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Another nice weekend and one more trip to the south-west for more hills. This time it was "something from Tyndrum". I was hoping for Brother Lui perhaps (I fancy the approach from the east much more than the short northern route) but in the end we picked an easier walk over Beinn Chuirn and Meall Odhar (Corbett and Graham combo). The main reason was very prosaic: we both felt a bit off. Most likely it was due to our seafood supper the evening before. A bad prawn can spoil the day
Nothing serious but annoying enough to put us off big ascents. Enough explanation I think
In the end, we still managed a day's walk over two listed hills with some very interesting views and a close look into a steep corrie, not to mention the old led mines. It was also a golden opportunity to bag our 99th Graham and make us wonder which hill should we choose for the 100th one. We talked about multiple options basically all the way up and down
As for Beinn Chuirn, it was going to be our 140th Corbett. A nice round number, but not a milestone. We'll talk about milestones when we get to 150!
Usually if combining the to mountains, the route is walked anti-clock, over Meall Odhar first and then up the steep eastern face of Beinn Chuirn, but we preferred to tackle the Corbett first and therefore we started from the Dalrigh car park rather than from Tyndrum itself. Slightly longer option, but easy going on tracks and part of WHW. The hills themselves are pathless but mostly grassy. There is no stile over the deer fence on the col between them so we had to climb it. The final descent from Meall Odhar, past the old led mines, is very tumbly and eroded, but a path can be followed here.
From the car park in Dalrigh we followed West Highland way for a short distance, before passing under the railway:
The track to Cononish has recently been upgraded, probably for the access to the gold mine, which, as I read somewhere, has been reopen and
"it is believed the Scottish village of Tyndrum could be sitting on 200,000 ounces of gold."We were more interested in the golden combo of Corbett and Graham. Beinn Chuirn can be seen on the horizon from the approach track:
Ben Lui (still on to-do list for me, Kevin has done it ages ago) and River Cononish:
There was little water in rivers and streams after a dry period of time. Even the Eas Anie waterfall was hard to spot - just an empty gorge:
We left the main track just after a gate (locked but there is a stile here) and started the slow ascent up the southern slopes of Beinn Chuirn. This was wet initially but higher up the grass was drier and offered very pleasant walking. Our second target was well visible to the right:
Ben Lui looked massive. I can't wait to visit this one!
The first 200m of ascent are the steepest, we followed a faint atv track until it disappeared shortly before we crossed Allt Eas Anie. We could see the summit now and despite not feeling 100% strong, we were still excited thinking about another hill added to our tally:
Views were lovely in all directions, especially to the neighbouring Munros:
Just below the summit we walked close to the edge of the cliffs of Coire na Saobhaidhe, to have a good look at the vertical side of the hill from above:
Panther, crags and the remains of snow:
Only a few minutes later, we emerged on the summit area. At 880m it's one of the higher Corbetts and our 140th. We're getting close to 2/3rds of Corbetts done (which would be 146.5 according to my calculations
). Lucy celebrated her 68th C:
Beinn Chuirn has extensive views. Ben Oss and Beinn Dubhchraig, for example, present their less known side:
Panoramic version with Ben Lui:
Beinn Challum and Tundrum Corbetts:
Again, pano version:
View north to the distanc Glencoe and Glen Etive hills:
Panoramic version:
Cruachan group:
Zoomed:
The summit was windy but we found a sheltered spot to sit and have lunch. We were not as hungry as we'd usually be, considering our earlier stomach upsets, but we needed the calories. It would be a great place to sit for longer if it wasn't for the invasion of crane flies (or as some call them daddy long legs). The annoying creatures were interested in Kevin's rucksack in particular, trying to get inside (did they want to hitch a ride???)
Tired of flicking off the crane flies, we packed up and started to descend. The direct drop to Coire na Saobhaidhe is impossible due to vertical cliffs, so we traversed around the rim of the corrie to find a suitable route down.
Panther admiring the cliffs:
The descent route and our second target:
Panoramic snap of the upper cliffs of Coire na Saobhaidhe:
Initially, the angle of the descent was quite steep and we had to be careful not to slip and tumble down:
...but the dancing-balancing descent is rewarded with fantastic views into the corrie. This is the most interesting side of Beinn Chuirn, missed if you just go up and down the easiest, southern side of the mountain:
The cliffs from below:
The shoulder we came down:
Once down to the bealach there is a short boggy section to cross, and then, a 2m deer fence to negotiate. There used to be a gate here once and the sad remnants of the old wooden constructuin are still scattered about, but we had to pull up our sleeves and climb the fence. I don't know how many walkers do this circuit, but this spot would do with a stile, to be honest.
Beinn Chuirn and what remains of the old gate:
This firebreak leads up the Graham:
The ascent to Meall Odhar is less than 200m and the forest is not dense in this area, so we quickly walked out of the trees, to admire the views again. One thing drew my attention, the renewed gold mine below Eas Anie:
Zoomed:
In next to no time we were on the summit of our 99th Graham (Lucy's 66th):
It was time for a longer break and as our stomachs have settled by now, we were hungry for sandwiches, chocolate and whatever else we found hidden in our rucksack pockets. I almost ate my sunscreen
Kevin still wondering which Graham would be our next, to celebrate the ton...
Views from Meall Odhar are just as good as from the Corbett. Beinn Chuirn blocks the western view, but there are lots of hills on the horizon to the east and south:
Panoramic snaps:
The easiest return route is back the way we came, to the col, over the fence and then down south to Cononish, but we didn't fancy the fence climbing again and opted for a longer yet more interesting descent, over Sron nan Colan to Tyndrum. There is a small intermediate top en route which can be skipped if one is really lazy:
