An Staonach - a tiny slice of Torridonian heaven
Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2020 4:38 pmFollowing our incredible summit camp the night before, David and I were pretty drained (he from trying to climb too many hills the day before, me from stupid Covid) so we all had a lengthy lunch break.
We agreed an attempt on the small An Staonach could be a good idea – great views for minimal effort (hahaha)… We parked up at the bottom of the cliffs on the high point of the road back to Shieldaig and David spent ages faffing and showing off his bright green shoes. Eventually we were off – we skirted around the bottom of the cliffs trying to avoid any unnecessary downs. The views back were already amazing
Malky and David lead the way – it was blisteringly hot and I was struggling
We gained height slowly and once we were on the top of the initial plateau the views really opened out. Beinn Damh, Maol Chean-Dearg and An Ruadh-Stac were looking splendid
Sgurr a’ Gharaidh – our camp spot the night before
We had to trog around some annoying ups and downs which were both exhausting and soul-destroying each time they proved to be unnecessary
Soon we reached a big wall of cliffs – we could see it would be easily possible to work our way in between the layers of rock, but it looked pretty brutal
I was exhausted and wanted to stop, but every time I did the midges caught up with me However, the views down to Loch Shieldaig were stunning
And looking the other direction to Beinn Damh, Maol Chean-Dearg, An Ruadh-Stac and Sgurr a’ Gharaidh
Finally at the almost-top we had a choice of lots of different summits. I declared that the one I was standing on was the one and I wasn’t moving any further (although after being fed a very melted chocolate bar and a drink of water I was persuaded to continue
)
A distant Beinn Alligin
Panoramic shot of Loch Shieldaig to Ben Damh
Beinn Damh to Sgurr a’ Gharaidh and Loch Carron
I dragged myself across a few lumps and bumps towards the actual summit. It was so still that there were really impressive reflections on the wee lochans (and also swarms of midges )
Although the spectacular corries of Beinn Bhan were now in the shade, from this close they were still impressive
Beinn Alligin
Looking across to the Culags hills
Summit of An Staonach
David having a nap
The Western Isles – not as clear as the night before!
Slabs and reflections
Beinn Alligin across a lochan
It was so hot and the idea of a good long break was a really attractive thought except for the midges….so after dancing around for a bit we headed off.
Looking across to Sgurr a’ Gharaidh again
We tried to keep a bit further south on our way down where the ground was a bit less steep. It sort of helped, and did also give us some slightly different views of Maol Chean-Dearg and An Ruadh-Stac
We made our way carefully down the steepest section – a few interesting downclimbs but nothing too awkward. As we looked back up it was hard to believe how we managed to get down
We tried to avoid the worst of the extra ups and down by keeping right. David went the opposite direction for reasons unknown
A last glimpse of the biggies before we drop further down
We met back up with David as we started dropping down the final steep section
It was a struggle to drag myself the last short distance to the car but finally I was there. Sgurr a’ Gharaidh was still looking very impressive
Back at the car I was relieved not to have to walk any further. David found some chocolate which we ate, and there was a little water left. I threw the keys at Malky and told him to do something about driving us home
Turns out it was a bit too much for me as the next 3 weeks were a bit of a wipe-out… Such is the reality at the moment sadly
We agreed an attempt on the small An Staonach could be a good idea – great views for minimal effort (hahaha)… We parked up at the bottom of the cliffs on the high point of the road back to Shieldaig and David spent ages faffing and showing off his bright green shoes. Eventually we were off – we skirted around the bottom of the cliffs trying to avoid any unnecessary downs. The views back were already amazing
Malky and David lead the way – it was blisteringly hot and I was struggling
We gained height slowly and once we were on the top of the initial plateau the views really opened out. Beinn Damh, Maol Chean-Dearg and An Ruadh-Stac were looking splendid
Sgurr a’ Gharaidh – our camp spot the night before
We had to trog around some annoying ups and downs which were both exhausting and soul-destroying each time they proved to be unnecessary
Soon we reached a big wall of cliffs – we could see it would be easily possible to work our way in between the layers of rock, but it looked pretty brutal
I was exhausted and wanted to stop, but every time I did the midges caught up with me
However, the views down to Loch Shieldaig were stunning And looking the other direction to Beinn Damh, Maol Chean-Dearg, An Ruadh-Stac and Sgurr a’ Gharaidh
Finally at the almost-top we had a choice of lots of different summits. I declared that the one I was standing on was the one and I wasn’t moving any further (although after being fed a very melted chocolate bar and a drink of water I was persuaded to continue
)A distant Beinn Alligin
Panoramic shot of Loch Shieldaig to Ben Damh
Beinn Damh to Sgurr a’ Gharaidh and Loch Carron
I dragged myself across a few lumps and bumps towards the actual summit. It was so still that there were really impressive reflections on the wee lochans (and also swarms of midges
)Although the spectacular corries of Beinn Bhan were now in the shade, from this close they were still impressive
Beinn Alligin
Looking across to the Culags hills
Summit of An Staonach
David having a nap
The Western Isles – not as clear as the night before!
Slabs and reflections
Beinn Alligin across a lochan
It was so hot and the idea of a good long break was a really attractive thought except for the midges….so after dancing around for a bit we headed off.
Looking across to Sgurr a’ Gharaidh again
We tried to keep a bit further south on our way down where the ground was a bit less steep. It sort of helped, and did also give us some slightly different views of Maol Chean-Dearg and An Ruadh-Stac
We made our way carefully down the steepest section – a few interesting downclimbs but nothing too awkward. As we looked back up it was hard to believe how we managed to get down
We tried to avoid the worst of the extra ups and down by keeping right. David went the opposite direction for reasons unknown
A last glimpse of the biggies before we drop further down
We met back up with David as we started dropping down the final steep section
It was a struggle to drag myself the last short distance to the car but finally I was there. Sgurr a’ Gharaidh was still looking very impressive
Back at the car I was relieved not to have to walk any further. David found some chocolate which we ate, and there was a little water left. I threw the keys at Malky and told him to do something about driving us home
Turns out it was a bit too much for me as the next 3 weeks were a bit of a wipe-out… Such is the reality at the moment sadly
