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Corbetts: Sgurr a' Chaorachain, Beinn Bhan.
Date: 08 and 09/04/2019.
Distance: 9.5 km + 11.5 km.
Ascent: 990m + 1020m.
Time taken: 5 hours, 55 minutes + 7 hours, 45 minutes.
Weather: Calm, hazy and sunny - warm, but with occasional cold easterly breeze.
I had been looking forward to this for a while, not least because it would be the start of 2 weeks of leave, most of which would be spent around the Highlands
. There was standard Friday-before-the-meet weather on the way over, with high winds being the small redeeming factor in not managing to leave Inverness early enough to go for a walk somewhere. Still, the weather was enjoyed on the trek over the Bealach na Ba.
Bealach na Ba Having checked in at the hostel, Jackie and I headed round the corner to Sand on our bikes for a look about, followed by a quick half at the Applecross Inn.
Cuillin from Applecross 
Skye from Applecross 
Sunset at the Inn The forecast for the weekend had been looking reasonable on the approach to the meet, but it turned swiftly on Friday night, showing a rainy start to Saturday, followed by grey windiness for the rest of the time. We weren't too bothered as we planned to stay at least one night longer. That did mean the usual Friday night overindulgence for me (whisky avoided thankfully) and a rather leisurely start on Saturday.
The rain eased off around mid-afternoon, so Jackie and I planned on heading down to Toscaig on the bikes, taking the odd diversion along the way. With Jackie still not that fit post-injury, we were quite leisurely, stopping off in the Applecross Inn again for lunch this time.
Aird Dhubh from Culduie Ewa and Kevin took us through a great quiz on Saturday night (although I was disappointe that my bribe didn't make us the winning team
), and Sunday looked like another leisurely start....with still not a step of walking in site! Jackie had decided that she wanted to see if she could make it up the less steep side of the Bealach na Ba on her bike, having done the entire Applecross circuit via the steep side when she was fitter last year. This would be my 3rd pedal up the 'wussy' side. On the run-up to the meet we had intended to do the whole circuit, but we settled for an up-and-down from the hostel instead. The strongest winds were probably on Sunday, making cycling uphill even harder than usual. This and the traffic probably contributed to us getting off and walking a couple of times, but eventually we made it. Having had to stop cycling completely for the first couple of months this year, Jackie was pretty chuffed! We also bumped into Bod and Val at the top, and had a chat.
Applecross side of the Ba 
Thirsty work on the Bealach na Ba road 
Skye After a rapid descent, we awaited the arrival of Rounsfell in the hostel. He was due to join us for a couple of days - originally the plan was to head to Uags for the night, but we opted for another couple of days in the hostel instead, given that it was very pleasant and comfortable. We took a quick trip down the road for sunset over Raasay, which probably influenced our plans for later in the week a bit.
North Raasay and the Trotternish from near Sand _____________________________________________
Monday was another lazy start, but today we at least intended to do some walking now that the weather had cleared up! Originally we had planned to be dropped off near Tornapress to hike back to the hostel over Sgurr a' Chaorachain and Beinn Bhan, but given that we had less lift opportunities now, we decided to drive over the bealach and do a circular route. I had a suspicion that the circular route would include the best of the corries too.
We were finally parked at the Drochaid Coire nan Arr some time after midday. I suggested my previous route on Sgurr a' Chaorachain, ascending into Coire a' Chaorachain and up the southern wall. This probably gave the best views of the Cioch Nose, which towered above us as we approached the corrie.
Loch Coire nan Arr and Beinn Bhan 
Ascending into Coire a' Chaorachain 
Cioch nose 
In Coire a' Chaorachain 
Lochan Coire na Caorach It was a pathless ascent from Loch Coire nan Arr into Coire a' Chaorachain, but the scenery was great. We stopped for lunch overlooking the tiny lochan before making the steep (and increasingly loose) ascent onto the ridge.
Ascending the wall of the corrie 
On the summit ridge Once on the summit ridge, we felt the full heat of the sun and Rounsfell decided that he fancied lobbing a few snowballs. A couple scored a direct hit and I wasn't able to relax and enjoy the scenery properly for the next hour or so
The radio mast from the summit 
Down into Coire na Ba 
Sgurr a’ Chaorachain 
Kishorn 
Top of the Cioch 
Beinn Bhan and Coire nan Arr 
Sgurr a’ Chaorachain Sgurr a’ Chaorachain It's a fairly straightforward walk around to the radio mast on decent ground, before more bouldery, heathery terrain takes over. At the mast, Jackie realised that she'd probably bitten off more than she could chew just now, and opted to drop down to the Bealach na Ba road on the mast access track. Rounsfell and I debated carrying on, but ultimately we were feeling a bit lazy, and the late start hadn't helped. In the end we decided to head back to Sgurr a' Chaorachain then down the nose to pick up the car, picking up Jackie on the way past to the hostel if she was still walking.
Coire a’ Chaorachain 
Cioch nose from the radio mast 
David stops thinking about lobbing snowballs for a minute 
South to Loch Kishorn Most of my photos were taken on the traverse back to Sgurr a' Chaorachain as the sun had come out and the light improved immensely over the last couple of hours. The drop down the nose was steep but only required hands in a couple of places, and before long we were driving back over the pass, picking Jackie up not far from Applecross itself.
Descending Sgurr a’ Chaorachain We stopped in at the Inn again for a pint and to admire the sunset for the umpteenth time, before heading back to the hostel for a quiet night.
Raasay from Applecross 
Cuillin hills 
Sunset over Skye _______________________________________________
Another day, another leisurely start
. Today was a chance to head back to Beinn Bhan again in even better weather than yesterday, before Rounsfell headed back to Edinburgh. While the route taken by a number of people on the meet on Saturday looked interesting (and started directly from the hostel), we decided to get the best out of the corries, so headed back over the bealach again to start at Tornapress.
Beinn Damh from Tornapress The concept was simple enough - head up onto the southern ridge from the Bealach road then follow the edge of the plateau over the summit, dropping down into Coire an Fhamair. This seemed to offer the best corrie scenery. At least we were on the hill before midday....just!
Loch Kishorn 
Loch Kishorn 
Beinn Damh, Maol Chean-dearg and An Ruadh Stac Once in the sunshine it was surprisingly warm, and we stopped for a break halfway up to the ridge. Then it was a steady plod to the in-named 763m summit, from where there was suddenly a spectacular view across Coire na Feola. This is the sort of thing we were after, and called for a proper break. We ended up sunning ourselves here for the best part of an hour, watching an eagle circle overhead.
Sgurr a’ Chaorachain 
A’ Riabhachain in the distance still holding lots of snow 
Beinn Bhan across Coire na Feola 
Messing around on Beinn Bhan On the move again, we stuck to the rim of the corrie, eventually meeting a group of 4 or so at the summit shelter. Tantalising glimpses down onto A' Chioch and A' Phoite as well as corries and lochans made for an entertaining wander.
Heading up to the summit 
A’ Chioch 
North to the summit of Beinn Bhan 
Beinn Damh and Torridon 
South from Beinn Bhan 
A’ Chioch 
A’ Chioch 
Summit photo 
A’ Phoit 
Looking down A’ Chioch 
South from Beinn Bhan 
Top of Coire na Poite 
Summit of Beinn Bhan 
A' Chioch 
East to the Coulin hills 
Torridon and Coulin 
Coire na Poite [img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32738690967_d684fdd63c_b.
jpg[/img]Looking down A’ Phoit There was too much haze to appreciate the views out to Skye and beyond, but Torridon and Coulin looked impressive. It felt like the first day of summer, even if the occasional light breeze lurking around was coming from the east and therefore absolutely freezing.
Jackie on the plateau 
Coire an Fhamair 
Sron Choire an Fhamair 
Across to Raasay and Skye 
On Beinn Bhan Then it was time to drop into Coire an Fhamair, which was steep and grassy higher up, getting more rubbly as we descended. Still, it was an easy enough route through a wall of crags which looked impregnable from a distance. Another stop on the flat grassy corrie floor before we debated the quickest way back to Tornapress.
The top of Coire an Fhamair 
Descent into the corrie 
Looking up at a’ Phoite In the end we decided to take the shortest line back to the cars, traversing rough, heathery ground. It wasn't overly difficult really, although we were starting to tire as Tornapress failed to get any closer!
This should up the pressure to fall in a bit! 
Sgurr a' Gharaidh 
Sgurr a’ Gharaidh 
Loch Kishorn 
Loch Kishorn Finally back at the cars at the end of a great day, we said our goodbyes and Rounsfell headed back south while Jackie and I went for a last night in the hostel (our 5th night by now!). Again we stopped for sunset on the way back - this time
at the top of the Bealach na Ba.
The end 
Skye from Bealach na Ba 
Skye from Bealach na Ba While the original plan had been to work our way up to Lochinver over the next few days, we had spent our time looking at Skye recently, so had some alternative ideas....
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