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Corbetts: Mam na Gualainn
Grahams: Tom Meadhoin
Date: 31/03/2024.
Distance: 18 km.
Ascent: 1175m.
Time taken: 7 hours 10 minutes.
Weather: Mild and sunny.
Easter Sunday and day 3 of our trip home from buying a van in Dumbarton. We also had the car that we'd gone down in to collect the van which was a bit of a hinderance, but we decided to put it to good use today and do a traverse of Beinn na Caillich and Mam na Gualainn. Although I had been up Mam na Gualainn twice before they were both on poor days back in the 1990s when we used to stay in Ballachulish for our summer holidays. It is only in the last decade or so that I have realised the potential as a viewpoint (mostly after seeing some other reports).
Morning view to Sgurr Dearg Having left Jackie's car near Callert House, we nipped into Kinlochleven for ice cream then parked up at the Grey Mare's Tail carpark in the van. We had plenty of company on the first section as we climbed the WHW out of Fort William. Eventually branching off to cross the Allt Nathrach we were on rough ground for a bit. Seems like the original start to this path is pretty obscure, then lower down it has been wiped out by the line of a new hydro scheme. Not far from the bridge a new track descended from slightly further along the WHW - the route usually used is now different to what it used to be.
Ascent on the WHW from Kinlochleven 
Loch Leven and the Pap 
Beinn na Caillich from the WHW 
Back of Sgurr an Iubhair Once over the burn the ascent was steep and a bit sweaty on what felt like one of the first warm days of the year. The path was great, zigzagging around to find the best route up the inital nose. There's a slightly funny section where it becomes obscure for a moment, and we ended up contouring around a hillside, but after finding it again it rose all the way up to the summit. This is clear on the new 1:25,000 maps but much beyond what my old 1:50,000 map shows. What a fantastic way up a hill
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Aonach Eagach across Loch Leven 
Kinlochleven 
Approaching Beinn na Caillich 
Blackwater Reservoir and Kinlochleven 
Stob Ban and Sgurr a Mhaim 
Sgurr a Mhaim and Am Bodach 
Stob Ban and a sliver of Ben Nevis 
Blackwater Reservoir with faint outline of Shiehallion in the background 
Garbh Bheinn and Loch Leven 
Pap of Glencoe and Loch Leven 
Beinn a Bheithir 
Stob Ban from Beinn na Caillich We had a short break before following the ridge west. What a great ridge it is. We had tried to descend this way once when I was younger and missed the ridgeline in the cloud, instead descending the NE ridge of Mam na Gualainn.
Back to Beinn na Caillich 
Beinn na Caillich and Garbh Bheinn I'd call the ascent to Mam na Gualainn positively easy, although Beinn na Caillich is definitely the best summit. However Mam na Gualainn did open some more westerly views up.
Eastern Mamores from Mam na Gualainn 
Loch Leven from Mam na Gualainn 
Jackie approaching the summit of Mam na Gualainn 
Aonach Eagach across Loch Leven 
Loch Linnhe and Garbh Bheinn (the Ardgour one) 
Beinn a Bheithir from Mam na Gualainn 
Down the Allt na Lairige Moire 
Meall a Chaorainn 
Aonach Eagach and Bidein from Mam na Gualainn We descended to the top of the Callert to Lairigmor pass and decided that since it was such a great day we would carry on to Tom Meadhoin as well. There was less of a path here but after a vague start there was something to follow the whole way. Bizarrely it was marked by plastic black and white posts of the type that show the edge of the road, with red reflectors at the top. There were probably only 4 or 5 of these but they were spaced so that the next one was always visible.
Beinn a Bheithir from Tom Meadhoin 
Glencoe More great views across to Ballachulish from here. Rather than try and be clever we descended most of the way back to to the pass by the same route before cutting a small corner.
Mam na Gualainn from Tom Meadhoin 
Pap of Glencoe from Tom Meadhoin 
Beinn a Bheithir 
Pap of Glencoe 
Garbh Bheinn and the Pap The path back down to Callert House was fairly boggy (much as remembered) but passed through some lovely open woodland lower down. Finishing up on the shore of Loch Leven we had a few minutes along the road to Jackie's car. This walk was a highlight of the year so far despite some strong competition.
Looking back up Mam na Gualainn 
Pap from Loch Leven