Opportunity Knocks: An evening on Meall Odhar & Beinn Chuirn

[Graeme D]

The month of June. Long light nights. And if you can take advantage of the intermittent window of clement weather, an ideal opportunity for a spot of post-workplace evening hillwalking and bagging.

Debbie had taken Ailsa and herself off to her mum's for a couple of days so yours truly was left home alone with the dug! Might as well take the opportunity to fit in some evening hill time. I'd just be sitting at home watching TV and drinking beer otherwise!

I had a few notions, many of which I dismissed during the course of the day as being too fanciful and, not to put too fine a point on it, long for a Monday evening after a day at the chalk face. If only I didn't have to get at least some sleep before showing up for work again on the Tuesday morning. It was actually johnnyhall's report http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12452 about his overnighter in a bivvy on Beinn a'Ghlo between clocking off and back on again the next day which had put the idea in my head originally.

So I left work as early as I legally and contractually could and headed home to pick up Lucy and my pack before heading off. I was heading along the A85 towards Crieff but my final destination was as yet still unknown. The route was lined with options but I eventually settled on the Graham/Corbett pairing of Meall Odhar and Beinn Chuirn from Tyndrum.

I was parked and away from the Tyndrum Lower Station car park by 17.25 hours, across the railway and along the track to the right heading for the path up onto Sron nan Colan. After a few hundred metres the track crosses what appears to be a very wide, dried up stony river bed, before turning to the left and heading steeply uphill. The explanation for the river bed is immediately obvious - the scene ahead of me is a kind of lunarscape of scree and rocks, the remains of the mining operations that used to go on on this hillside and which have obviously been steadily washed downhill over the years and deposited and built up at the bottom in the stream.

Steep scree scramble to start

It is a brutal start to the walk, but one that is quickly rewarded with views back across Tyndrum to the hills between the village and Loch Lyon, and further north towards Bridge of Orchy.

Early views of Beinn Odhar

The old mines are all fenced off with some seriously heavy duty looking fencing - these signs say keep out and they mean it! I for one don't fancy a closer inspection and I'm glad these fences are Lucy-proof!

I think I'll skip the optional potholing activity!

A mineshaft, Tyndrum and Ben Challum

Eventually the scree and boulder slope comes to an end and gives way to easier grassy slopes which soon ease off and give views across the top to the Ben Lui group of Munros.

Hello old friends! - Dubhcraig and Oss

From here it is a pleasant walk up onto the 590 metre summit of Sron nan Colan, where the evening's two objectives can be clearly eyed for the first time. The Corbett really looks like it might take some doing tonight and I begin to wonder whether my recent Corbett-free run might yet last a bit longer.

The two objectives from Sron nan Colan

Oss and Lui (and Lucy)

Anyway, quickly onwards around the furthest point of the forestry and onto the very obvious protruding rocky spine that runs all the way up the back of Meall Odhar. The conditions now are absolutely perfect and the light is stunning - the whole feel of the evening kind of reminds me of last September and my evening walk up onto the neighbouring Fiarach. Only that evening I was going to be camping out on top - if only I was doing the same tonight!

Meall Odhar from the extremity of the forestry

Back to Sron nan Colan and the Crianlarich Munros in the far distance

Up the rocky spine

Across Glen Lochy - Creag Buidhe in the foreground

Back down the spine to a distant Beinn Dorain

Dubhcraig and Oss on final approach to summit of Meall Odhar

The summit cairn of Meall Odhar is, as the Grahams book points out, remarkably large and significant for a fairly insignificant hill. But as it also points out, the real attraction and feature of this hill, as with many Grahams (Fiarach, Meall a' Mhuic and Cnap Cruinn being another three classic cases in point that I have experienced in the last 18 months), is it's location nestling amongst other bigger, more illustrious hills, and providing a different and unique vantage point for them.

Lui and Chuirn from Meall Odhar

North across Glen Lochy

The Crianlarich Munros with Fiarach in the middleground

Now I have a decision to make. Quit now and head down through a firebreak onto the track by the River Cononish and back to the car, or continue with the original plan and go for the Corbett as well. What the hell - might as well go for it. If I head back now I'll just go home and drink beer. Might as well do the Corbett. Then go home and drink beer.

Beinn Chuirn from the east on the descent off Meall Odhar

From the descent west off Meall Odhar, Beinn Chuirn looks like a formidable beast of a mountain, but it actually turned out to be a lot less problematic than it appeared. The hardest part was actually getting to it! There is a (clearly very new) deer fence that looks bullet-proof as well as deer-proof in the bealach between the two hills. Keen to observe the countryside code if at all possible and use a gate/stile e.t.c., I walk along the fence first in one direction then the other, but there is no sign of the walker having been given any thought by the builders of this particular structure. Nothing else for it then but to clamber over. There's no way that I'm going to be able to launch Lucy over this one though. Fortunately I find a spot where there is a bit of a gap at the bottom, albeit one that is filled with bog water. Poor Lucy is all but submerged as she squeezes under - she could have used a mask and snorkel for this one.

I settle on a route up the rocky spur to the right side of the huge coire on this side of the hill, stopping half way up for dinner (a petrol station sandwich and packet of cheese and onion).

Dinner time with a view of Meall Odhar descent route

Remarkably soon and with a minimum of fuss I emerge near the small lochan to the north west of the summit before climbing around the rim of the coire and up to the summit cairn to claim my first Corbett since the snowy days of January.

Lochan near summit with views west to Loch Awe

Looking down Coire Saobhaidhe

Summit view west

After a couple of quick snaps I head south east past the edge of the vicious looking gully (you'd want to be careful coming off here in the clag!) and scope out a manageable line of descent down the side of the Eas Anie waterfall to the huts and clutter of hardware around the mine.

Around the lip of the coire with views to Beinn Challum, Ben More and Stob Binnein

Down into the glen and the road home

From here it's a straightforward yomp down to the farm at Cononish and along the side of the river, remembering to cut off onto the track through the trees that leads back to the station and not continue on to Dalrigh!

Beinn Chuirn from just beyond Cononish - descent route just to the right of Eas Anie waterfall

I have to admit to being a bit worried that I would suffer a slow and painful death by midgification in the trees but it was surprisingly free of the little buggers.

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[Jock McJock]

Nice report Graeme. Been planning soe wee wild camps, bagging munros and Corbetts etc in this area so always helpful to see reports and pics like this. Cheers

[ChrisW]

Great report Graeme, this is what I call making the most of the time available - have done a bit of research for you and found these for Lucy ......

[Graeme D]

[kevsbald]

Good effort that man! It'll be the big boys a week on Friday!

[malky_c]

Nice evening out
I love a good after-work walk if I can squeeze it in. This one looks pretty substantial though!

Good info too. I have a full round of the Cononish (Meall Odhar round to Fiarach) in my sights as soon as I get the chance, and negotiating the various mines and deer fences will be pretty significant to its success I think

[rockhopper]

Nice on Graeme - that's a good sized walk to be able to fit in in an evening I see the brashers are being put to good use

[pollyh33]

Great stuff Graeme.One of the advantages of living in Perth I suppose, is having the hills so close at hand. Were you not even tempted a wee bit to have a closer look down the mine-shaft??

[Johnny Corbett]

Interesting route to the one i took when i did these 2, thats the joy of mixing hills getting to pick out a route I noticed the lack of stiles/gates on the deer fence as well. Maybe they didn't expect anyone to combine these 2 when they put the fence up

[gammy leg walker]

Another fine report there G,you seam to have struck lucky with the weather also.Any sign of when you may start back on your muro round,or is that wee bundle of joy still keeping you close to home

[Graeme D]

I see the brashers are being put to good use

Aye, you've gotta use 'em or lose 'em rockhopper!

Were you not even tempted a wee bit to have a closer look down the mine-shaft??

Errr, in a word, no!

I noticed the lack of stiles/gates on the deer fence as well. Maybe they didn't expect anyone to combine these 2 when they put the fence up

Fair enough, it's no Tourist Track up the Ben but it's an obvious route between two listed hills that a lot of people will try to combine. A little bit of joined-up thinking and planning wouldn't have gone amiss.

Any sign of when you may start back on your muro round,or is that wee bundle of joy still keeping you close to home

I still hope to finish before I pop my clogs....or maybe even before I retire. Got a couple lined up next week with Kev and hopefully I'll get allowed a bit of slack over the summer holidays, but it'll not be like last year......sigh!!!!!! Still, like you say gammy, the wee bundle of joy will make up for it.