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With only 15 Corbetts to go, the choices for new hills are becoming limited. The weather forecast for Monday wasn't looking too good so I decided against the long drive up north to attempt Fionaven and Ben Loyal over a couple of days and opted instead for a drive down towards Kinloch Hourn to tick off Sgurr nan Eugallt on Sunday and do a bit of scouting for a future canoe attempt on Ben Aden. Lots of rain as I drove through from Aviemore but on queue the sun came out and things started to look up.
![Loch Quoich Sept 2011 001.JPG]()
- Looking west down Loch Quoich
I'd forgotten how twisty the single track road down to Kinloch Hourn is, but I wasn't in a hurry and was soon parked by another car beside the ruined cottage at Coireshubh and making my way up the excellent stalkers path which starts beside it.
![Loch Quoich Sept 2011 004.JPG]()
- Coireshdubh cottage
The stalkers path certainly takes the sting out of the ascent and allowed me to concentrate on the views, which just kept getting better and better. The path looks like it stops at about 600m by a small cairn, but actually it continues by another small cairns, which is up and to the right, and this then zig zags to the ridge of Sgurr nan Eugallt. There is the remains of an old iron fence which helpfuly goes all the way to the summit and would be a useful guide in mist and cloud. But today no need of any help from the fence as the summit was straight ahead.
![Loch Quoich Sept 2011 010.JPG]()
- Looking up the ridge
There's nothing technical on the way up - just a great ridge walk with cracking views - although the last 100 metres does get a bit steeper and right at the summit there's a steep face which presents a scramble if you want, although any difficulty can be avoided by keeping left of this bit. An hour and a half after leaving the car I was at the top and sitting by the circular trig point drinking in the views. God I just love Knoydart and the hills round here !
![Looking east from summit.JPG]()
- Looking east from the Summit
![Looking towards Ladhar Beinn.JPG]()
- Looking west to Ladhar Beinn
![Sgurr nan Ciche and Ben Aden.JPG]()
- Is that Ben Aden over there ?
![Loch Quoich Sept 2011 011.JPG]()
- Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach from the west
The western top of Sgurr Sgaith Airigh was looking a it too high for my liking so I wandered over there just in case the SMC or Ordnance Survey does any re-measuring and enjoyed the views there as well. I briefly thought about descending west from here but decided against it (and the walk back to the car) and instead retraced my steps back to the summit, then headed east to the 800m top between Sgurr nan Eugallt and Sgurr a Chlaidheimh . Looking back west this afforded a nice view of the ridge up to Sgurr nan Eugallt.
![Loch Quoich Sept 2011 020.JPG]()
- Sgurr nan Eugallt from the East
From this top I decided to head north back to the road. There is a reasonably straightforward ridge that I hoped to follow but I went a bit too far to the west and ended up having a few problems weaving my way through unexpected crags and boggy slopes. Still, I didn't slip and fall over (bonus) and got back to the car in one piece. The car parked beside me was still there - the only sign of other walker (?) activity as I didn't see another soul all day on the hill.
