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OK Here we go... Climbing season 2013 officially..... OPEN!!!!!!!
We've been waiting for the right moment since the New Year, but there was always something in the way: weather, viruses, other duties. I was getting desperate, my mountain madness made me meow around the house, poor Kevin was served hill-shaped portions of mushy tatties... I guess I behaved a bit like the guy from "Close encounters..."
Didn't go far enough to build a mountain inside the living room, but heaven only knows what would happen if I was left without hillwalking for much longer
Eventually, Mother Nature took pity of us. Or so I hope. Last weekend looked decent, some cloud, some wind, but generally good enough to get the 2013 season under way. We did some necessary shopping on Saturday and packed our stuff for Sunday adventure!
We were actually watching Snooker Masters all day, but in the gap between matches I switched to BBC News and then we heard the sad story about the Glen Coe avalanche. We spent the rest of the evening with this terrible tragedy on our minds, double-checked all our equipment and made sure we chose a hill easy enough for a short winter day.
We knew the best conditions would be north-west, so Torridon was the obvious choice. Last month we went for a short walk to Balgie falls and along Loch Damh (worth a separate TR, I have to post that as well) and as we wandered about, we remembered our past trip to Ben Damph, a Corbett overlooking this loch. I absolutely loved that autumn climb, and now, stronger and more experienced, I fancied repeating it in winter conditions.
So here is the old report from my first visit to BD (Kevin had done it once before):
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9972However, if weather didn't turn out as we expected, we had a second, easier option: Coire Mhic Fhearchair. In the end, we climbed our primary target, but we will certainly visit my favourite Beinn Eighe again. I'm planning the full ridge traverse of this giant at some point, but that has to wait till summer (it's a 10+ hours route). Now back to Ben Damph...
We picked the obvious way up, along Allt an Tuill Bhain and then to the col between Meall Gorm and Beinn Damph. I don't know if there are any alternative routes to the summit, all the guides suggest this approach, anywhere else must be too steep
We knew from our previous visit to this area not long ago, that the car park at Torridon Inn was closed (has been now for some time, hopefully it will be re-open again in the future), so we planned an early start, just to make sure we would still be able to find a suitable parking space! There is limited space for a few cars by the bridge - and we were surprised we were the first visitors on that chilly Sunday morning!
Ben Damph overlooking the stream, seen from the starting point:
We were just about to leave and I dug in my rucksack for winter hat and gloves... I found two pairs of the latter but NO HAT!!! I must have left it at home...
You stupid woman!!!
Well, climbing bare headed didn't sound appealing, but luckily I had a large kerchief (I use it sometimes as a scarf), so I wrapped it tightly around my head, covering my ears - my DIY hat was a bit thin but combined with waterproof hood, it should do the job.
The initial stage of the route goes through lovely pine forest and along the gorge. There is a waterfall to visit as well (we left it for later). I was afraid that the path would be icy and slippery, but I needn't have worried:
After about 100m of ascent through the woods we saw our target hill again:
Looking back to Beinn Alligin:
We emerged above the woods, on the eastern slopes of the Corbett, the path continues uphill and it's well made up to about 300m of ascent. Views were spectacular from the very beginning - that's the beauty of this route.
On the ascent path. the main summit of Ben Damph can be seen - the left-most peak:
Close-up to Maol Chean-dearg, the bald head. There will be more to come!
The long ridge of Liathach:
Still a comfortable stalkers path - at this point the cloud above us thinned and we caught a glimpse of blue sky:
The panorama behind us was just getting better...
...but the path has turned much worse. When we climbed BD in October 2010, the upper half of the path was a bog feast. Now, in sub-0 temps all the water was frozen - the path was an ice rink!
We carried crampons in our rucksacks (we would be stupid to tackle any hill without them), but Kevin suggested we could leave the path and simply climb straight up the slopes to the bealach. The snow above us was fresh and soft, with plenty of vegetation underneath and I actually found the steep climbing easier than ice-dancing on the path! Of course it was more tiring, but I didn't mind the workout, it kept me warm!
Up the slope:
By the time we got to the col we were both huffing and puffing but we absolutely loved it!
Fuar Tholl sticking the nose up
:
Across the col, on the western horizon, the beautiful, steep cliffs of Beinn Bhan:
The main summit of the Corbett is not visible from this point, hidden behind the lower top, Toll nam Biast:
The northernmost top of the ridge, Sgurr na Bana Mhoraire:
The rocky cliffs on the western horizon must be the Trotternish Ridge of Skye:
Liathach and a small fragment of Beinn Eighe ridge:
Loch Damh and Loch Torridon:
I was surprised to see snowy hills on the distant islands. Mr Clisham and friends, I suppose?
Loch Damh again, looking south:
The Torridon giants:
The wind picked up so I hid my head inside my jacket hood - climbing without winter hat wasn't too bad at all
On the col, we located the path again and followed it along the western slopes. Views behind us - priceless:
The cloud was still grey and thick, but the sun shone through small gaps, giving a fantastic "lightbeam" effect:
Beinn Bhan - looking majestic:
Alien flashlights on Liathach????
The climb to the middle top, Spidean Coire an Laoigh, was a bit rocky and we had to pick our way carefully to avoid slipping on the bigger boulders. In summer conditions this is a hop-and-jump experience, but in winter... a whole different story.
Arriving on the top, we were welcome by the familiar view to the final part of the climb:
Big mountains to the south:
Mrs Panther Hood:
Liathach still investigated by alien ships
:
More strange light activity:
Close up:
Descending to the last col:
Impressive cliffs:
The final climb looking easy, almost effortless...
...but a few words of warning. In the picture, it looks like there is very little snow on this quite narrow ridge, but the photo is misleading. Especially closer to the summit, snow was quite deep in places. We were very careful, double-checking every step, and stayed away from the very edge of the cliffs, to avoid any overhanging cornices. Maybe we exaggerated a bit, but with the fresh story of Glen Coe avalanche in our minds, better safe than sorry.
Views still spectacular:
Reaching the summit revealed some more fantastic panoramas, especially to the east - and the top of the mountain was surprisingly quiet (though cold
). Kevin was first to touch the cairn and pose for his summit photo:
Hatless but happy on the summit of Ben Damph:
This hill is a great viewpoint - mind you, so is any Torridon mountain
The SMC guide gives 2 hours 50 minutes to reach the summit. We took 3:15, still a good time in winter conditions.
Time to savour the beauty of the surrounding landscape...
Maol Chean-dearg and An Ruadh-stac:
A wee bit to the left, Sgor Ruadh and Beinn Liath Mhor:
Looking due south:
Not a picture for my dad to see:
Summit cairn and Torridon giants behind:
The darker cloud coming from the NW direction, time to go back...
I was generally surprised that we had the mountain all to ourselves, it's easy enough to do even on a short, January day. Only on the way back we saw a group of walkers ascending the lower peak, Sgurr na Bana Mhoraire. It was already 2 pm and I doubt they continued to the main summit.
We returned to the col and carefully descended the steep slopes, managing to avoid slipping on the icy path. All the way, we were accompanied by the familiar shape of The Jewel Hill:
Did anybody attempt Beinn Alligin that day? Can't see anybody on the horns...
We took a short detour to photograph the waterfall I mentioned before. I wondered if it would be frozen, but it wasn't, apart from a few icicles:
We returned to the car still in daylight and drove home in great moods - so what that it was a repeat climb? Some hills are definitely worth returning to!
I found my hat lying behind the sofa in the living room - it must have fallen out of my rucksack when I was packing and I simply didn't notice. Lesson learned: always check your equipment three times, if twice is not enough
To be honest, hat or no hat, this was a cracking start to the new season. Well worth a loud meow!
