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Braeriach via its northern corries.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:15 pm
by gaffr
The modern off-road cycle makes this approach to the mountain a great deal less lengthy in time. I first came this way in 1960 from a camp at new year time close to Coylumbridge. Needless to say the summit was not reached...snow,short daylight etc. Anyway I think at that time we thought that Sgoran Dubh Mor was the senior summit then. We didn't even reach the top of Sgoran Dubh Beag. :) Since then I have been back many times to visit the tops here and camp, bivouac and to snowhole in a couple of the corries, shin up some rocky ridges and after a night camping at the top end of the loch a couple of arctic charr, kindly donated by a angler, were had for breakfast. The Einich trough is a great sanctuary.
Todays walk was started where the bike was left in the flowering common heather a little above where the track into the loch crosses the Beanaidh Bheag burn and where a feint path allows height to be gained up to around just over 600 metres. It requires the burn to be crossed and then upwards through some deep heather and some less difficult vegetation before the rougher rocks and gravels are reached and the broad ridge gained which can be followed to within a stones throw of Braeriach. A family group were having their lunch at the summit cairn in quite a gusty wind.

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The Sgoran rocks overlooking the Einich trough.
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Carn Eilrig another fine wee top which is not on any of the lists.
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The first sighting of Loch coire an Lochan.
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A wee bit of height is gained on the broad ridge between Coire an Lochan and Coire Ruadh.
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And from closer to the top of the ridge.
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The big coiries between Sgor an Lochan Uaine and Cairn Toul were as red as you would expect the Monadh Ruadh to be.....this was exactly as the lens found them today.
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Coire Beanaidh from the descent broad ridge between Beanaidh and Ruadh....looking towards the line of the route to the hill from the Chalamain Gap and the Lairig Ghru.
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The broad ridge used in descent.
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A look back to the bottom part of the descent ridge.
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The coiries Ruadh and Lochan seen from the river crossing.
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The Cairn which is more than just a pile of stones.
'Bury me not, I pray thee. In the dark earth, where comes not any ray.'
' Find me a wind-swept boulder for a bier,'

Re: Braeriach via its northern corries.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:39 pm
by malky_c
Lovely :) . Been meaning to include these two spurs in a route for years. Carn Eilrig looks like a nice little summit as well. I'm guessing that's a regular of yours?

Re: Braeriach via its northern corries.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:59 am
by jmarkb
Very nice!

malky_c wrote:Been meaning to include these two spurs in a route for years.


It's easy enough to gain them from the normal Sron na Lairig route by traversing across between the 750m and 800m contours: there's no path but it's surprisingly straightforward going.

Re: Braeriach via its northern corries.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:18 am
by gaffr
Yes, Carn Eilrig does stand out well from Glenmore as a fine attractive wee peak....could be that the streams that have to be crossed, on a traverse from Coylumbridge, puts folks off? It sits on a kind-of wedge shaped island. :) I have not been up here since I acquired a digital camera .....the folks with a good lens could produce some good work up here!