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After a total washout the previous day Ron and I were both in agreement that we would head for Sgurr Alasdair and Sgurr Mhic Choinnich but again change our plans depending on the weather.
A wee bit drizzley when we left Glenbrittle campsite but not too bad. On the walk up we noticed that the water levels were far lower than we had expected after all the rain. We also spied some deer- I always assumed there weren't any on the island. This thought was based purely on the absence of ' CAUTION- DEER' signs and the fact that I'm an idiot!
The walk up to the lochan was very straightforward and then the big grey beast of a corrie began to loom down on us through the dispersing clag. Before long the great stone chute revealed itself almost all the way up to the ridge. We stopped briefly for a quick sandwich and then headed up and then down and then up and then...... The climb was a relentless trudge, just like being on a stepper machine at the gym but without the music videos !!
Ron,( God Bless Him) still attempted to keep things civilised and continued to chat while I clawed and cursed my way upwards. It was such hard hard work. That being said, I didn't feel in danger or in any way nervous, it was just such a physical task! As we got nearer the top the stones got bigger and so better purchase was gained and it became a lot easier. Ron did comment that I did swear a lot when we eventually sat down when we reached the ridge.
It was now time to put on the harness in case I needed a bit of help doing the final scramble. I found even the shortest section of climbing extremely scary because my feet were slipping all over the place. Luckily Ron could see I was distressed and helped me up and along the final section to the summit. Although we were once again on a claggy summit this time it was dry enough to get a photo. Needless to say we didn't hang about. To get back down to the ridge I downclimbed the slippy section but only after Ron attached a rope to me in case I slipped.
Before we started our descent from the ridge I said to Ron I wasn't up for heading to Mhic Choinnich, I was just too tired and I knew there would be even more steep slippy rock waiting for me over there. We both agreed that this was a wise choice and we could now relax and enjoy the descent down the chute and enjoy we did. It was brilliant digging your heels in and letting waves of scree carry you to the bottom. ( and mostly on my bottom!) My backside was absolutely filthy by the time I reached the lochan but I didn't care, I had had a brilliant time!
We sat down and ate the rest of our lunch while looked back up to Alasdair which by now was becoming more visible and also looking at the An Stac screes that were to be left for another day. The sun was now trying so hard to come out and we were able to take off all our waterproofs and enjoy a lovely walk back to the car.
The Carbost Inn was our place for food although we thought we might be too early for food because it was just mid afternoon but we were not to be disappointed - the food was even better than we remembered from before when Ron, Andy and I had an extremely mad weekend on Skye not doing the In Pinn!!!!!
