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Last year in early spring we climbed Carn a' Choire Ghairbh in a nice circuit from Loch Affric side. It was full-on winter adventure with lots of snow and windy weather. Sadly we didn't have enough time to continue to Aonach Shasuinn, so the other Corbett was left for another occasion. We hoped to visit this one in winter conditions, too - it's a fine hill though a bit shy, hidden behind its lower Corbett brother.
The occasion came on Saturday the 14th of March, weather was splendid, fantastic blue sky and quite warm as for March. A bit hazy but who cares.
The day before we enjoyed an airy scrambling route over Gairbh-bheinn and Belig on Isle of Skye. This one wasn't going to offer as much adrenaline, as it's a rather round-shaped hill. Yet when we arrived in Affric car park in the morning, we had a good look at our target and noticed it still held snow on higher slopes, so crampons and ice axes were packed in - they proved useful later on!
Because we aimed only for one Corbett, we opted for a simple up-and-down route through Glen Garbh:
The first stage of this walk follows the excellent track on the southern side of Loch Affric. We couldn't fail to notice the hazy nature of the day...
Sgurr na Lapaich across the glen:
We turned onto the path marked "Footpath to Cougie", which follows the river (Allt Garbh). It's a right of way, but a very wet one
After about 15 minutes of walking, we encountered a fence, there was a gate but drowned in mud
It took some acrobatic skills to safely get to the other side without a mud-bath.
Past the fence, the path begins to climb the wet, slippery slope. Views back to Affric Munros are already fantastic:
"Our" mountain showed up eventually, and we were glad we decided to take winter gear
Na Cnapain, the eastern side of Carn a' Choire Ghairbh, always impresses:
At the height of roughly 400m, the right of way joins a better (drier!) track into the glen. The track follows Allt Gharbh:
After just over 1km of pleasant walking along the grassy track, we reached a wooden bridge. Last year, when we climbed Carn a' Choire Ghairbh, we crossed this bridge and followed the track to its highest point, from where we simply aimed for the ridge. This time, we had to stay on the southern side of Allt Gharbh and on the bottom of the glen for a bit longer. A vague path soon disappeared and we were left facing a horrible trudge through wet, very boggy, pathless terrain, overgrown with knee deep heather. It looks pretty innocent in photos - waaaw, try it for yourselves!
Looking back to the bridge and the track on the other side of the allt:
What I hate most - the bogfeast!
It was one of the worst gloompy-squelchy experiences in my mountain career so far! Thankfully, it didn't last long. As soon as we started gaining height, the ground dried out and though still overgrown with high heather, it made for slightly better going.
Kevin was complaining about a rubbing boot and took every opportunity (that means: every large rock along the way) to stop and adjust his socks/inner soles. Our pace slowed down to mere 2km/hour. For a short time, we followed a small tributary of Allt Garbh (Allt na Tuill Odhair):
Higher up, we aimed for Ceann Aonach Shasuinn, the western shoulder of the Corbett. We jumped over a few peat hags and stood just below the looming, steep slope...
Ehmmm.... Crampons needed!
We decided to have a lunch break (it was past midday already!), then prepare our winter gear. Only the second time this winter/spring season we needed to use spikes, but just as well we carried them all the way from the car park - without them it would have been a retreat with shame! The snow was compact and quite hard, just about OK to kick steps in. We moved slowly up the steepening slope, holding our axes ready. Luckily, no accidents, no slips and after about 100m or so of steep, tiring winter exercise, we emerged on gentler ground, where snow was white, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the mountains were smiling at us!
The first view I was drawn to, Mullach Fraoch-choire ridge:
Affric Munros (on the horizon) and Carn a' Choire Ghairbh in the foreground:
Looking down into the glen, with Loch Benaveen seen to the right:
Soon we reached the first cairn of the day - a lower top, unnamed on 1-25k map (873m):
The true summit is situated about 500m south-east, and it has a more substantial cairn:
Before walking across the flat summit plateau to the true top, we spent some time taking photos and it was a good day for photographers! Great, blue sky, lovely white mountain tops
"The triplets" as I call them, with the conical shape of Sgurr nan Conbhairean in the middle. Fancy repeating these in winter sometime:
West Affric, with another Sgurr (nan Ceathreamhnan) taking the centre stage. The last big walk in this area still to do - we must fit it into our 2015 schedule!
Zoomed:
A'Chralaig-Mullach ridge:
An Socach and Coire Ghaidheil:
The traverse to the summit was quick. By the cairn we met another walker - a chap from Golspie, who ascended the hill from Ploda-Cougie path (he cycled in to cut time). I was surprised, to be honest, to meet anybody on this mountain. Affric Corbetts are not the most popular walking spots, they suffer a lot from the presence of many higher neighbours. Such a shame, because they are well worth climbing. Aonach Shasuinn is an excellent viewpoint. A shy mountain, hidden away from most eyes, but it offers excellent panoramas and on a shorter day it's an adventure in itself.
Looking NW from the summit cairn:
Happy Corbett baggers:
Corbett no. 84... By the end of next year I may reach 100!!!
Views from the summit are extensive, sadly the more distant hills were obstructed by haze, I could hardly make out Nevis range:
near the summit we spotted a large stone shelter:
Zoom to Mam Sodhail and Carn Eighe:
A man on the mission
Just amazing...
We sat on the summit for much longer than we should have (again we were going to break the record for the SLOWEST ascent of Aonach Shasiunn in history) but eventually it was time to return home. On a longer day we would most likely continue along the ridge for the full circuit of Toll Odhar to Cnap na Stri, but we didn't have enough time for that. We retraced our steps to Ceann Aonach Shasuinn and, with spikes on, we run down the slope in 10 minutes
As soon as we reached the bottom of the glen, we were so fed up with the bogfeast, that on the first occasion we crossed the river on stepping stones and climbed a few metres to the track on the other side. And the rest was formality.
What a day it was...
Having finished my business in Glen Affric I don't intend to forget about this area. It's always nice to return here, even if for repeats. The Affric Corbetts are perfect targets for those seeking solitude, pathless slopes and bog
Meow!
On Sunday we continued our tour of local hills, a shorter walk this time, a good Graham. TR to come soon
