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It was that time of the year again... The Walkhighlands Meet time! And as this autumn it was held just down the road from our home, it would be a sin to miss it!
Sadly, weather didn't cooperate and some people decided to skip it. I can understand folks who concentrate on Munros only, as conditions were not Munro-friendly, but in the end, it wasn't as bad as forecast. We managed a nice Corbett and even got lovely views from the summit, something we didn't expect at at all.
We arrived on Friday evening and were immediately put off the camping spot, the ground was hard as a rock. Thankfully, due to several cancellations, we could swap the tent for two warm beds: many thanks to the Meet Orrganizer - David
Not as many people as on some other meets (overall, less than 40 Walkhighlanders, but meowing Black Panther herself stood for half a dozen
) yet we really appreciated the quiet atmosphere in Bearnock Hostel. Apart from climbing hills, we spent a lot of time socializing (it's the new name for hazard
). It was nice to spend time with other folks with similar interests. Apologies to everybody who had to repeat things 2-3 times to me, my right ear is still not functioning properly
Special apologies to George, who got Parminded by me too many times
Now to the walk itself. One larger group went to walk around Loch Affric, but we were a bit more ambitious and wanted to climb a hill, even a little one... Well, Sgorr na Diollaid is not a LITTLE hill by any means, it's a Corbett, though one of the lower on the list (818m high). We had been on the summit before, a few times, as it's so close to home, we use it as our training ground
but it's a good easy mountain with interesting, rocky summit area and good views to both glens: Strathfarrar and Cannich. And with weather less than friendly, it was as much as we were dedicated to do, without getting blown over or completely soaked.
The route is a straightforward climb due north, there is a faint path to about half way up, higher it's just hopping over low heather and some rocks. It would have been a piece of cake climb if it wasn't for the gusty wind, but even that was bearable.
So here is our group, the 9 Walkhighlanders looking for snow white on the summit of Sgorr na Diollaid. Photo was taken after the walk:
Very quickly I realized I was the only woman in the group, not that it worried me
We started from the bridge over the River Cannich and headed up the southern slopes of Sgorr na Diollaid, aiming for an unnamed rocky lump at 496m. There was a path to begin with, later it became scarce, but the ground wasn't too bad, some heather and a few boggy stretches, but I've seen worse. The main problem was the wind: I was possibly the lightest person in the group (despite wearing baggy coat, 3 sizes too big for me) and I was nearly blown over a few times. Luckily, later on the wind dropped and it didn't bother us that much.
Despite dismal forecast, the clag was more attracted to the higher mountains to the west and north of us, our hill caught some sunshine - and some nice views.
Upper Glen Cannich:
On the way up, River Cannich in the glen below:
A couple of showers passed by but they were hardly more than a drizzle. Kevin was in his element:
We stopped for a 5 min breather just below the rocks of the 496m outcrop, taking advantage of a sunny spell of weather. cameras came out, photos were taken...
Steve, Hugh and Tomsie admiring something in the heather, BP grinning:
Lee impressed by the views:
Getting ready to tackle some more climbing, Hugh impatient to lay his hands on the summit
The next rocky "marker" is at 652m. Just below it, we encountered the first signs of winter. Views to Glen Cannich still there, what a surprise!
Kevin's selfie:
A quick stop for regrouping...
Before heading up to meet snow white!
We crossed a little dip at 650m (beware of boggy streams!) before encountering another shower, a snow shower this time. For a few minutes, visibility was c...p:
...but surely, the 9 brave Walkhighlanders would not get spooked by a few flurries!
Of course not! The shower passed as soon as it appeared and the sun came out again. Kevin and me marched on (Steve's photo):
The summit is topped with two rocky knolls, but it can't be seen from lower down, so when we clambered over the rocks of the 786 top, it came to us like a revelation - the devil's horns!
The One Who Always Knows It Best in his blue coat
My woolen gloves were completely soaked and Kevin decided, he needed his warmer spares, too, so we stopped just below the summit to dig them up. The rest of the group marched straight up and soon they were all scrambling over the "devil's horns".
BP heading for the summit:
The northern knoll is said to be the higher one and it's easier to climb as well, so I headed straight for that one. Leaving only footprints in the snow and the sound of meowing in the air
Kevin stayed behind to take pictures and I must admit, we were lucky. The sunny spell was still holding when we reached the summit, and views were amazing. What a superb way to do our first snowy walk this winter!
Looking west to the world of white:
Tomsie taking an alternative route to the summit
Summit panoramas (Steve's photos):
Me and Steve on the summit, with the other "horn" in the background:
Kevin taking a photo of Ross taking a photo of somebody on the other top (not sure who it was over there?):
The summit was a happy place to be (if windy) I didn't want to get down!
...so Kevin joined me to mark his 5th (I think) visit to this Corbett (Steve's photo):
It's such a great hill with some character, that nobody complained. Even considering the wind, the cold and the showers, it was still a good day!
View south from the summit:
North to upper Glen Strathfarrar:
The Strathfarrar Munros in clag:
Hugh not certain - which glen is that?
Lee, Ross and Steve on the southern top:
We might have stayed on the summit for longer and play more Walkhighland games
but the freezing wind chased us off. We descended some distance and found a good, sheltered spot behind a rocky outcrop, where we stopped for lunch. Later, it was time to descend into Glen Cannich:
The descent route was a bit overgrown in places. Kevin lingered at the end of the group, taking more pictures...
...and we were back down to the road in just over 4 hours. Had weather been less windy, we would have lingered for longer, but it was a fantastic outing nevertheless! Thanks for a great company to all our co-Corbeteers: Hugh, Steve, Alan, Tomsie, Ross, Gary and Lee (I hope I didn't get any names wrong!). Shame we couldn't visit Munros this time, but a snow-white Corbett was just as good
In the evening, we found out that the price for the quiz was worth a fight. At the moment, the treasure was guarded by the Meet Organizer and the Quizmaster:
... and all our team managed to win was a wooden spoon
The brainiacs who won the spoon (Carrie's photo):
So to sum up, a fantastic meet once again. Weather might have not been the best, but overall, I could call it...
Bring on Glen Coe!!!
PS. Many thanks to Steve and Carrie for the extra pictures
