse of Scotland in pursuit of its mountains; I'll only ever see most places once, so many mountains there are. The alternative is to quit the ambition, but a success such as this staves off that decision for a while longer! As always, lessons are learned or reinforced, making me a better mountaineer all the time (hence more likely to return from them). Particularly, 1) study the contours very carefully and respect them 2) drink, as much as possible 3) those Isogel bars really do have value 4) allow extra time for rough, pathless terrain. To sum it up, sitting on the ferry on the return journey, as if the sunset spoke, there are few better feelings in life. It was tough, but it was well worth it.

Timed to perfection, and never in doubt!

The sunset spake.

The best pizza in the world: Marmaris Kebab House, Oban.

[rockhopper]

Well done on your "mini-compleation" Was reading this and your Day 2 report and thinking that mixing up the lists is somewhat more interesting than going over for the Munro then the Corbett then the Fionas/Grahams . Have yet to get back for the Fionas/Grahams and found your report helpful - cheers

[R1ggered]

A well deserved pizza,great effort and report