Cruachan Horseshoe

[Gavin99]

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Arrived nice and early before setting off under the railway and up the path beside the burn .Reached the hydro track slightly soaked from overhanging foliage , carried on up to the dam and up the ladder .The plan was to climb west from the dam up on to Meall Cuanail , carry on around the horseshoe and include Beinn a'Bhuiridh before dropping down to the dam again . On the shoulder of Meall Cuanail I reached a line of metal fenceposts, these lead on up to the summit and down to Bealach an Lochain , they would be a great help in poor visibility. From the Bealach the path is clear ,apart from the summit of Ben Cruachan where it is lost in the boulders of the summit .

Mist rising across the Pass of Brander

Face of the dam, ladder above

Coire Cruachan, route on skyline

Meall Cuanail and Ben Cruachan

Little friends

Bealach an Lochain and the route up Ben Cruachan

Final pull up to summit

View back to reservoir

The ridge ahead from the summit with slabs right of centre

A look back at the summit and Stob Dearg

The slabs ahead

I had read a few scary reports about these slabs, also a few saying they were nae problem , when I crossed them it was dry and there was plenty grip . Long cracks run across them to use as hand and toe holds , the rear end shuffle could also be used to good effect if so desired , if you were brave you could nearly run across ( if you had Dunlop Green Flash on.... do they still make them? ) Anyway a bit of care and they are fine .

Cloud boiling up on the ridge ahead

Cruachan disappearing in mist

View north from ridge

The wild northern side of Ben Cruachan , looking into Coire Caorach

Drochaid Ghlas , a fantastic northern promontory , thankfully not part of todays wander .

The view ahead to Stob Daimh

The long easy ridge down to Lairig Torran

At the Lairig a path leads west to reach the reservoir but I carried on south up Beinn a'Buiridh . The way up looks steep but once on the slopes it is fine , pretty loose underfoot , a couple of crags to avoid but the summit is reached quickly.

The rocky ascent of the corbett

Beinn a'Bhuiridh summit

I found it tricky to pick a way off the summit , being forced south by crags before I was able to head west for the dam, this might not be great fun in cloud , there is no path ( at least I couldn't find one ) and the ground between the crags is steep and slippery . Then again maybe I was getting tired after the day but I was glad to reach the track above the dam.

Wet slopes down to dam

A stroll back down through the woods finished the day nicely , a smashing circuit on a fine day .

[skuk007]

Good report Gavin, and good to see clear pictures of the 'slabs'. Wouldn't want to do them in the rain though, the drop-off if you took a slide looks pretty steep.

[Gavin99]

Slipping down them in the rain would not be good for ones health . I don't know what the detour path below is like but if the slabs were icy or greasy it might be a safer option .

[Scaredywalker]

Great report and as skuk007 says nice to see some pics of the Slabs. I have heard all about them and as a self confessed feartie it has put me off! However it looks reasonably ok and I will hopefully get round to these two next year.

[Jabber]

I think this walk was one of the best I've done in a while Gav. The slabs just added to the fun of the day. Great report btw.