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Driving along the A832 I got a glimpse of An Teallach and the morning sky promised good weather.
An Teallach by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I arrived at the mountain rescue hut and squeezed in behind the three white transits. Suited and booted and off at 0830. I headed along the road toward the two cottages then a car with some Australians stopped to seek confirmation on the best route to tackle AnTeallach. Clockwise or anti clockwise, heads or tails I said..although with hindsight traversing clockwise is definitely easier if you do not like down climbing. Shame I did not remember that from my previous visit here in 2011.
I went up the trail behind the cottages and the mountain hut and up Meall Garbh and into the glen. A view of the flank of Glas Mheal Mor.
Glass Meall Mor by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
The sun was rising and highlighted the frost in valley down below. The sunrays were not able to penetrate the glen as I followed the sound path up to the cairn at Coire a Mhuilinn. Then I headed over to Glas Mheal Mor 979m to gain a different perspective of the An Teallach. The ground was icy making it tricky to get a good stride. After a wee scramble I reached the summit cairn at 1020.
Glas Mheal Mor by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I was rewarded with cracking views extending right along a series of ridges leading into Fisherfield and beyond.
An Teallach by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
The ridge
Pinnacles by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
A view out to Sail Mor and Lochbroom
Sail Mor by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I moved on SW along the ridge
View back to summit
Glas Mheall Mor by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
View across to main ridge
An Teallach by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
to reach the main path up to Bidean a Ghlas Thuill and the trig point at 1120. Some more amazing panoramic views and the presence of the circling clouds enhanced the atmosphere.
An Teallach by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
An Teallach by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Group in the clouds
Sail Liath by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Summit view
Sgurr Fiona by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Panorama from summit
Panorama by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Another ridge shot with cloud
Ridge by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
A short SW descent followed by a sharp walk up to reach Sgurr Fiona and the small cairn at 1060m. The sky was clear enough to get great views across to the Fisherfield hills, the Fannichs and out to sea. The sunshine, blue sky and the drifting clouds provided more perspective. There seemed to be a lot of visible surface water over toward Fisherfield and I was glad that I was not walking over there.
I ate lunch in the clouds before heading for the pinnacles.
Berkeleys Seat by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I tried to keep true to the ridge line as felt safe. This was fine and provided some airy exposure in some instances. I even found a brocken spectre.
Brocken Spectre by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
At Lord Berkeleys seat I was tempted to lie down to put the camera over the edge but declined due to an inherent fear of the ice, without crampons, and an instinct to avoid ending up free falling.
Berkeleys Seat by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I scrambled over the ridges and then came to a section near the final pinnacle of Corrag Bhuidhe where I got a real scare. I was travelling over a narrow section. I placed my left foot on a large boulder and committed to the forward movement when the boulder gave way. One section split to my right and I instinctively grabbed on to a rock to avert a sure fall. I did not see that coming, and to be honest would not have expected a boulder that size to give way. Definitely need to go on a diet.
At that point one of the Australians appeared traversing clockwise. He said that his girlfriend was on the bypass path below. We both looked at the large boulder and could easily see where it had split, possibly due to ice penetration. We chatted about our routes and he confirmed that it was fine to continue along the ridge and down climb. We moved on in opposite directions. A wee while later I was at the last hands on down climb which was quite steep. A blue threaded sling was evident at the top and at that point I wished I had a rope, especially after the split boulder incident. I could not see an obvious route to the bypass route without going back a fair bit, so I picked a fairly dry line and descended cautiously. I got down safely although it did take a wee while. A look back up at the rocks confirmed without a doubt that it would be far easier to traverse a clock wise route of the hills.
Pinnacle by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I tried to photograph the reflections of the clouds and Glas Mheall Liath mirrored in LochTull an Lochan.
Reflections by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Anyway I continued on to Stob Cadha Gobhlach 960m. A view down loch na sealga
Loch na Sealga by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
View back over walk
Ridge by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Another wee descent, passed an upturned stone marking a rapid NE descent route to the glen floor, then up to the summit of Sail Liath 954m at 1430. Again the views were superb and the top provided a good seat to survey the mountain and landscape.
Sail Liath by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I decided to continue along the ridge and descend into the glen to merge with the Shenavil path. Previously I had descended into the glen floor via from the main ridge and found that a lot easier. The stones and rocks were hammering my legs and feet and it seemed to take ages to get down to the better ground. The sun was setting rapidly so I began to pick up speed.
Sunset by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
This caused me to regret the decision to wear the Scarpa SL M3 boots as they are heavy and for some reason end up compressing my toes.
Distracting view with interesting cloud colour
Clouds by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Daylight going..
Sunset by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
Going
Dusk by
scottishkennyg, on Flickr
I joined the main path and headed down to the road side at 1650 as darkness descended.
I located the bike and completed a rapid return to the car at 1700. On the drive out just before the snow gates I noticed two head torches at the roadside traveling toward oncoming traffic. I stopped and offered a lift back to the Mountain rescue hut. It was two of the four Australians who had been on the hills. Hopefully it saved them some time and that the other two got back safely.
Good deed done I headed off and was back home just after 1830.
Included a short video of the walk including the rock split moment, apologies for the song.
