Mountains from Dalwhinnie, April 2023

[Christopher Pulman]

The mountains on either side of the Drumochter Pass are often described as being a bit boring -- featureless, heathery lumps, not true mountains. That ought to be true -- they are heathery lumps; they are a bit featureless; they are close to the road. But for some reason, I love them. They seem so bare, and bleak, and cold. Driving over the Drumochter Pass is always the highlight of the journey north.

Anyway, this walk report is long overdue and does not describe any particularly adventurous routes. I spent a long weekend at the excellent Dalwhinnie Old School Hostel at the end of March / beginning of April 2023, at the start of my walking year. There had been some significant snow in mid March. Temperatures had risen later in the month. But the weather forecast showed heavy cloud and a bit of a rain. Chances of cloud-free Munros: 30% dropping to nil for several days. As it turned out and as you'll see below, the MWIS was wrong. I got some stunning views, with the cloud sitting around 4,000 feet.

Thursday 30 March 2023: Càrn na Caim and A'Bhuidheanach Bheag

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Driving up from the borders to Dalwhinnie, I stopped off a little short of the Dalwhinnie turn-off in early afternoon, and popped up Càrn na Caim and A'Bhuidheanach Bheag. Nothing special to report -- I followed the standard Walkhighlands route -- and tackled the further peak (Càrn na Caim) first. The weather was a little better than forecast and there wasn't much snow. In these conditions, it was a quick walk, but might be difficult in mist or snow once on the plateau. The views weren't spectacular, but I was just happy to be back in the hills after the winter.

Better weather than expected on the southern Drumochter four.

Cloud on a distant Ben Alder. The plateau means the views lack a bit of depth.

A little snow, but not much.

Rainbow!

Friday 31 March 2023: the Fara, Dirc Mhòr and Dirc Bheag ravines, and Meall nan Eagan

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Ok, I said that none of my routes were adventurous. Part of this route was a bit adventurous, and tougher than it looked.

This was a day of two halves. I followed the northern route up the Fara (described by WalikingWithKids here https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=117140). There's a landrover track that extends further than the OS map suggests, and ends with a turning circle close to the 700-meter mark on the north ridge. From there, it is a matter of picking a deer track up the moderate slope, which soon gets shallower and a path develops to the summit. It is certainly preferable to slogging up the flank of the mountain from Loch Ericht. So far, a straightforward walk. And the views from the summit towards snowy Ben Alder, with dark looming clouds that never actually rained, were superb.

On the estate track.

The view over Strath Mashie to the Monadliath.

Snowy Ben Alder comes into view

The Fara's plateau-like ridge.

From this point, my route became a bit less usual. There is a line of fence posts that leads north-west from the summit, down an easy slope. The slope steepens a bit towards the ravine of Dirc Mhòr, at which point I veered a little to the left (south-west) to avoid the walls of the ravine. Nonetheless, some careful route-finding was needed down the final section, before climbing steeply up the flank of Creag Nan Adhaircean.

Following the fence posts

Still excellent views to the south

Some difficult terrain down into Dirc Mhòr

Dirc Mhòr

To get from the ridge of Creag Nan Adhaircean to the Graham, Meall nan Eagan, I could see two options. One was to walk round the south of Lochan na Doire-uaine and then over the heather to the 499-meter bealach before Meall nan Eagan. The other option was to descend into Dirc Bheag, walk through the ravine, and traverse around to the 499-meter bealach. I took the second option, which was probably a mistake. The ground alongside the lochan in the ravine and over the pass is hard going.

Lochan na Doire-uaine and Dirc Bheag

Tough terrain in Dirc Bheag

From the 499-meter bealach, it should have been an easy climb up Meall nan Eagan. But I made very heavy going of it, showing a definite lack of fitness after the winter. Eventually, I made it to the summit, which is well worth a visit. It has wonderful views over Dirc Mhòr and Dirc Bheag.

Dirc Mhòr and Dirc Bheag

The descent back to the estate tracks was initially pathless, but a path developed in the valley, leading to the estate tracks, where I picked up the car to return to the excellent Old School Hostel.

Saturday 1 April: the south Drumochter Munros and the Sow of Atholl

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Day 3, and after the "easier" day of the Fara, it was time to tick off the rest of the Drumochter Munros I hadn't yet climbed. Walkhighlands splits the southern four Munros into two walks and notes they can easily be linked into a round of four. That's true; I wasn't particularly fit, but the round of four is easily manageable: not too steep, not too long, and with good tracks. Adding the Sow of Atholl makes the walk a bit more of a challenge, but there is an unmarked path that links the descent from Sgàirneach Mhòr to the deep gully which separates the ridge from the Sow. Climbing the Sow itself involves picking one of many faint paths, but it is not too strenuous. However, the descent down the flanks to Coire Dhomhain is very steep, although there is an unmarked ATV track lower down that leads to an unmarked, new bridge over the river.

Aside from ticking off four further Munros and providing surprisingly beautiful views of Loch Ericht, this walk was significant for another reason. Beinn Udlamain was my hundredth Munro. I've since passed 141, but the big 200 is still a long way off, even more so as I keep getting distracted by interesting Corbetts, Grahams or sub-2000s.

Superb views from Geal-chàrn. Torridon and Fisherfield are probably my favourite area of Scotland, but Loch Ericht is a strong contender.

Wider shot

Munro 100

Layers of hills

Loch Ericht below

Snow on Sgàirneach Mhòr

Following the path towards the Sow of Atholl

The unmarked bridge and track below the Sow of Atholl

Sunday 2 April: Mullach Clach a' Bhlàir and Sgòr Gaoith

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For the final day's walk, looking at the weather forecast, I settled on the Glen Feshie Munros. Again, Walkhighlands splits Mullach Clach a' Bhlàir and Sgòr Gaoith into two trips, but there is really no reason not to link them; it adds very little effort. I was unsure whether I would get lucky with the weather this time, having enjoyed three clear days. In the end, the start of the walk in Glen Feshie and most of the ascent was out of cloud, but I entered the cloud near the top of Mullach Clach a' Bhlàir, which mostly continued until Sgòr Gaoith, although visibility was not too bad. However, I lingered on the snowy summit of Sgòr Gaoith, and was treated to a 30-minute break in the clouds at the perfect time.

Starting off in Glen Feshie

Be careful: the river has wiped out the path in some places.

Fine Coire on the way up the Mullach

The summit of Sgòr Gaoith through the cloud

The cloud breaks: Braeriach across the gulf of Loch Eanaich.

The continuation of the Sgòr Gaoith ridge.

Back towards the plateau

Sgòr Gaoith's pinnacle ridge

Some actual sun!

I'm heading back to Dalwhinnie next April, although it seems unlikely that the weather gods will be so generous again. But if I get a clear spell, the Lancet Edge is calling.