Page 1 of 1

Beinn a Bheithir

PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:08 pm
by Fcfraser
First report Ive written for a while....not because I haven't climbed any hills, Ive done loads, but they have all been in rain, mist and no views, so no photos! and I personally think the photos maketh the Blog!

So! Hooray!! we had an excellent day to do this walk, lovely crisp morning, gave up my only (everybody say AWW) Christmas night out to do this walk! So decided festive fare would be on the menu, Quiche, turkey & cranberry sausage roll, mini sausages, mini scotch eggs, mincemeat pies, nice piece of Stilton, and a wee 25cl bottle of port to wash it all down with!......best laid plans!

We set off and parked in the Primary School, kindly directed by a nice lady who noticed us looking for the start point! Along the road a bit past the farm buildings, and it was all the way up! through the sheep fields, naturally, dog on lead at all times, would love to say he helped pull me up, but years of yanking him back and shouting don't pull have backfired. I read many blogs before going on this trip, and also various Guide books, all mentioning climbing a fence, nobody said what kind of fence, I was concerned it was going to be a deer fence, which would have been a little difficult, with a 41kg Labrador in tow (he is all muscle) I was pleased to find that it was a sheep fence, with a wee hole for Troika to crawl through. :lol: We soon gained height and stunning views back over Ballachulish and beyond ....
P1040514.JPG

P1040517.JPG

After a relentless clamber up the grassy steep slope, we finally hit the path, which made easier walking, and the ridge became visible, our goal was now in sight!
P1040518.JPG

We arrived at a sheltered spot before the final clamber to the top of Sgorr Dearg, it was reported to be -4C at munro height, I reckon it probably was, having got unladylikely sweaty on ascent, I was now feeling exceptionally cold, started to feel very shivery, nauseous and generally yuk! attempted to eat my quiche which I was so looking forward to, but couldn't, my water tube was frozen solid (I thought I was clever sitting on it to defrost it though!.... and it worked! so I guess there was a bit of heat somewhere!! :lol: )
P1040520.JPG

P1040521.JPG

We decided to get moving and get the circulation going, which worked, and soon I felt much better, but disappointed that our Christmas feast was spoiled by my feeling of yuk! as for the Port? gads!!! it was coffee nice and luke warm that was my saviour!! We didn't linger on the Munro top, quick photo opportunity, before dropping down to the col, where we decided not to do the 2nd munro, due to the time we would be coming down, unsure of how navigation through the forest would be, decided to leave it for another day.
P1040522.JPG

P1040525.JPG

Wise decision as the descent was tricky due to it being exceptionally icy, although we had our crampons with us, we really didn't need them, picking our way down through the rocky outcrops, Poor old Troika got stuck on one bit, and no amount of coaxing him encouraged him to join us, so we ended up going up (towards the perimeter fence ... which on hindsight is the way we also should have come down!) so after showing him the way, he was fine, and a happy boy !
P1040529.JPG

P1040530.JPG

Finally, we were down to the forest, which was well sign posted, making the final navigation very simple! It was very icy through the forest and very steep, I will remember that when I go back to do Sgorr Dhonuill!
I was pleased to see the car in the forestry car park, (where we left the other car) and sat down and enjoyed our Christmas feast (minus the port!!) (that was consumed at a later date!)

A good day on the hill .... and my 43 munro this year !!!

Re: Beinn a Bheithir

PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:13 pm
by LeithySuburbs
Looks like a cracking day out, and it's a great route 8) :D .

Re: Beinn a Bheithir

PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:28 pm
by Fudgie
Poor dog in some of those pictures :lol:

A great pair of hills :thumbup: