free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Corbetts: Sgurr na Diollaid.
Grahams: Beinn a' Mheadhoin.
Sub 2k Marilyns: Carn Nam Bad.
Date: 24 to 26/10/2019.
Distance: 6.5 + 5.5 + 8 km.
Ascent: 670 + 360 + 360 m.
Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes + 2 hours + 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Weather: Cold. A bit sunny, then rainy and windy, then more rain....ooh look - the sun again!
This year's WH autumn meet was in the Bearnock hostel near Cannich, offering lots of Glen Affric opportunities. The higher summits generally involve long walks for this time of year, but I took Friday off in the hope that we'd mange at least one day on the biggies.
Friday was not that day. We departed from Inverness late and didn't start walking until after lunch. While the sun was shining strongly, there was also a sandpaper-like cold wind and showers moving through on a regular basis. We opted for Sgurr na Diollaid - a fairly short walk with good views and an interesting summit. Things looked great to begin with, and there was more of a path than I remembered from this direction.
Glen Cannich Until 20 minutes in....
Getting wet 
Next shower coming in This first shower was particularly nasty and had us donning all of our waterproofs immediately and wondering why we were here. Higher up, it passed as the path became less distinct.
Mullardoch Dam and Affric summits 
Clearing again... There were a couple more showers as I led us down slightly and around some peat hags. The summit area was just in front though, and had a minor dusting of snow.
Another shower coming 
Back towards Cannich 
Affric hills 
Sgurr na Lapaich and Lurg Mor 
Oooh....and clear again! There were more pesky down bits to cross over to get to the summit rocks, but it had cleared up nicely for views west to Sgurr na Lapaich, and over Glen Strathfarrar to Loch Monar and the Strathfarrar hills. Great stuff!
Mullardoch hills 
Loch Monar and hills 
Carn nan Gobhar and Sgurr na Lapaich We went up both summit bumps then crouched behind a rock for a break. I was getting a bit chilly after 10 minutes or so, so was keen to get moving again. Jackie sensibly had more layers on and was fine.
Sgurr na Diollaid summit 
Loch Beannacharan 
Mullardoch and Monar hills from the top 
Beinn na Muice and Sgurr na Muice 
Descending the summit rocks 
Glen Strathfarrar and hills We returned approximately the same way, but attempting to minimise the up and down. This was probably not that successful as it took us through worse ground. Still, we made it back to the car almost 30 minutes faster than we had got up there.
Back down to Glen Cannich The usual fun Friday night was had although I somehow managed to not get completely drunk and go to bed at a relatively decent time
.
_________________________________________________________
Saturday looked to be the worst of the weather, although with slightly lower winds. We headed up Glen Affric with David, a few possibilities in mind (none of them high). We started off with Beinn a' Mheadhoin - nice views of Loch Affric and the biggies from here if it would just clear long enough. Now that all of the hydro construction has been completed in the glen, things look a lot more civilised, and there is a new carpark and path just before Chisholm's Bridge. A couple of bits of hydro track are still a bit raw looking, but on the whole things were looking rather good - as well they should really.
New carpark in Glen Affric It didn't take long for the rain to start, and it continued (mostly lightly) as we walked up the track and then off over the heather. No path of any sort up here, and sadly the cloud was mostly down on the surrounding hills.
Looking murky 
South over Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin 
Up Gleann nam Fiadh It wasn't all bad - there was probably just sufficient clear bits to appreciate how unique Glen Affric is (neither Jackie nor David had been before).
Showers and sunshine 
South from the summit 
Toll Creagach in the sun 
At the summit of Beinn a’ Mheadhoin 
East towards Cannich Nothing fancy here - we just dropped back the same way as we had come, finding Darren in the car park, returned from an attempt on An Soacach (he saw sense and gave up before getting off his bike!)
A break in the weather while descending We drove around to the main Loch Affric car park, where it was nice for a short while, and took photos and had lunch.
Loch Affric from the end of the road David had originally wanted to go up the Marilyn Creag Dubh from here, and we were going to cycle back to Cannich, but he decided not to when another rain shower came on. We then parked at the Dog Falls carpark with the intention of nipping up Carn nan Fiaclach, but just couldn't find the motivation in the rain. Going back to Cannich seemed a much better bet and having tea and cake in the café there! We called it a day after this and went back to the hostel for more tea and cake; David went back up to Carn nan Fiaclach.
Later that evening we won the quiz....I'd rather not be reminded of our team name though
.
_________________________________________________
Sunday was supposed to be the best day of the lot for weather but it wasn't looking promising. We were heading back to Glasgow afterwards, so were keen not to do anything too long (although we would have done if it had been a stunning day). With more rain, we decided to have some cups of tea before leaving, and once we did, it was to had just a couple of miles up the road to Millness. David was joining us again before heading south to Ardgour.
Above Millness Last time I went up Carn nam Bad, it was from Strathglass. The new Beauly - Denny line hadn't been constructed then, and the old line still randdown on the floor of the glen. This time, we followed the easy track up through more showers, breaking off to cross rough ground just before Lochan Carn nam Badan.
Loch Carn nam Badan We passed under the new power lines and onto the ridge where the ground was better, but the weather worse. At least there were a few bright spots visible, although a wander onto higher ground would have been nasty.
Short bit of rough ground 
Not the summit, but nice enough 
Rainbow over Strathglass 
Looking SW to Glen Affric 
Breezy on the summit No hanging around here - it was back down to the track then a retrace of steps to the car. After dropping David at his van, we made the long trek back to Glasgow via a quick stop in my place in Inverness. Not the best weather for the weekend, but after our great week off earlier in the month, we didn't really care. Ass ever, the social side of the meet more than compensated - thanks David Main for putting on a good one!
Great colours lower down