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Beinn Eighe-ok in my book!

Beinn Eighe-ok in my book!


Postby kmai1961 » Mon Oct 05, 2015 12:22 pm

Route description: Beinn Eighe (western summits)

Munros included on this walk: Ruadh-stac Mòr (Beinn Eighe), Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe)

Date walked: 03/10/2015

Time taken: 8.75 hours

Distance: 17.75 km

Ascent: 1184m

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Start 07:45; first 10:30; second 11:45, back to car 16:30

What a fab, fab, fab, FAB day. This one has definitely scored a place on my to-date top 10 list – maybe even the top 5.

We parked up at the Liathach / Beinn Eighe car park, and trotted (by which I mean, of course, “walked”) the 2km up the glen to the start point.

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magnificent beast

We’d decided to take the route in the anticlockwise direction, but I wasn’t 100% convinced that the loose scree section (EEEK) was actually going to be “slightly less unpleasant in descent.” I’m still haunted by the Great Stone Chute, apparently. At any rate, it didn’t yet matter, early in the day; I’d worry about it when I got there (EEEK). There was a clear path all the way up the hill, and although it was somewhat steep in places, it didn’t become really steep until just below the cairn at around 850m, which marks the final climb up to the first Munro, Spidean Coire nan Clach. We stopped at the cairn for a breather and photos – the views were wow, wow, wow in all directions. The Beinn Eighe massif is a massive beast (really, I’m not trying to be punny), and I’ve marvelled at it for years, from many different aspects and directions, and I was truly thrilled to be ON it at last.

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Lochs Clair and Coulin from above!

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the route to the second Munro + mighty Liathach behind

We plodded on up to the trig point (927m) and left our poles there, to ascend the final 50m or so to the summit, which was a bit scrambly. Again, the views were magnificent, not just across to the other hills, in all directions, but across and down Beinn Eighe itself – its slopes, corries, and various peaks are so very impressive – it reminded me a lot of the Grey Corries. Echoes of stags’ roars added to the atmosphere. I’d heard them for the first time this year the day before; it always thrills. I LOVE the autumn!

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looking back up to SCnC

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trialing my brave hat...

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Anyway, back to the business of the hill. As we headed toward Coinneach Mhor, we had a brief chat about whether we needed to climb all the way to the top of it in order to get down to the bee-lich, or whether we’d be able to traverse straight across. There was a traverse path that was a bit eroded in a few places (making me nervous), but overall, it was ok, and not too prolonged, and did save us a bit of ascent/descent. We had a small peek at our route down, from the top of the scree section (EEEK), then carried on toward Ruadh-stac Mor, the second Munro. It was beginning to drizzle, and there were no more views. When it became apparent that the rain wasn’t just a passing shower, we stopped to don waterproofs. The wind was starting to kick up a bit as well. We saw nowt from the summit of R-s M, and stopped only long enough for the usual selfie before heading back to the bealach, and our downward route (EEEK).

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hee haw on offer on Ruadh-stac Mor

I have to admit that the scree was much easier than I’d feared. There were solid steps in many places along the right side, with usually something to hold onto. Also, it wasn’t nearly as great a distance as the Skye stone chute. In reality, it was much more arduous at the bottom, where we had to make our very cautious way across a large boulder field to find some semblance of a path that would take us down to Loch Coir Mhic Fhearchair, just beneath the triple buttresses.

The clag was still hanging on, although it looked like it might be clearing a bit across the weird moonscape toward Baosbheinn and Beinn an Eoin. The rain had stopped, and the wind had dropped, so we sat awhile on the shore of the loch, and willed the view to return. I SO wanted Jimmy to see the triple buttresses rising up from the loch; I’ve been there several times before, and it is truly magnificent. (Yeah, I know. I’m repeating adjectives. It cannae be helped.)

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It didn’t clear completely, but the mist did finally lighten and rise enough for us to get a good sense of the massiveness of the buttresses. Hard work finished, it was now just a matter of following the clear and well-made path back to the car park. It seemed a very long way, though, especially the final km or so (as always), and we were VERY glad that we’d done the “extra” 2km at the beginning.

We had dinner in Kinlochewe at the Whistle Stop Cafe. We were pretty darn hungry, not having had much to eat all day, and I’d not had much for dinner the night before, either. I inhaled my food -- a breaded chicken breast with pasta AND an order of chips. Jimmy said I’d never be able to eat it all – but HA, I showed him. He made even quicker work of his massive *double* burger.

The day ended up being a bit like a WH meet: we’d met Weaselmaster and Sick Kid on the path between Liathach and Beinn Eighe. When we returned to the bunkhouse, Gary (Backpacker) knocked on the window to get my attention as he was having his dinner in the bar. He was meeting up with David-Main and Jim (don’t know his username, but I met him at the Inchnadamph meet) to tackle Beinn Alligin on the Sunday.

Sleeping arrangements were re-sorted again, given that the bunkhouse was fully booked, and after we got cleaned up, we went over to the hotel for a couple of pints.
kmai1961
Wanderer
 
Posts: 634
Munros:282   Corbetts:189
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Sub 2000:51   Hewitts:30
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Joined: Aug 12, 2012
Location: nr Glasgow

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