Munros Seventy One and Seventy Two
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 11:59 am28th. August, 1985:
Jon, a good mate of mine, was an inveterate sailor and he'd chartered a yacht, organised a month's trip for a group of about ten out from Oban and asked me to come along... fantastic! We'd been out to St. Kilda and the Flannan Isles before working our way down the west coast exploring some out of the way places, one of which was Loch Beag at the head of Loch Glencoul, inland from Unapool. In the windy conditions, it made for a difficult anchorage but it was a brilliant place - remote, spectacular and an interesting stepping off point for a an ascent of Ben More Assynt and Conival by an unconventional route.
Memory tells me that Matt (a member of the group) and I got a reasonably early start, rowing a dingy over to the unforgiving shoreline and then heading south east along an obvious fault guided valley and skirting under a series of cascades and waterfalls (including the Chual Aluinn, big after recent rain) for several miles. We climbed gradually over the watershed at the top end of the valley to reach Gorm Loch Mor and then struck south, picking up the long, grassy northern shoulder of Ben More and gaining the white summit screes relatively easily.
It was a bouldery but straightforward walk along the ridge to Conival and, from there, an easy descent north west and then north into the trackless wilderness of Coire a'Mhadaidh and down the Garbh Allt to rejoin our ascent route on the south side of Gorm Loch Mor. From there, it was a simple but enjoyable romp back to Loch Beag for supper on the boat.
Next Report: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=78451.
Jon, a good mate of mine, was an inveterate sailor and he'd chartered a yacht, organised a month's trip for a group of about ten out from Oban and asked me to come along... fantastic! We'd been out to St. Kilda and the Flannan Isles before working our way down the west coast exploring some out of the way places, one of which was Loch Beag at the head of Loch Glencoul, inland from Unapool. In the windy conditions, it made for a difficult anchorage but it was a brilliant place - remote, spectacular and an interesting stepping off point for a an ascent of Ben More Assynt and Conival by an unconventional route.
- Leaving St. Kilda earlier in the trip
It was a bouldery but straightforward walk along the ridge to Conival and, from there, an easy descent north west and then north into the trackless wilderness of Coire a'Mhadaidh and down the Garbh Allt to rejoin our ascent route on the south side of Gorm Loch Mor. From there, it was a simple but enjoyable romp back to Loch Beag for supper on the boat.
Next Report: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=78451.
