A lot of rain overnight on Friday was- i suspected - going to be translated onto snow on the hills. This caused a bit of a rethink on routes - I'd originally intended to go up Meall nan Dearcag and along the ridge up to Sron a'Choire Ghairbh but that would involve rougher terrain and more ascent/descent. Also, JacH had asked if she could join us on the walk and it seemed cruel to subject other walkers to the pursuit of Simms, so the standard approach up the track was opted for. Forecast for the day was for episodic snow showers, which is what we got. Off reasonably early (for a meet) with snow-gear packed just in case. Walk up from Kilfinnan was pleasant enough - some attempts seem to have been made to repair erosion on the track up to the bealach (or maybe I've just got used to walking on much more eroded tracks in the few years since we first did these hills). We decided on Sron a'Choire Ghairbh first, trying (and just failing) to get to the summit before the black clouds dumped their load of snow on us and the visibility fell. We took some shelter on the lower reaches of the zigzag path to have lunch before setting off up Meall na Teanga.
track to the bealach
P1180120 by Al, on Flickr
P1180122 by Al, on FlickrMeall Dubh (L) and Teanga
P1180123 by Al, on FlickrBen Tee
P1180124 by Al, on FlickrTeanga
P1180126 by Al, on FlickrThe ridge that we'd originally intended to come up
P1180128 by Al, on FlickrJacH and Allison summit Sron a'Choire Ghairbh
P1180129 by Al, on FlickrI was particularly keen to get a view from the top of this one and kept fingers crossed for the clouds to be kind to us. They were - and the views were worth the hype. At this point there was a choice - I intended to go on to the Simmof Meall Coire Lochain, just south from the summit, then take in Meall Dubh on the descent from Teanga. JacH opted to return (not surprising after having had a long drive up, only arriving at the Hostel at 2am the night before) Allison went off with her, leaving me to enjoy a worthwhile climb up to the top of Lochain (for more fine views) then a more laboured ascent of 130m or so up to Meall Dubh. Unfortunately the weather had closed in somewhat by that time but i'd say both of these extra summits have their virtues. Back along the track, meeting a couple of teens pushing bikes up - I really don't know where they were going at almost 3pm, with scant clothing - hope they hadn't mistaken the track for the Great Glen Way.
Meall Dubh from Teanga
P1180132 by Al, on FlickrTeanga
P1180134 by Al, on FlickrTowards Lochain
P1180135 by Al, on Flickr
P1180136 by Al, on FlickrTeanga from Lochain
P1180141 by Al, on FlickrTeanga from Dubh
P1180145 by Al, on FlickrDubh
P1180146 by Al, on Flickr
P1180149 by Al, on FlickrAn enjoyable evening followed with the usual quiz and overindulgence in food and drink.
P1180151 by Al, on Flickr
P1180152 by Al, on Flickr
P1180153 by Al, on Flickr
P1180154 by Al, on FlickrSunday morning found me feeling OK and Allison somewhat fragile. We said our farewells and headed off to Loch Quoich where we planned to attempt Mhaoraich (not before having to return for Allison's boots which were still in the drying room
) It was a lovely morning driving lochside, all the hills over towards Loch Arkaig having a healthy topping of snow. The twists and turns of the road were not helping Allison's queasiness and indeed by the time we arrived at the parking place i was feeling none too clever myself. We were greeted by a mob of stags at the beginning of the stalkers path. What followed was a sort of death march up the hillside, encountering snow early on and having to deal with the odd deep drift. I felt so sluggish and wretched although it didn't entirely stop me from enjoying the snowy vistas. Loch Quoich
P1180156 by Al, on FlickrGairich
P1180157 by Al, on Flickr
P1180159 by Al, on Flickr
P1180161 by Al, on Flickr
P1180164 by Al, on Flickr
P1180167 by Al, on FlickrMhaoraich
P1180168 by Al, on FlickrGleouraich
P1180171 by Al, on FlickrWe stopped for lunch at 12.30 and it took a further two hours to get to the Munro summit. This gave me a bit of a shake up - last time I'd done this route it had taken me less than 3 hours in total. we needed to get a crack on if we were not going to be coming down in the dark. I pressed on, urgency making the body's complaints less pressing - we got to the Munro Top in 10 minutes or so. There was now a choice to make - i had a route on my GPS that went down the southern shoulder of Mhaoraich but we had yesterday's paper map with us which wasn't particularly helpful. In poor visibility it was maybe preferable to go back the way we'd come, despite more ascent. We elected to do this and had some fine views of the sun coming down over Sgurr na Ciche and friends.
P1180177 by Al, on Flickr
P1180178 by Al, on FlickrSouth Shiel Ridge
P1180180 by Al, on FlickrSummit Mhaoraich
P1180181 by Al, on FlickrMhaoraich Beag
P1180182 by Al, on Flickr
P1180183 by Al, on FlickrLoch Arkaig hills
P1180188 by Al, on Flickr
P1180189 by Al, on Flickr
P1180190 by Al, on FlickrGleouraich
P1180193 by Al, on Flickr
P1180196 by Al, on FlickrSpindrift on Sgurr Mor
P1180197 by Al, on Flickr
P1180198 by Al, on Flickr
P1180199 by Al, on Flickr
P1180200 by Al, on FlickrWe got back to the car just before 5, with the darkness just about to descend. It would have been fine to pitch the tent, have a sleep and another day in these hills tomorrow, but sadly that wasn't going to happen. A four hour drive back home in the dark and hopes that the weather is going to be similar next weekend will have to do.
Weather was much better than forecast, maybe the WH curse has been reversed?
