Some Unfinished Business at Drumochter

[scribe64]

So, last May Francis and I came up to Drumochter with our eyes on the four munros to the west of the A9. In the end we settled for just the more northerly pair - Geal-charn and A'Mharconaich - but this left the southern two as a bit of niggly unfinished business which then bugged me for over a year. Keen to finally resolve this situation, I returned alone in July to tidy things up.

Into Coire Dhomhain. Sgairneach Mhor ahead.

There were already a few cars at layby 79 when I parked up but I couldn't see anyone ahead on the track or the hill so guessed that the occupants had probably headed down the road to Balsporran to loop back anti-clockwise across all four summits. I took the clockwise route, ducked beneath the railway and picked up the track heading into Coire Dhomhain.

The bridge.

By the time I was nearing the bridge, the track offered a good view of the craggy NE face of the first munro, Sgairneach Mhor. Soon after crossing the bridge, I left the track for a path heading SSW toward the upper slopes. This path soon became a bit of a boggy mess and there was a frustrating amount of slipping and squelching. I wonder now whether it might've been better to head more directly upwards towards the 758m point to avoid the worst of this before cutting across onto the shoulder of the munro.

Muddy crossroads at the bealach. Looking back ENE.

As it was, I trudged onwards, dipping into the gully and crossing the burn at 700m before reaching the bealach and some firmer ground. The route from here is much more fun! Steadily progressing up the shoulder onto the ridge and then the summit plateau. Coire Creagach drops away impressively to the right but the views start to open up in other directions too.

Coming onto the ridge.

Looking back NE. The A9 snaking North.

Looking back ESE. The A9 winding South.

A gully in Coire Creagach.

The summit cairn/trig point was easily reached and - being of that underwhelming 'pile of rocks in a wide flat field' character - just as easily left behind!

Sgairneach Mhor summit. Schiehallion on the horizon.

The next stint involved some easy and enjoyable walking SW across the grassy summit plateau. So easy and enjoyable that I overshot the point where I should've hooked NW 'towards a bump' before cutting down to the bealach.

Crossing the summit plateau.

I ended up much further along the SW shoulder toward Mam Ban before I realised my mistake and turned abruptly to cut diagonally down the slope towards the 809m point. I hoped I might pick up a path but didn't have any luck until I was close to the boggier section at the bealach itself.

This descent was also the point where I began to pass some of the anti-clockwise walkers who had presumably already ticked off three summits to my one!

I picked my away across the burn and scrambled up the slope onto the south ridge of Beinn Udlamain.

Heading across to the shoulder of Beinn Udlamain.

The wide rocky ridge made for good walking and a gentle ascent following the remains of a fence line. Regaining some height meant the views improved again too with the first glimpse of Loch Ericht to the west.

Looking south from the shoulder.

Loch Ericht finally makes an appearance.

The summit cairn at Beinn Udlamain shared much the same character as the preceding one - with the notable addition of some abstract metal sculpture! Obviously a useful shelter in windier conditions, it wasn't needed today so instead I headed over to the western edge of the plateau where I could enjoy a proper view of Loch Ericht with my soup and sandwiches.

Beinn Udlamain summit - complete with abstract metal sculpture.

After a drawn out lunch I reluctantly set off on the descent route NE down the gentle grassy slopes towards another cairn.

Heading NE across the plateau.

I was pleased to discover the cairn incorporated more sculpture work - though rather more minimalist in style.

More sculpture.

Veering eastwards I headed down the steeper slope toward the 902m point - enjoying the views across to Geal-charn and A'Mharconaich (which were much clearer than when Francis and I did them last year.)

Geal-Charn and A'Mharconaich.

I carried on down toward the bealach at 861m as far as the final metal sculpture for the day. I took this as my cue to turn eastwards and try and find a way back down into Coire Dhomhain.

Final sculpture. Coire Creagach looking fine in the background.

There was no path to be seen so I just opted to head straight down. I think I was just slightly to the north of the WH route and it was a lot of heather bashing, pockets of squelch and the obligatory, undignified slip onto my butt. Thankfully there seemed to be no-one within miles to witness the spectacle.

The way down.

Near the bottom the trace of a path finally emerged to take me down the last bit and back onto the track.

A semblance of a path.

All that remained then was the trek back to the car along the estate road. This felt much longer than it looks on the map - but that was maybe just because my tired old knees didn't enjoy the rough surface!

The long and winding road back to the car.

[Chris Henshall]

A well told account of a good day out on what are, perhaps, some of Scotland's less inspiring hills.
I do, though, find that the noticeboard evident in your first photograph winds me up. Although burning and grazing stops the views from being obscured by trees below around 500 metres, heather moorland is pretty much a managed ecological desert compared with the natural ecosystems which could thrive in these areas. The claims on the board (sponsored by, among others, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Scottish Countryside Alliance Educational Trust and Scottish Land and Estates) are, therefore, almost entirely fallacious and misleading. The statement that these areas "play an important part in mitigating climate change" is laughable while the reference to "professionally trained hill keepers" just means game keepers; I bet that you didn't see either a fox or a golden eagle (or any other raptor) on your round? Your photo three from the end shows the degraded nature of the environment very clearly with a patchwork of burnt rectangles separated by closely cropped grass all over the hillsides.
Still, a day spent getting to the top of any hills is better than the alternative!

[scribe64]

A well told account of a good day out on what are, perhaps, some of Scotland's less inspiring hills.
I do, though, find that the noticeboard evident in your first photograph winds me up. Although burning and grazing stops the views from being obscured by trees below around 500 metres, heather moorland is pretty much a managed ecological desert compared with the natural ecosystems which could thrive in these areas. The claims on the board (sponsored by, among others, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Scottish Countryside Alliance Educational Trust and Scottish Land and Estates) are, therefore, almost entirely fallacious and misleading. The statement that these areas "play an important part in mitigating climate change" is laughable while the reference to "professionally trained hill keepers" just means game keepers; I bet that you didn't see either a fox or a golden eagle (or any other raptor) on your round? Your photo three from the end shows the degraded nature of the environment very clearly with a patchwork of burnt rectangles separated by closely cropped grass all over the hillsides.
Still, a day spent getting to the top of any hills is better than the alternative!

Thanks for the comment, Chris. Very interesting. Sorry if the photo wound you up! I confess I've never given those 'Welcome' boards more than a cursory glance - but I did notice the patchwork landscape you describe on the descent. And, no, no sign of foxes or raptors on the way round. I hope the more time I spend in the hills the more attuned - and informed - I'll become to the kind of land management issues you point out.

[Chris Henshall]

Sorry to have had a bit of a rant, Scribe64; it is something of a hobby horse of mine!
When you see the superb work that has been going on for some years now in places like the Affric, Feshie and Mar estates, it really demonstrates the extent to which the upland landscape elsewhere is degraded by using it intensively for killing deer and grouse, for grazing sheep, for hydro-electricity and, in some more confined areas, for skiing.
Much of the Highland landscape is stunning but it could be more so and most of the sponsors of these noticeboards are part of the reason why it isn't.