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I think it would be true to say Moira and I have wanted to climb Cul Mor since we saw it from Stac Pollaidh in 2012. It looked stunning that day and was firmly on our list and I'm not sure why we didn't get round to it sooner, except that the time never seemed right and that's the way we are with our hills.
Cul Mor from Stac Pollaidh
Many on Walkhighlands have made the comment Assynt is their favourite part of the Highlands. So what makes Assynt so special? Cue for a short digression to a bit of geology about Assynt!
From what I've read, rock formations in Assynt date back over 3000 million years, but the landscape seen today is much younger and was sculptured by glaciers during the ice ages. The oldest rock, Lewisian Gneiss, provides a base layer of low hills and scattered lochans, but rising from this gneiss landscape are huge upthrusts of Torridonian sandstone (occasionally capped by quartzite) that resisted the glacial erosion. These hardy survivors are the mountains that make Assynt so distinctive and can be seen in the sandstone monoliths of Stac Pollaidh, Cul Mor, Cul Beg and Suilven standing proud above the surrounding landscape.
Last November we climbed Cul Mor's smaller neighbour Cul Beag - memorable in many ways, not least that we saw our first Brocken Spectre and a white tailed eagle.
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=57906Then the day came - Friday 13th May - when we would finally climb Cul Mor and it was in our opinion the perfect hill.
I know these things are subjective and we probably all look for different things in our ideal hill but here's my case for Cul Mor being up there with the best. And it's not even a Munro, suggesting height's not everything!
First off it has a dramatic profile, drawing you in to explore its contours. Even from the road it looks good.
Cul Beag, Stac Pollaidh and Cul Mor from car park at Knockan Crag
It has good parking at the start with public toilets close by at the Knockan Crag Visitor Centre. From the layby you step through a gate and are immediately on to a well made stalkers' path. These stalkers knew what they were doing when they built their paths and this one has been well maintained and was remarkably dry when we walked it, with only a few muddy patches that were easily avoided.
A well constructed stalkers' path
Views are good from the off - and on every side. And thanks to the good path and gentle gradient you can enjoy them as you walk. Some prefer a steep climb from the start but there's something to be said for getting yourself going on the level before the hard work begins.
Views from the start - Suilven and Canisp
For most of the way up there's a clear path to follow but where the path is less clear on the south east shoulder a line of small cairns show the way.
Cairn marks where to turn up the SE shoulder
WH warns that the path deteriorates in the boggy sections but we found the black peaty sections were so dry we could walk straight across and pick up the path again on the other side. I appreciate it won't always be so easy.
A magnificent neighbour - Suilven
Near the point where you branch off to the right to reach the NE shoulder, Cul Beag suddenly appears, bringing back great memories of the day we climbed it and giving a view of the side we'd not previously seen.
Hello again Cul Beag!
Another ingredient of a perfect hill is the option of having a different descent route. We were going up the north east ridge and planning to come down via the grassy coire between the south and north tops. It's good to have a choice and be able to experience the different aspects of a hill.
An alternative descent route
Long views - on a really clear day you'd see Ben Hope from here
A great hill path
Personally I love hill lochans and watery views in general. In that respect Cul Mor has loads to offer.
A myriad of lochs and lochans at different levels
Hills on Scotland's west coast are the best with their stunning views out to sea to a jagged coastline and distant islands in the haze.
Stunning views out to sea
With its weathered Torridonian sandstone this hill has character.
Dramatic rock formations and sculpted outcrops
Just enough of a scramble up boulders to make it interesting - but not enough to be a problem.
This was steeper than it looks!
New views round every corner - this one looking south to Coigach
At the summit we met a couple from Connecticut who had left the car park as we were booting up. They didn't have a map and were relying on their phone so we gave them a printout of the WH route which they followed in a clockwise direction and we met them again at the top. We also chatted with three up for a week's holiday from Durham. There's a shelter as well as cairn and trig point at the top but on a day like we had there was no temptation to sit in the shelter - the views all round were just too good.
Great views from summit - looking north over the other worldly landscape of Assynt
Another shapely neighbour - zoomed to Quinag
Iconic Stac Pollaidh and the Summer Isles
More of the hill to explore - the western spur of Sron Gharbh
We continued west down the ridge with its sculpted outcrops and pancake rocks which are great for sitting on for a fly cup and walked out on to Sron Gharbh, making for a rocky viewpoint with a perpendicular drop into the watery wasteland below.
To my mind every hill of significance has cliffs and Cul Mor's are tucked away out of sight from the road and a reward to those who venture in.
Cliffs on hidden side of Cul Mor and the pointed south top showing on right
Island views from western spur
This bad boy again
Although the wind was cool the rocks offered a choice of sheltered sun traps for a relaxed lunch - and what a view as we ate!
Torridonian sandstone and a secret beach on Lochan Gainmheich
After exploring the western spur we returned to the bealach below the south top, Creag nan Calman. If we'd had more time we might have gone up but I had to be back early so we continued on down the grassy coire, picking up a path until it veered too far south at which point we cut across in the direction of the outward route.
Gentle grassy descent down a perfect U shaped coire
There was a burn to cross at the lowest point before the climb on to Meallan Diomhain and just after that crossing there was an area of wet ground which was easily skirted to the left. This was the only part of the whole walk where we had any issues with any kind of bogginess and it was only a small area.
Conival, Ben More Assynt, Braebag and deep blue lochs in the afternoon sun
So there you have it. A shapely hill, good path, helpful cairns, sparkling lochans, spectacular landscape, sea views, sculpted rocks, towering cliffs, areas to explore - Cul Mor has it all.
