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The four eastern Mamores were the last of the ten for us to do, the thought of tackling them in one day didn't occur to me to start with untill I'd read reports by Bod, Fyfe Flyer and J888hon to mention 3 of quite a few that made me realise that it wasn't impossible even though I'm probably not as fit they are, but we are willing to have a go, how Alteknacker, rockhopper and others can do all ten in one day I'll never know, that's really impressive.
Wednesday of our week in Glen Coe promised to deliver almost perfect conditions for such a day out with no threat at all of change, we decided it was too good to miss the opportunity, the plan was to do the WH route for Sgurr Eilde Mor and Binnein Beag in reverse and see how we felt on the top of Binnein Beag.
We had an early start, got parked in the car park by the church, no one else there, got the boots on, fed the midges and were off through the trees by 07:45.
It was already quite warm and as we gained height, the buff went on the head to act as a sweat band to stop drips on the glasses, which can be very annoying.
There are some handy signs in the trees directing you along the path towards Loch Eilde Mor which were useful and before long we exited the trees into full glorious sunshine and fantastic views all around, it was perfect for photo stops, (my excuse for a sneaky rest) and the chance to relax and take it all in.
Loch Leven and the Pap
South.
Na Gruagaichean.
Big Buachaille.
Aonach Eagach?
The path is good all the way to the lochans below Sgor Eilde Beag and Sgurr Eilde Mor and when we reached them Eilde Mor looked massive,
Binnein Beag looked a long way off
Binnein Mor looked very high.
Here we had a photo stop, (rest), and a snack, (longer rest) then set off to climb Sgurr Eilde Mor.
Sgor Eilde Beag
View.
This is not as bad as it looks, there is a path of sorts which goes up the south facing slopes so it was head down and up we went. It took 40 mins from lochans to summit, on the top the views were huge, The Grey Corries, the Glen Coe mountains, Ben Nevis, all the three we hoped to do, north, south, east and west, mountains as far as we could see, luck was on our side, this is why we climb mountains.
Summit wife.
Views.
The Ben and Binnean's Mor and beag.
Grey Corries.
Binnean Mor.
Glen Coe mountains.
Summit photo's taken, fed and watered we set off on the path heading west down to the lochans. The initial part of this descent is very loose and eroded so care is needed, down at the lochans we took the path heading down into Coire a' Bhinnein and up the other side to the lochan below Binnein Beag. This is a gentle section and helps to get the energy back before the climb up Binnein Beag, looking at it from the lochan it looks a fair climb but it's not too bad and, again, it was head down and plod, we were soon on the top looking at the incredible views.
Binnean Beag summit
Views.
Grey Corries.
The Ben.
Mamores.
Looking across to Binnein Mor I could make out the route up that Martin (Fife Flyer) described in his recent report and decided it looked the way to tackle it so the decision was made to do the four and off we went.
Decision Time, Binnean Mor
As we came off the summit we thought the path was heading down a scree gully so took that, as it turned out we shouldn't have really, it wasn't the way to go, I'm not a great fan of scree running, it contributes to erosion, it got us down to the lochan quickly but it felt a guilty pleasure.
On the west side of the lochan we headed for the smaller lochans in the north facing coire of Binnein Mor then headed west up the steep grassy slopes to the ridge above.
This was steep, very steep, luckily it was relatively dry so we didn't slip and slide, near the top we were fair clinging on.
Our way up.
The scree off Binnean Beag.
Once the ridge is gained it's a lovely walk up to the top, the views to Ben Nevis, the Grey Corries and the Mamores are brilliant, on the summit they're even better.
Mamores.
Summit Binnein Mor.
Na Gruagaichean.
Sgurr Eilde Mor.
Binnein Beag and The Grey Corries.
Mamores.
Big Ben.
Grey Corries.
Na Gruagaichean.
We stayed on the summit of Binnein Mor for a good half hour, had lunch just savouring the day, but soon we had to get on, Na Gruagaichean was egging us forward so we had to obey.
The ridge between these two is just right, nothing too taxing, it's a fine airy walk and we covered the distance between them surprisingly quickly.
On the top of Na Gruagaichean we felt a real sense of achievment with views to match, we stayed a while again, it was warm and sunny, all we had to do was get back to Kinlochleven, it was only half three so why rush?
Summit, Na Gruagaichean.
Views from the summit.
Binnean Mor.
Schiehallion.
View S.W.
After lunch No:2 we set off down the southern ridge.
The way down.
At the end of the ridge, Leachd na h-Aire, the path went right so we followed it for a way then lost it, looking straight down we could see some sheep pens, they're marked on the map so we headed for them, it was steep and hard work so we took our time, after what seemed an age we arrived at the pens from here we took the path that takes you near the Grey Mares Tail waterfall and then back to the car park.
We'd been out for 10.5 hours, most of that time was spent in the sun, it's not often that can be said, we were lucky.
Thanks to the people who planted the seed in my head to do the four in a day, I can quite honestly say it's one of the best days we've spent in the mountains.
Cheers.
