I cycled to Upper Glendessary, deposited the bike alongside the inquisitive deer then followed the wee path up to the watershed at the edge of the forest.
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrI crossed the river and located the feint path climbing up the south spur of SnC. Some emerging views of the walk to come..
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickr
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickr
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrA zoom to loch Nevis
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrAt the top there was a short walk along the ridge to gain the summit cairn at 1040 with the reward of some great panoramic views.
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrA view back along ridge of ascent..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrA view over the forthcoming tops..
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickr
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrA view toward ferry over to Knoydart route..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrView back down ridge..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrIt was great to see what Sgurr Mor should have looked like last month. I descended WSW down a steep slope to reach the bealach to disturb more deer.
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrFollowed the dry stone dyke upwards and over some nice rocky sections .
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. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrDown loch Nevis from the ridge..
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. by scottishkennyg, on Flickralong wall back toward SnC
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrBack to Sgurr Mor
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickrtoward summit of GCB..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrLevel section on ridge..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrSgurr na Ciche peeking through on the right hand side..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrBack down ridge..
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickrfinal section..
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickrrandom wee gulley..
Glendessary 089 by scottishkennyg, on FlickrBack down ridge from cairn of GcB
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickr
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrI proceeded along the rocky ridge with some nice snow filled sections which required some hands on tactics to avoid slips.
a view ahead to SnC..
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickrbefore reaching the Munro summit of Gairbh Choich Mhor at 1150.
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickrover toward Ben Nevis and company..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrSnow line back down to Sheil ridge..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrAhead down loch Nevis
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrOver to SnC with Meall Buidhe in Knoydart behind..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrThe next section was tricky due to the soft snow and steep boulders and required extra caution to reach the Bealach na n Eang with the narrow gulley. The snow to this point had been mostly soft and evidently thawing so there was no need to don the crampons or ice axe.
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrI deposited my red rucksack against a snow section near the gulley to enjoy a light traverse...
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickrbefore heading west up the steep slopes then turning north to regain the ridge just beyond the rocky outcrop then on to the summit cairn and broken trig point at 1415. The summit sat proudly over Knoydart in a very remote and picturesque location.
Across to Luinne Beinn and LB..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrOver to Meall Buidhe with Ladhar Bheinn in distance..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrThe leg muscles were tight and it was the perfect setting to sit down and soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the environment as the merry go round stopped for a wee while.
View back down to loch Cuaich..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrKnoydart again..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrLoch Nevis..
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickr
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrI noticed that the snow in Knoydart summits was almost gone and there would be no need to carry the ice axe and crampons next week into this area...Nice one!!
All too soon it was time to get going back down..
On the return I met and chatted with another walker who had just walked in from the car park (it had taken him 5 hours). I descended into the narrow gulley
. by scottishkennyg, on Flickrand tip toed down to where it levelled out and I managed to get one pole snapped after it got stuck in a rocky gap. Expletive!. Positive..will be able to use the odd pole from the last time when I broke one...
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrI contoured around the SW slopes of GCB before descending into the main glen dessary.
A view along the path leading to Sourlies bothy..
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrI found the main path and just surfed the wet and boggy terrain to eventually reach the upper lodge. A very welcome seat on the bike and a rapid final leg saw me back to the car for 1720.
. by scottishkennyg, on FlickrThe return drive was again limited to 15mph until Gairlochy due to the poor condition of the road surface in some areas and the roller coaster nature of the terrain.
Knoydart beckons...
