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Moine Mhor Madness

PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2016 9:54 am
by Dunblane Bagger
Hi,

I don't normally write reports as I am not techie and don't have a clue how to upload photo's.

However no-one seems to have written a report about my route so thought i'd share timings/experiences etc.. in case someone else is in the same position..

I had Monadh Mor and Beinn Bhrotain in my sights for a long time, and having climbed The Devil's Point and Cairn Toul prior to Sgor an Lochain Uaine being promoted to Munro status, I thought i'd add that in too. Why not. It wasn't that far on the map ! :shock:

Setting off from the car park at Achlean at 09:30 on a beautiful sunny day I headed up the much improved path up into Coire Fhearnagan to the crossroads of paths at the cairn just below Carn Ban Mor. Top tip if heading out onto the Moine Mor. To follow the path leading to the Landrover track take the path that heads of at approx the 2 O'Clock position as you look at it.

I took this path and then joined the Landrover track following it to it's end at the Allt Sgairnich. I then crossed it and contoured round the North of Tom Dubh before starting the ascent of Monadh Mor. The tundra like terrain changes to large boulder fields which made for easy going and I reached the summit at 13:00 in bright sunshine and not a breath of wind. (3 and a half hours from Achlean to summit).

I continued on towards Beinn Bhrotain dropping down quite steeply into the Bealach at 975m (top of Coire Cath nam Fionn) and stopped here for about 20 minutes to refuel, take on some fluids and stick some compede on my right foot as it was starting to nip a wee bit.

After my pitstop, leaving my rucksack behind, I quickly climbed up the final ascent of Beinn Bhrotain arriving at the summit at 14:00 ( 1 hour between summits and 4 and a half hours from Achelan) :clap:

The views of the Cairngorms were stunning, with Cairn Toul looking mighty, and The Devil's Point looking pretty impressive from the South West vantage point.

Heading back down to my pack a sudden rain shower hit me, so quickly put the waterproofs on, put the rain cover on my rucksack and climbed back up to Monadh Mor. This time I continued along the shoulder before dropping down to the watershed just WNW of Loch nan Stuirteag. The rain continued for about an hour but all around I could see sun and blue sky so knew it would stop soon. When it did the sun was back out and was nice to dry off and get warm again 8)

The ascent of Sgor an Lochain Uaine beckoned and initially the going was tricky across tundra covered rocks with big gaps perfect for breaking your ankle in. However the terrain soon changed to boulder fields again and I was soon on the final push to the summit, eventually touching the Cairn at 16:30. (2 and a half hours from Beinn Bhrotain, and 7 hours from Achlean).

The views across to the mighty cliffs of Braeriach were mind blowing, but taking a few steps to the East of the summit cairn i took a wee peek vertically down to Lochain Uaine. Breathtakingly beautiful. It still looked frozen from up high, but may have been snow floating on the edges.

I toyed with the idea of continuing to Cairn Toul but was aware of the time, and the long long slog back to Achlean, so reluctantly left the summit and started to headed down.

As I left the summit cloud enveloped me so quickly took a bearing to get me back to the North side of Loch nan Cnapan trying to keep as much height as possible. As the loch came into view through the murk I took another bearing to get me back to the Landrover track so I could relax and just follow the path home.

The walk from the Loch to the track was pretty rough going as I was directly following the bearing. It was very uppy and downy, and pretty disorientating, but I kept telling myself to just trust the compass and follow it no matter where it took me. After about half an hour the clouds broke slightly and there, right in front of me, was the beginning of the track. I will admit to giving a loud shout out of joy at this point. The nervousness and concern of not knowing where I was in the fog where immediately lifted and I knew I was safe. I was also pretty chuffed that my navigation had taken me exactly where I wanted to be. :clap: :D

I crossed over the Allt Sgairnich again and followed the track for 1km before forking off to the right (small cairn to show the fork) and headed up again towards Carn Ban Mor where the sun decided to re-appear. Taking on my last fluids I started the long descent back down Glen Fhearnagan to Achlean.

I was totally pooped by the time I reached the car at 20:00 (3 and a half hours from the summit of Sgor an Lochain Uaine, and ten and a half hours since setting off that morning.

A long long day but it was an absolute pleasure to be out in the wilds again, and seeing the Cairngorms from the Western side will live long in the memory.

If anyone is thinking of this route then I would recommend it but to be prepared for a long but amazing day !!!

Hope you enjoyed the report, and I apologise for no photo's. :crazy: