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Munro #129 : Ruadh-stac Mor
Munro #130 : Spidean Coire nan Clach
Date : 02/10/2011
Distance : 18.6 km
Time : 7 hours, 45 minutes(for full-sized versions of the pictures, see my Flickr photoset)Confidence wasn't high for the weather on this trip, but I was determined to get out after 4 weeks of no hills. The forecasts were poor for all areas for the weekend. Saturday was a wash-out, but the forecast gave an indication that we might be able to catch a break in the weather on the Sunday in the North-West. So, on Saturday evening, Beinn Eighe was chosen for our walk.
We left Alford at 0530. A novelty to be driving in the dark again after the long days of summer. Heading North on the A96 via Huntly to Inverness, it rained on and off with low, grey cloud. It wasn't until we were past Elgin and approaching Inverness that daylight slowly crept in.
The journey was uneventful, although mention must be made of the stop at Tarvie Services, between Contin and Garve. It was discovered by Marshall earlier in the year and sells fantastic bacon rolls and coffee. Well worth a visit if you pass. After Tarvie, we carried on to Garve and then turned off onto the A832 to Achnasheen, a fast stretch of road which was a welcome change after miles being stuck behind every slow moving vehicle in the North of Scotland. A quick visit to Achnasheen station for a toilet stop and then we continued along the A832 to Kinlochewe. The view down to Loch Maree from the head of the pass gave us hope that the cloud was lifting. At Kinlochewe, we turned onto the road to Torridon - the A896. Don't be fooled by the road naming - this is a twisty, single track road. We passed Loch Clair and then carried on to the large carpark for Beinn Eighe (we also mistakenly stopped at the first, small 'carpark' - be careful if you try to take your car in here, it's a very potholed access road!)
Boots on and we were away at exactly 0900. Our party consisted of myself, Marshall, Brian and his son Finlay. Finlay was attempting his first Munros today.
It's a gentle, but long approach to the hill. From the car we followed the gently rising path as it went up and through the Coire Dubh Mor. On our left, Liathach's vertical sides with its sandstone terraces loomed above us. To the right, Beinn Eighe was also looking steep and intimidating. The sides of the pass were wreathed with bands on low cloud and unseen stags were roaring.
Stepping Stones by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Graham and the split rock. Photo by Brian. by
Brads44, on Flickr
After around 4km, we reached a split in the path. We took the path heading off to the right, which headed North and began to curve round the base of the mountain. As we contoured round the lower slopes of the hill, the low-lying cloud began to burn off and we began to get an impression of the views which were being hidden from us.
Lowering Cloud by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Soon,the cloud began to clear in earnest and the views to the North were outstanding. Giant towers of sandstone rising up from the boggy Shieldaig and Flowerdale deer forests. The path turned again and began to gain height, heading for the hanging corrie of Corrie Mhic Fhearchair. The well-made stalker's path turned into a great staircase, climbing up alonside a series of waterfalls. I bounded up the steps, keen to get a better view of the wilderness behind me and the hidden corrie at the top of the steps.
The Big Reveal by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Into Coire Mhic Fhearchair by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Waterfalls by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Lookout - can anyone id this bird? by
chimpaction, on Flickr
At the top of the steps was a spectacular sight - Coire Mhic Fhearchair, with its small lochan, surrounded by the bulk of Ruadh-stac Mor, the legendary Triple Buttress and Sail Mhor. The outflow from the lochan disappeared over the lip of the corrie to the waterfalls and it was here I waiting for the others, snapping away furiously with my camera until they arrived for a coffee break. There was a cool breeze if you stood around so we ducked behind a rock and took in the views over the edge of the corrie to the North.
The Shieldaig and Flowerdale Forests by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Sail Mhor by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair by
chimpaction, on Flickr
There was a group with tents at the lip of the corrie. Must have been a chilly place to camp. They were just stirring as we started off again, heading around the side of the lochan and making for the back of the corrie. Once or twice we came across aircraft wreckage, remains of the Lancaster bomber which crashed in the corrie in 1951. (
More details here) We didn't come across any of the larger pieces of wreckage - just some smaller sections of fuselage lying around.
As we neared the back wall of the corrie, the ground got rougher and a faint path wound its way through and around the rocky outcrops. There was some interesting geology around here - bands of rock twisted into strange shapes by heat and pressure and evidence of Pipe rock - formed by burrowing creatures, since fossilised and laid down in Cambrian Quartzite from around 400 million years ago. (Marshall has a good photo of the pipe rock
here)
I had read reports that suggested not going up the scree gully at the back of the corrie, and that it was easier to pick a more direct line up Ruadh-stac Mor. The gully didn't look too bad so we went for it. In the dry it was fine with a left-hand edge of shattered rock acting like a very steep natural staircase. It didn't take long at all to get to the bealach between Ruadh-stac Mor and Coinneach Mhor. At the bealach there were very fine views across to Spidean Coire nan Clach - our second Munro of the day.
Coire Mhic Fhearchair by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Me heading up the gully. Photo by Brian. by
Brads44, on Flickr
Me at top of gully. Photo by Marshall. by
a-dinosaur, on Flickr
Top of the Gully by
chimpaction, on Flickr
From the Bealach by
chimpaction, on Flickr
From the bealach, there was a kilometre of rock ground to cover to reach the summit cone of Ruadh-stac Mor. We hung back a little, Finlay getting the honour of summiting first for his first Munro. We spent a while on the summit. The views were simply breathtaking.
The corrie we had just ascended through to the West was obscured from view but we could see the top of Sail Mhor and the Triple Buttress. (To my dismay when I got home I realised that I didn't have any decent photos of the buttress - the sun was right above it in the corrie and I just didn't take the time to frame a good shot - still, an excuse to revisit Corrie Mhic Fhearchair in the future)
To the North, Shieldaig and Flowerdale stretched out before us, Beinn Alligin to the left, Loch Maree to the right with the Fisherfield hills behind. In the far distance was Gairloch, the Isle of Ewe and Mellon Charles. To the East, the bulk of Ruadh-stac Beag dominated the view while to the South, the rest of the day's walk around the ridge to Spidean Coire nan Clach was visible. A magical view on a magical day. Scotland in October!
Ruadh-stac Mor Summit - First Munro for Finlay! by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Sail Mhor and the Triple Buttress by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Distant Spidean Coire nan Clach by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Ruadh-stac Mor Summit II by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Ruadh-stac Mor Summit III by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Ruadh-stac Beag by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Shieldaig Forest by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Eventually, it was time to leave the summit. We dropped down a little for a coffee break out of the wind and chatted for a while to a nice guy who was doing the reverse of our route. Then we headed back down to the bealach. Suddenly, there were walkers everywhere. We could see them in groups of 5 or 6 strung out along the hillside over the next kilometre or so. It turned out they were doing the walk guided, as part of the
Torridon Autumn Walking Festival. Luckily for us, they were also doing our route in reverse so we quickly had the hill back to ourselves again.
On the way down to the bealach between Ruadh-stac Mor and Coinneach Mhor we had spotted a faint bypass path which avoided the steep pull onto the top of Coinneach Mhor. It's a
narrow path across a very steep grassy slope with one section the had slipped away but it presented up with no difficulties on a day like today. It saved us around 50 metres of ascent and descent. The ridge to Spidean Coire nan Clach then began to narrow. Just before it did, we stopped for some hero shots...
Back to Ruadh-stac Mor I by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Lofty Perch I by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Lofty Perch II by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Lofty Perch III by
chimpaction, on Flickr
The narrowing ridge presented no major difficulties (you wouldn't want to trip the wrong way though!), as long as you occasionally looked at your feet rather than the views of Torridon! There were superb views across to Liathach. We stopped for a 5 minute break. I was feeling some discomfort in my left knee at this point and there was a small matter of 170 metres of ascent and a kilometre of distance to the summit of Spidean Coire nan Clach.
Liathach from Beinn Eighe by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Back to Ruadh-stac Mor II by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Spidean in Sight by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Take Five by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Up we went towards the trigpoint over rocky ground. My knee was now complaining bitterly and I struggled initially to keep pace with the other. Eventually we reached the trigpoint, dumped our bags and headed for the summit and it's cairn. With no pack, the pain eased in my knee and I took off with just my camera around my shoulder, up the fantastic scramble to the summit.
The views were simply breathtaking. I'll let the photographs speak for themselves...(and remember, click to view the larger versions)
Trigpoint View by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Beinn Eighe Panorama I by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Approaching Spidean Coire nan Clach Summit by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Final Push to the Summit. by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Spidean Coire nan Clach Summit I by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Spidean Coire nan Clach Summit II by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Spidean Coire nan Clach Summit III - Munro #188 for Father, #2 for Son. by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Beinn Eighe Panorama II by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Downclimb by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Spidean Coire nan Clach Trigpoint I by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Back at the tripoint it was coffee time and time to sit and soak in the views, feet dangling over the edge. You don't get many days like these!One final pose for the camera and it was time to descend. From here the car park was visible and it looked very far away, in distance and height. We followed a spur off the ridge South, down towards Stuc Coire an Laoigh.
At the cairn, we turned West (left) and dropped down into Coire an Laoigh. This was initially a very steep and loose descent. By now, my knee was giving me a lot of pain, every time I lifted my leg. Finlay also was slowing down, unaccustomed to walking such a distance. After about 300 metres of descent the slope eased. Finlay was still finding the going tough - his boots hurting his feet. Brian and Marshall slowed the pace to stay with him. Since I was the driver today, I picked up the pace, aimed to get to the road and thumb a lift to the car, so that I could meet them as they came off the hill.
Spidean Coire nan Clach Trigpoint by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Stuc Coire an Laoigh by
chimpaction, on Flickr
The pain in my knee subsided when I reached the flat surface of the road and I started off towards the car to the West. I was only passed by a handful of cars going my way, none of which stopped for me. I ended up having to walk the 2 kilometres back to the car - not such a great hardship on such a lovely afternoon. Arriving at the car park, I met the chap again from the summit of Ruadh-stac Mor. He was cycling back to Kinlochewe. It was 1645 - 7 hours and 45 minutes since leaving the car. I changed my boots and then returned to where the others were waiting to be picked up.
Beinn Eighe from the A896 by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Liathach by
chimpaction, on Flickr
Being Sunday evening, the roads were fairly quiet and we made good time back to Inverness. Rather than returning to Alford via the A96 we drove down the A9 to Aviemore and stopped there for our tea at the chippy. Next, we headed for our traditional celebratory drink at The Boat in Boat of Garten before startiing the last leg home via The Lecht.
My first visit to Torridon then, and one I'll remember for a long time!