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The first week of May usually heralds a week of annual leave, and a few days away in a bunkhouse somewhere with a few mates climbing the area's hills. Last year, despite some wet weather, we had a great time in Kintail, getting out into the hills pretty much every day. This year, the plan was to head to Fort William first, to tackle Ben Nevis with a few friends, then i'd head up to the Forest Way Bunkhouse near Ullapool for a week.
The weather didn't exactly play ball

The weekend started as planned, as we tackled the fairly easy Geal Charn (Drumochter) as a warm up on Friday then headed through to the Glen Nevis campsite for the night (a bargain £24 for a 2 man tent pitch). After getting the tent sorted, we headed along to Corpach to demolish a tasty fish supper and admire the views of Ben Nevis.
- Ben Nevis etc from Corpach
After a ridiculously cold and miserable attempt at sleeping in a tent, we met up with friends before attempting Nevis, getting to around 900m before calling it a day. It was pretty unsafe, with compacted, icy snow on the path, and 40mph+ winds whipping up spindrift on the last few hundred feet to the summit, where the visibility looked poor. We overheard a guide deciding against taking his party up, so quite sensibly headed back down to the Ben Nevis Inn for a welcome coffee. I then had a joyous 2.5 hour drive to Ullapool before finally getting to the Forest Way bunkhouse and settling in.
Sunday's weather was absolutely atrocious so we spend the day in Ullapool, sampling a fine establishment on the seafront, which i think was called The Frigate, before finding an outdoor shop and failing to resist the urge to spend money on waterproofs. Monday looked promising though, and we settled on the Eastern Fannichs.
Morning arrived, and after a conflab with Ian, the very informative and friendly owner of the bunkhouse, decided to head through the "forest" and cut across a few boggy bumps to tackle An Coileachan first, then drop off the last hill to an ATV track, rejoining the outward route in the forest.
- The Start
Unsurprisingly, the rain started the second we set off to the start point at Torrandhu

This wasn't a disaster though, as it provided a fine test for my newly acquired waterproof jacket which performed superbly. Quickly getting through the forest, we emerged onto the side slopes of Cnap a'Ghiubias Li. It was a complete bogtrot from here until the path was re-joined at Loch Gorm. We stopped here for a quick bite to assess our options.
- Loch Gorm
- The route in
- .... aaaaaaand the route up. *gulp*
A massive cornice blocked the route up to the bealach, so we decided to make a beeline up the steep slopes to the summit. It's only a 340-odd metre ascent, but after very little hill action due to a worryingly persistent knee injury, it was an absolutely calf-burner. I eventually arrived at the summit cairn, before being almost blown off my feet when clambering up to take a photo

- An Coileachan Summit
After ducking for cover to have some lunch, we get up and fought the stiff wind to Bealach Ban. It was fierce, cold and causing considerable buffeting. The view towards Sgurr Mor however looked fabulous, if a little daunting.
- A Distant Sgurr Mor from An Coileachan
We started climbing up to the subsidiary top, and although it's an easy climb, I was feel pretty well stuffed, and not really enjoying things. I resolved to do the second summit and consider my options there. The second summit, Meall Gorm, is a pretty unspectacular bump, and here the wind was at it's most fearsome. I took a very quick couple of photos before the hands turned into blocks of ice.
- View to the end of the walk
We decided to get a move on, and in descending towards Meall nan Peithirean, we were very relived to get out of the wind. I was beginning to not enjoy things as my fitness felt a mile out and I was really struggling, and Sgurr Mor looked huge. Once arriving at it's slopes however, it didn't seem quite as bad, and i decided to give it a go. I plodded up the bizarre-looking mini-terraces to the top (eventually). The sun came out and the views were breathtaking.
- Wyvis from Sgurr Mor's cairn
- The Western Fannichs
It's incredible the effect of rejuvenation that some sunshine, a good view and a good hill can have. I instantly felt better, although i was now discovered my boots were no longer waterproof. Mindful of cold, wet feet on a cold and windy summit, I left the summit to get down to the next col fairly quickly to get some heat into them. It worked well and i was at the curious stone shelter in no time, enjoying the now stunning views.
The ridgewalk from Meall Gorm to the foot of Sgurr Mor looked pretty special from this angle. In the other direction, the walk to the final summit looked fairly straightforward.
- Route to Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich
I also took this shot of Sgurr Mor, a truly magnificent mountain, and surely one of the classic Scottish hills.
- Sgurr Mor
After a good break here, and some faffing around in the shelter, we headed for the final summit, Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich. The usual path to the side seemed to involve some thigh deep snow drifts, so we headed up the bouldery face which made for excellent going. We were at the top in no time. The hill itself is fairly average, but the views from it are sensational.
We spent about 45 minutes here taking it all in. I must have stared at An Teallach for ages

- An Teallach
- A last look at the epic Sgurr Mor
- Assynt Pano
After our extended break, it was time to face the long tedious descent, initially over decent rocky ground, which then became a final bogtrot until picking up the ATV track on the way back to the forest. On the plus side there were a couple of big snow slopes which were perfect for nice long glissades
A quick march through the forest in the evening sun, and a truly memorable walk had come to an end.
Sadly that was it for the week. The weather on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings was dreadful so we chucked it and headed home
Still, it's the perfect excuse to return in August
