Walkhighlands

I set off from Kinlochleven with the idea of heading up An Cumhann to Loch Eidle Mor but as always my navigational skills let me down as I had a tour around the Kinlochmore housing estates before finally finding the right path
The view back down Loch Leven from An Cumhann

Sgurr Eilde Mor hiding in the clouds in the distance

Not much of a view from the summit of Sgurr Eilde Mor

Out of the cloud looking down Coire a Bhinnein towards the next summit of Binnein Beag again hidden, doesn't look like the clouds are lifting as expected

At last a bit of blue sky made an appearance and Binnein Beag showed itself in all its glory

With Binnein Beag in the bag it was time to head for Binnein Mor via Sron a' Gharbh-Choire which looked like it will be an interesting scramble.
Looking back to Binnein Beag

The cloud base was still being kind as I reached Binnein Mor summit and had chance to look back along the route from Binnein Beag, the scramble was good fun and nothing too serious.

Time to head off for the last Munro of the day Na Gruagaichean which is easier to spell than pronounce!!

Just enough time to grab a view looking back to Binnein Mor before the mist descended again

Again the mist just clears enough to get a glimpse of the descent from Na Gruagaichean before the final little climb over point 1041

Looking down to Coire na Ba with Kinlochleven just visible in the distance

Finally the last view down Loch Leven from just above the Grey Mares Tail waterfall and the and of a cracking day out

Looks like a great day out John. How did you get that altitude graph on your report

Nice report John, I was hoping to do this exact route back in July but while climbing out of Kinlochleven in the rain with no prospect of it clearing I turned round deciding to leave it for a better day. Hope to get a bit of your weather next time

ChrisG wrote:Looks like a great day out John. How did you get that altitude graph on your report

Hi Chris, it was taken of my GPS via memory map but I then print screen with the profile elevation displayed then paste into paint and crop!! a little bit long winded and I'm sure there's an easier way but have not really tried

skuk007 wrote:Nice report John, I was hoping to do this exact route back in July but while climbing out of Kinlochleven in the rain with no prospect of it clearing I turned round deciding to leave it for a better day. Hope to get a bit of your weather next time

I know the feeling, it didn't really look like it was going to clear and I was tempted to turn around myself. I believe in clear weather the views are some of the best so maybe I'll have another go at it some day when I know it'll be clear.

You still got some nice pictures out of it! Looks like a good round.

I've done virtually the same route today. I took a slightly more direct route up the first one, avoiding the descent to the loch, as there's a good path which skirts the bottom of the SE ridge of Binnein Mor. I avoided the scramble up Binnein Mor by heading for the north ridge. I made a bad choice of descent off the last one - I took the south ridge which was fine initially, but the descent to the valley was pretty awful. Your descent route though slightly longer must have been much easier terrain.

Owen b wrote:I've done virtually the same route today. I took a slightly more direct route up the first one, avoiding the descent to the loch, as there's a good path which skirts the bottom of the SE ridge of Binnein Mor. I avoided the scramble up Binnein Mor by heading for the north ridge. I made a bad choice of descent off the last one - I took the south ridge which was fine initially, but the descent to the valley was pretty awful. Your descent route though slightly longer must have been much easier terrain.

How was the weather for you?
It was a toss of the coin which decided the route up Binnein Mor but I'm glad I went up the scramble route.
The final descent was no problem on a good path

Still got these to do and reading this really puts me in the mood! I'll refer back to your report when the time comes so thanks for posting.

johnrich wrote: How was the weather for you?
It was a toss of the coin which decided the route up Binnein Mor but I'm glad I went up the scramble route.
The final descent was no problem on a good path

Excellent weather, thanks. 100% dry, initially sunny, later on high cloud well off the tops which kept the sun burn off, and just enough wind to keep the midges off and stop me over heating. Ever so slightly hazy though, so long distance views weren't quite perfect. Fantastic views of Ben Nevis and Aonach Beag, the very top few metres of Ben Nevis intermittently in cloud.

I was tempted by the scramble but being a solo walker thought it best to err on the side of caution.

It's a big round in terms of height gain (for us mere mortals anyway), but with close to perfect weather I wasn't going to wimp out, and apart from my stupid choice of descent route it was one of the very best Munro bagging days I've had, and even my fitness levels pleasantly surprised me.

A nice round, this group of four Lots of height gain and loss and I seem to remember my legs knew about it by the end

Atmospherically misty! Looks like a good day. Also, Binnein Beag does look quite a lot like Stob Ban (Grey Corries)

that last picture is a cracker