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Myself and walking buddy set off from Glasgow at 0700 and reached the Mamore Lodge car park for 0900. Two bridge schemes and numerous other roadworks on the A82 slowed us down a little. There was a low (~800m) cloud level and the Met Office couldn't decide if it would brighten up later. We set off at 0915 following the track unsure if we would manage the intended 4 Munros. Our planned route was to head up the south side of Na Gruagaichean but as we approached there was no clear path. Later on we would find the better direct route from this summit but as it turned out our decision to change our plan and do the 4 Munros in an anti-clockwise was the right one.
We followed the gravel track east towards Loch Eilde Mor. We spotted a couple of guys on trail bikes - does this class as a wildlife sighting? They seemed to be in their natural habitat, though maybe spoiling the tranquility of the glen. We skirted round the south side of Sgor Eilde Beag and headed for the south slope of Sgurr Eilde Mor. This munro had what I would call perfect conditions underfoot for both ascent and descent. Large rocks and boulders for light scrambling on the way up, gentle scree on the way down as we glided down the west slope.
Next was a small drop to cross onto the gentle and easily visible path to the east of Binnein Mor. Up to the bealach between the two Binneins - time for a quick rest and recharge. The ascent of Binnein Beag was again rocky. There was a scree slope east face, though we decided against it this time.
We headed for Binnein Mor. We could make out about half of the north and north east ridges from the lochan between them, but they both faded into the cloud. Between lay a snow-filled corrie, this was decision time! With just about perfect timing, a lone walker appeared on the end of the north ridge heading away from the top. We made a beeline for him and he made a bee line for us! After brief chat about the way the wind was blowing we headed for the highest point of the circuit. We were pretty pleased, the route home was set and it all looked straight-forward on the map.
The ridge heading south still had some cornices on the east side - we kept our distance as we made our way towards Na Gruagaichean.
- Ridgey Goodness
We dropped off to the west of the last peak of the day and soon caught sight of a path heading back to Mamore Lodge.
- Looking towards Am Bodach
I caught sight of Am Bodach and began thinking of the 'Ring of Steall' adjacent. From what I have read it is a step up but is on the to do list. We were back in the pub for 1730 and pretty pleased with ourselves. It turned out to be a great route - hopefully next time there will be a little less cloud!
Apologies for the lack of pictures - if you look at the pictures from other reports on these hill and add in cloud over the top half of each, you'll get the idea. A quick caveat - the ascent probably isn't accurate, it was a contour-counting exercise!
