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I had been meaning to attempt Meall Ghaordaidh for a while and wanted to combine it with the Corbett, Beinn nan Oighreag . Looking at old TRs I found a nice account of this route by Rockhopper , although I did it in reverse order for no reason whatsoever . I was parked up in Glen Lochay just after 0800 and set off on the well trodden path up towards the group of sheilings before heading NW up the long and gentle ridge which leads steadily to the summit of Meall Ghaordaidh .
The going underfoot was great , hard frozen grass giving way to firm snow , the sun breaking through the clouds meant a very pleasant ascent .
- Looking east along Cam Chreag to Beinn nan Oighreag
I was glad of the summit shelter ,by now the wind had strengthened from the SE and brought with it biting cold .I didn’t hang around long and set off , first NE then SE on a lovely hard surface to reach Cam Chreag , then onwards to pt 815 where I intended to descend into Lairig Luaidhe following a line of fenceposts marked on the 1:50k map .
- On towards Cam Chreag and pt815
- Cam Chreag
- On to pt 815
- Look back at descent from Meall Ghaordaidh
I started down but soon called a halt , too steep and icy for me , so I headed NE and found much easier though rocky ground which led me down with no trouble .
- Descent to Lairig Luaidhe
I found a nice boulder in the bealach to shelter behind and had a quick bite to eat and put on another layer , at this stage the sun was fighting a losing battle with the cloud and the wind was bitterly cold . From the bealach I headed straight up towards the long ridge of Meall nan Oighreag , roughly following the fenceline up the steep slopes , emerging onto the ridge 400m south of the summit.
- View N from ascent
- N along ridge
The summit is a great viewpoint , from the Carn Mairg group to the east to the Loch Lyon hills to the west . The 909m summit , so very nearly a Munro , is marked by a few rocks perched on a boulder , but there are two more substantial cairns on the outlying tops to the north , well worth the wander along the wide whaleback of a ridge for the views alone.
- MG , with Loch Lyon in the distance
- Summit , Meall nan Tarmachan and Ben Vorlich
- Cairn at 899m , Carn Gorm in distance
The descent is a nice walk , following the ridge south over Carn Shionnach, before crossing the Allt na h-Iolaire and picking up a track , this leads down to the sheilings and rejoins the outward route .
- Descending over Carn Shionnach
- Sheilings
A very nice wee circuit