And so, it comes to the last one. I didn't think, when we set out on our first hillwalk to Goatfell in August 2012 that I'd ever be getting ready to compleat the Munros. I did enjoy the day however, and set off the next weekend to tackle our first Munros - Beinn Narnian & Ime. That day was full of clag, getting lost, finding our way and getting lost again and it sparked off a sense of challenge and enjoyment of the outdoors that had been missing in my life. It wasn't long until it became every weekend that we were heading off for the hills, through the superb winter of 12/13. Allison fell behind in her numbers due to a variety of aches and pains (hence the Sick Kid moniker) but it was rare for me not to be out there at every opportunity. Over the months I felt my skills and knowledge gradually increase - I became able to use a compass, pick out a likely (though Allison would say usually a mental

Beinn Narnian, Sept 2012 - same clag, more (facial hair


Over the last couple of months we have gone full tilt to get to the last of our Munros. Trips to the less accessible corners - Loch Carron, Knoydart, Fisherfileds and the real crux for me- climbing the Cuillin - have come and gone. We've gone over the hills that Allison had fallen behind on, leaving us with one mountain, the mighty An Teallach, to end this chapter of our adventures on. We had planned to leave it for a good clear day, but after finishing all the remaining hills last weekend there was never much doubt that I'd go for the finish line at the first opportunity. It would have taken gales and blizzards to keep me from the pinnacles of Corrag Bhuidhe this weekend

We watched in dismay over the week as the weather forecast got steadily worse...but the decision had been made and clag & rain were not going to stop us. Scoob & Fi had kindly offered to come along and video our big day and we were more than happy to have them along for a bit of moral support on the scrambly bits we suspected we were going to meet. I was quite anxious about the Pinnacles and actually spent more time thinking about them than about getting into Club 282. Finished up early at work on Friday afternoon and set off - choosing to go up the A82 for some reason, which took us through Inverness, Beauly, Muir of Ord then a narrow twisty single track road from Dundonnell before we arrived at the pretty little campsite at Badrallach. The journey had taken over 6 hours and I was well done in! Pitched for the night, having arranged to meet with Scoob and Fi the following morning at 8.30 outside the Dundonnel Hotel. I noticed we were in Pitch 13 and it rained all night - not the best of omens for the day to come

Campsite - An Teallach shrouded behind

Saturday morning arrived - cloud down, showery rain. Oh well - maybe it will improve. Drove to the Hotel and met up with the interepid pair who were inside having a pot of tea. We'd originally planned to tag a Corbett onto the Munros - Sail Mhor at the very end of the northern ridge of An Teallach, so we left my car at Ardessie and drove down to Corrie Hallie. Damp morning walk in along the Shenavall track then turning off to the right past Lochan na Brathan - path becoming lost in the boggy terrain. We could see the bulky outline of Sail Liath ahead of us, top shrouded in mist. To our left lay the wonders of Beinn Dearg Mhor & Beag, Beinn a'Chlamaidh etc - all hidden away behind clag


The walk in

Sail Liath

Lochan na Brathan

C'mon you slow people - scree on Sail Liath

View (sic) to Fisherfields

The path skirts round the corrie edge revealing some impressive drops to Loch Toll an Lochain which were revealed then concealed by the swirling mist. On to the rockier second top of Stob Cadha Gobhlach - it seemed to have taken forever to have reached this far - it was lunchtime already and we hadn't even come in sight of the Pinnacles. We stopped for a bite to eat in the shelter of some giant sandstone blocks. Every so often we'd get a tantalising glimpse of something rocky and jaggy up ahead, waiting for us. Fortified by coffee we set off to attempt the Pinnacles...
View to the corrie from Sail Liath

On your marks....

Gobhlach

Loch Toll an Lochain


Spooky in the mist


Marble pavement behing Scoob & Fi


Shelter spot for lunch

We passed the chockstone that looks like a giant petrified foot lodged in a cleft. We knew this marked the start of the Corrag Bhuidhe. There's a multitude of paths that scurry this way and that, making route finding - particularly in clag- a bit of a challenge. We knew the bypass route ran on our left, so we made the choice that is usually the best - follow the crampon scratches and keep to the crest. This was OK for now - no problems with exposure, cos we couldn't see the drops. We came to the start of the first pinnacle. Knowing this was perhaps the trickiest bit we found a way up round to the left of the buttress and scrambled up - helped by some slings that Scoob had brought along for a bit of extra grip at the very start of the ascent. Onto better hand and footholds above, the polished sandstone giving the route away - but I wouldn't fancy trying to come down this particular section. A bit more up and down and along edges and we passed the small cairn marking the Corrag Bhuidhe top. I reckoned that was the hardest bits over. There's a descent before coming to Lord Berkeley's seat that we took by descending a gully on our left - bit slidy over wet mud, but no great problems there. A small section of narrow crest brought us up to what we assumed might be the Lord's chair, but in the clag it was hard to tell. Up we went, good holds in the sandstone assisting us with only one slippy part that lacked in holds - again Scoob's slings came in handy for extra purchase. We sat atop something that seemed that it might be the Seat - after descending and looking at it from the north side I confirmed it was and scrambled back up to have another perch. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'd have done that if there had been good visibility for the drop below

Chockstone


View back to Gobhlach

Let the fun begin

Start of the ascent of 1st pinnacle


Thank heavens for clag


Fi with the wee gully descent behind her

"Is that Lord B's Seat??"

Going up




The Lord's seat from the South



Great fun, this!!

Lord Scoob's Seat


Swarming all over it

Me on the Seat


Bit more scary from this angle

On then to the first Summit of the day - Sgurr Fiona, which would be quite easy to walk past, particularly in mist - now wouldn't that be embarrasing. Again we got brief glimpses of the outline of the mountain down to the loch, but the moment of clarity I'd hoped for didn't arrive. One to go now... Walking on, I spotted a fossilized fern in one of the rocks by the path. Superb. We met a couple of blokes heading the other direction and chatted a bit - they weren't planning on the pinnacles. Scoob had been having problems with his chest from the start of the walk and was now turning a bit of a funny colour as we neared the top of Bidean a Ghlas Thuill - didn't look like he wsa going to be able to manage the Corbett...not that he was overly bothered as his plans to film each of the Corbetts is not well served if there's clag dominating the day. He got up to the summit before us and recorded our arrival at the trig point. Touching the concrete I realised that was indeed it - I'd done it; we'd done it. We took some photos and Allison got quite excited, sitting atop the trig. We shared a small swallow of Scapa that I'd brought along then prepared to go on. A brief sense of deflation followed. The route initially is quite rough and rocky and I was glad I'd only had a mouthful of whisky

Summit Sgurr Fiona

About as much as we could see of the views

Fossilized fern

Approaching 282

Compleaters




Someone's quite pleased


Yeah, OK, it's just another hill...

I'd planned to go over the most northern eastern shoulder of An Teallach and head into the valley before ascending somewhere between Ruigh Mheallain and Sail Mhor. We came off the shoulder to the north, before the final craggy section and contoured round towards the Allt Airdeasaidh. Crossing wasn't much of a problem and we set off in a generally NW direction with views over Little Loch Broom and The Minch to salve our eyes. Cloud sat atop Sail Mhor, but the surrounding landscape was quite clear. The final section was a little stony then we saw the summit cairn ahead. From Sail Liath - the Grey Heel, to Sail Mhor - the Big Heel, we'd had a day to remember. We cut down much the same way, nipping across the river and following a very boggy track alongside the river, punctuated by frequent watefalls. Allison would probably have preferred to head straight for the pub after compleating - I was feeling fine and much the better for continuing on to Sail Mhor - the feeling of deflation I'd had immediately on finishing had left me as we set off for our next hill, and that was just it - nothing has ended, there's just more hills to keep on enjoying. We made it back to the car just after 8 - it had been a long day. We'd hoped to meet with Scoob and Fi for a pint in the Dundonnell Hotel, but they'd had to leave as unlike us they were heading back down that night. We went to the cheerless bar of said hotel, devoid of atmosphere as is the way with so many hotels up here that exist on coach parties - at least the Red Cuillin was good. Back to the tent and a wee feast of noodles ended the day.
Over the shoulder of An Teallach

Sail Mhor

Out to the Minch

River crossing

Summit Sail Mhor

End of Sgurr Creag an Eich


Northern aspect of Sail Mhor



Avenue of old oaks on road to campsite

Looking back on the day, it was the excitement of scrambling over the pinnacles that stayed with me - yes - it was nice to have finished the Munros - but it's much more about what I've learned/enjoyed/experienced than having put 282 summits in the bag. Yes, I do want to keep ticking hills off - now it's Tops, Corbetts and Grahams (not to mention Furths) which should keep me going for a bit - but we've both really enjoyed the bits of scrambling and climbs we've done in the last wee while and I think we might continue to develop ourselves in that direction. A big thank you to Fi and Scoob for their support and company - not to mention filming duties.
Video - thanks Scoob