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Caught in the pre-Christmas madness, there's little chance we'll be able to visit the hills in the coming weeks. Well, maybe in the final days of the year. So at the moment, memories from the past have to suffice... Here is one of them
Beinn a'Bha'ach Ard, the Corbett on our doorstep, has been on my mind since I first saw it - long before I climbed my first Scottish mountain. It dominates the view north-west over Beauly Firth from Kessock Bridge, it can be seen from any lump or bump near Beauly. On the map, the route looks pretty attractive and the hill is said to be a good viewpoint.
We went on to climb Beinn a'Bha'ach Ard in April 2010. It was Good Friday and we took advantage of the warm weather spell, some lovely sunshine. Higher parts of the hills were still covered in snow, so it turned out to be more of a winter climb than a spring jaunt - and the rumours about this Corbett being a great viewpoints were true, too
Usually, Beinn a'Bha'ach Ard is walked via circuit route, starting and ending in Inchmore, by the locked gate into the glen. We ended up doing a simple up-and-down climb, a good exercise in snowy conditions.
The first stage was a nice stroll along the tarmac road, among the spring forest, singing birds... But soon we turned to a dirt track heading uphill past the power station. The path heading straight up the slopes of Beinn a'Bha'ach Ard, marked on the map, doesn't exist any more and we had to find way across some really wet, soaked ground before emerging on drier, heathery slopes. Soon we entered the winter wonderland:
Good views on this hill come quickly, especially back down to the glen. And in good weather navigation wasn't too tricky, either:
Not much wind, but the higher we climbed the colder it felt. The snow on lower slopes was quite wet and sticky. Thank Heavens for waterproof boots
A short break to dress up
with the western view in the background:
The lower hills across Strathglass didn't hold as much snow as "our" mountain, but it was still surprisingly much as for this time of the year:
The crags of Cnoc an Duine looking impressive:
We avoided the rocky outcrop by walking below it and climbing alongside a wide gully - Coire an Fheadain (there is a stream in the middle, but it was frozen - or at least it looked like it!). Soon we could see what I thought was the summit:
Kevin loved the experience. Funny that he's lived in Beauly for over a decade before he eventually tackled this hill
I guess it's often like this with things on our doorstep - one says "It's so close, I can always do it, next time maybe..."
It took one crazy cat to drag Kevin out on the most obvious mountain
A happy pose. Me and the snowy slopes.
Only a few minutes after taking this all-jolly-happy photo, as we were crossing a flatter area, one of my boots sunk in a boggy puddle hidden under the snow. I had no idea the trap was there
It wasn't too deep so I pulled my leg out, but it was too late at the same time - cold, freezing water poured INSIDE my boot - AAAAARGHHHHHH!!!!!
I was more angry than upset. Kevin asked me if I wanted to turn back - I almost attacked him with my fists! ARE YOU KIDDING??? This b***dy, d**mn mountain will see what I can do!!!
To be honest, as I resumed walking (the hill is quite steep from this side), my body warmed up from the exercise and I quickly stopped paying any attention to my cold, wet foot. When we reached the summit, the unpleasant experience was all but forgotten... Well, the views certainly helped to keep me in a better mood.
Kessock Bridge and Beauly Firth:
Glen Strathglass:
The upper Coire an Fheadain, here we started looking for an appropriate place to cross:
The snow on the bottom of the gully was hard and compact, surprisingly easy to walk on:
Looking down:
Kevin dug up his silly hat - it always made me laugh:
The white stuff forming snowy waves:
Having reached the top of the gully, we caught the first glimpse of Strathfarrar Munros...
...and at last, the true summit of our Corbett:
We were alone on the hill so nobody could stop me from striking silly poses, the "veni vidi vici" type:
The final climb was a formality, and soon I was posing again, this time on the summit:
Never mind me... Just look at the views! Can you believe it was April? Oh I wish we would have weather like that through all the winter!
I'll leave you now with a few more snapshot from the summit. Enjoy
Do you recognise these two culprits?
Beinn Eighe and its sidekick, Meall a'Ghiubhais, dressed in white!
Liathach and Beinn Alligin. This photo hangs in our bedroom and it always reminds me of this fantastic trip!
Close up:
To complete the circuit, if one wishes to, the route continues along the ridge, where one can pick a stalker's path all the way down to Inchmore. Of course the path can't be seen here, hidden under tonnes of snow:
The only fragment of landscape not covered in white - Beauly Firth, Inverness and the bridge:
It was cold on the summit so having enjoyed the fantastic panoramas and a cuppa of hot tea, we began our walk back. It was still quite early and I hoped we could do our Easter shopping in Inverness on the same day
On the way back, we stopped a few times to admire snow-sculptures, carved by the wind:
I took a detour to examine them more closely:
One could play hide-and-seek here, if it wasn't so cold
On the way back we found a very sketchy path descending to the lower shoulder, Creag Ard, followed the path for a while, to eventually leave it just before reaching the shoulder. Finally, a short boggy cross and we were back on the dirt track and the rest of the walk was a piece of cake.
The rest of the day was spent in Tesco, Morrisons and other supermarkets
Really, a hill one won't forget if it's done on a good day. The views are beautiful, especially in white conditions, but it would be a good shorter outing in summer as well. We will certainly do it again at some point and the second time we'll walk the whole circuit. Meow!
Let's just hope for a good winter this year...