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Friday, 14th. August, 2020:
Alex, Chalky and I are all teachers in England and had had to break our journey from Loch Awe to Dalwhinnie during Thursday in Crianlarich (at the excellent Ben More Lodge) for the chaotic business of sorting out this year's A Level results for our students. With that complicated and not always uplifting task (and, let's be honest, a couple of beers) behind us, it was time to return to the wilds. Alex, however, had always planned to meet up with his mate Ed and head further north at this point and Chalky's stomach had gone into meltdown... so that left just me to complete the trip!
Chalky, though, was well enough for light pottering with a day sack so he came north on the train to Corrour (during which we discovered why nobody wanted to take our fares on our various journeys - ScotRail had deemed it too dangerous because of covid) and he came as far as the top of Beinn na Lap in bright sunshine. We shook hands on the summit before he headed off for a swim in Loch Ossian and I turned my steps to the north east and, ultimately, towards Dalwhinnie in three or so days' time.
An easy but steep descent took me to the Allt Feith Thuill and I wandered along it in the sunshine for a couple of hundred metres to its confluence with the Allt a'Ghlas-choire. I pitched my tent there and alternated between putting my feet in the river and trying to find some shade. The heat gradually went out of the sun to the point where it seemed sensible to move so I drank a litre of water and headed up into Corie nan Cnamh, noting the magnificent east buttress of Meall Garbh on my left on the way. I checked the crag out on the UKC site once I returned and, although it looks to have the potential to host a couple of dozen rock climbs of two to three pitches at grades of between Severe and, perhaps, E2 or more, at present there only half a dozen winter routes on it. One for the future?
From the top of the back wall of the corrie, it was an enjoyable stroll over boulder fields and grass to the top of Meall Garbh in brilliant sunshine and with wide-ranging views, especially towards the head of Glen Etive; there was a string of big beasts ranged across the southern and western horizon. I then headed north west - into the slowly sinking sun - to gain the shattered summit of Stob Coire Sgriodain over a couple of intermediate tops marked by unusual, isolated outcrops of the whitest quartzite... and, brilliantly, I had the mountains to myself and any paths were both indistinct and intermittent. I hit the summit of Chno Dearg as the valley of the Allt Feith Thuill disappeared in shadow and, although I did push on and regain my tent down the mountain's southern spur, a high altitude bivi would have been a tempting proposition with more gear; it was, though, simply stunning to be up there.
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https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=99245.
