


Saturday was a wee bit stormy, so after spending the morning recovering from the ‘bug’ that frequently befalls WH members on these meets




The evening went a lot better – Dougie won £140 on the bandit, and our team won the quiz, but best of all, the banter was flowing and I think a braw night was had by all

Sunday morning came, and most folk seemed to be heading to Kintail..


We left as late as we could get away with, as the strong winds were supposed to be easing later. We drove Sunny round and got the last space at the Fairy Pools, as the walk in looked a little shorter that way, and would give us an option for a through route if we fancied later.


We set off, leaving the fairy pools path , and all the hubbub behind very quickly.. There was a large burn I struggled across – Oh to be able to jump like Dougie can


It’s a fairly decent path all the way up to the Bealach, with a couple of showers and a brisk wind cooling our efforts along the way.


We left the main path by the bealach lochan, and found a path that cut left up the hillside, onto the ridge. The bottom parts of said ridge are grassy and lumpy, but we soon found a well worn path to the left of the crest, which eased the going.




The easy angled grassy ridge turned into a very steep scree slope




We were soon at the foot of the scramble, but we knew it would be stupidity to attempt it, so we regretfully took to the bypass path round to the right.


There was still a wee bit of scrambling, and still interesting underfoot, so our mood brightened as we went along.



Then we saw the huge bank of clag out to sea, coming our way


It hit, and all visibility went. We struggled on a way, but it was difficult, so we found a sheltered spot in a gully, behind a huge flake of basalt, ate our sandwiches and waited. It was sheltered and warm there.. shame the rocks couldn’t of been comfier

Then all of a sudden, it cleared and we could see the patchwork of islands out to sea – a spectacular moment!


So onwards and upwards, over slabs and loose rock to the Summit, where we hid behind the cairn from the wind and drank in those views.


Bla Bheinn was looking particularly fine and it was clear enough to make out people at the summit.. Felt good to get a hill bagged, I really wasn’t sure I would see a hilltop this weekend but we had proved ourselves wrong.



So it was just lunchtime, and we had talked about maybe checking out Bastier as well,


It was a short easy wander to Bealach nan Lice, bypassing a minor top, we then found ourselves just a stone throw from the tooth – Impressive bit of rock!


No hope of scrambling over, we took the steep gritty path round the bottom.. It was inevitably really slippy and it took us a while, taking baby steps we edged ourselves down. Am Bastier was overhanging above, dripping on us incessantly.


The wind had dropped, but we were unsure if it really had, or if we were just in a sheltered spot.. Seemed silly to turn back now without even trying, so we set off, the going easy initially.

We had no troubles following the route in the book for a while, but then I got confused about which orangey brown slab it was talking about, and we got a bit lost





I reached a reasonable stone for sitting on, after only a couple of terrifying slips.. I waited nervously for Dougie to appear, and he did thankfully..



It was apparent that the wind really had dropped a bit, although mists seemed to be returning. Dougie didn’t want to stop so it was then time for the descent – always the worst bit for me..

We returned to the bad step easy enough, but Dougie said he couldn’t manage the wall, so we dropped height a bit, looking for the route he had taken up.. Unfortunately things look different facing the other way, so there was much faff, eventually going up some criss crossing ledges.

Dougie had lost all confidence – I don’t think his new boots are that good for climbing and the rock there is soooo crumbly




Back on the path, it was an easy saunter back down to Bealach a Bhastier – Phew!


A bit of debate about the best way back – Sligachan was definitely closer, so we ratraced our steps down the scree path, this time taking it almost all the way down to the corrie floor. We contoured over rough ground, up to the end of pinnacle ridge, having a couple of wee walls to scramble over to get there.


The series of falls which eventually got lost in a huge gorge below was lovely, as we descended a very slabby, gentle ridge with an improving path. Sligachan looked temptingly close, but wasn't getting any closer





We finally joined hthe main path up Gillean.. Dougie said it was an hour from there which didn't lift my spirits any! Still nice views.. And nice waterfalls lower down





Footsore and weary, we finally got to the hotel in plenty time to get dinner, and didn't get camped up at Glen Brittle until 10

Weather was pants again Monday - clag held on to the tops all day, so other adventures were had at lower levels elsewhere before home.. What a memorable weekend.. Thanks ahbody for putting up with me for another meet
