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67,458 meters of acsent.....965 kilometers walked.....£s in fuel dont even want to think how much.....1 torn anterior ligament.....1 fractured heel.....more days spent walking in the clag than I care to remember.....having to turn back and/or missing planned trips for one reason or another, too many to mention.....three & a half years in the making,this does not even begin to tell half the story,but one person above all else has been with me from the start,my wife Elizabeth,the most amazing woman any man could ever wish for.Why,well she has been my rock,when it should have been the other way round this last three years,people on this site who know me best,alan s,stretch,polly,jb likes a beer will know what has been going on for the last 3 years,3 years of battling breast cancer,having open heart surgery to remove a blood clot,also having an emergency operation to remove most of her main bowel caused by a blood clot,all after affects of chemo therapy,yet all this time Elizabeth was always there,asking how my walks went,always worrying when I was out myself,always there when I got home,no matter how long I had been away,or how late I got home,so none of this would be possible without my wife.
So here was the weekend,the WH Kintail weekend where Alan & me should both reach the landmark of 100 munro"s each,arrived in Kintail around 5pm on fri, where many hands were shook,friends old and new were met and a few drinks were taken before heading for bed around midnight,an alarm call around 5.30am and of we headed to Torridon via the by-pass at Stromeferry(onto the railway line) arriving in the carpark,and walking by 8.30am.The weather at this stage was not too good with cloud hanging low over the 1st view of Tom na Gruagaich
- cloud on Tom na Gruagaich
Never mind lets hope it gets better,cause the view back down to Loch Torridon was amazing
- Loch Torridon
Higher up the cloud was clearing now and again giving a 1st view Na Rathanan(horns of alligin)
- Horns of Alligin
Both Alan and I were building up a sweat by this time as we headed up into Coire nan Laogh
- Heading to Coire nan Laogh
But this was no hardship because we still had stunning views back to Loch Torridon,where the mixture of sun and cloud made for a fine setting
- Mean & moody Loch Torridon
And the views in front when we reached the ridge over to Na Rathanan even more mean and moody,raising the hair on my neck and arms
- The Horns of Alligin
Once you reach the ridge the ridge line it flattens out and in no time the 1st and no 99 summit for Alan & I is reached,where the view is well
- No 99 Tom na Gruagaich different summit,same view
Never mind we"ll take a food break here,and have 15/20min rest before we move on,eh no we wont,it now starts snowing,so a quick 5min and on we plod heading for the Eag Dubh & Sgorr Mhor
- Eag Dubh & Sgorr Mhor
The descent is fairly steep and made all the more difficult in the high wind,but at least the snow has gone,and soon we reach the bealach,with the cloud now scurrying over Tom na Gruagaich making our mood as black the clouds rushing by
- Clouds rushing by
At least we now get a look at the bands of rock that form Beinn Alligin
- Beinn Alligin
Passing the Eag Dubh(the wall of the whailing)we take a quick look down,or into it but dont get too close incase the a gust of wind comes and sends us down to its murcky depths
- Eag Dubh
Finally after all the trials and tribulations over the last few years me and Alan arrive at the summit of Sgorr Mhor number 100 for both of us,for both its a fine landmark,we climbed our 1st muno Ben Lomond in jeans and trainers,no map,no compass & no clue,so a big slap on the back for both of us,handshakes are swapped & summit pic is taken in,well
- Sgorr Mhor 100th with clag & a rockhopper inspired moment
A well errand rest is taken here with both of us chuffed to bits,but a bit **** of with no views anywhere,so much for Alan saying earlier that day"dont worry big man,god will look after us" aye right mate,I do belive, but miracles only happen once evey hunderd or so years.................so guess what.............here"s the miracle,no words will ever explain what happened,or the views that opened up befoe our eye"s,so just enjoy our miracle,hope the pics do it justice.
- The Horns & Beinn Dearg behind
- Fisherfield & Letterewe
- Fisherfield & Letterewe
- Fisherfield & Letterewe,A"Mhaighdean & Ruadh Stac Mor somewhere there
- Baobheinn & Slioch behind
- Slioch right of centre
- More Horns & Beinn Dearg in background
- Liathach
- Back to Tom na Gruagaich
As you can imagine we sat here for over an hour drinking in all that we could see,know one else on the mountain,know one else looking at our views,no sound,nothing,perfect,no perfect is not the word,there is no word,yes Alan your right, god was indeed looking after us this day.
Ah,the "horns",aye still to get over the "horns",been looking at them for a while now,man they look menacing,steep,rocky,exposed (not good with exposed),we could turn round a re-trace our steps,but thats not on,no point in that,lets finish out day on a high,so off down the ridge and our date with the buggers
- Looking at a Horn
- Baobheinn from the horns
- The Horns,Loch Torridon & me
- Looking back at the 1st Horn
Once over the last Horn,there are huge terraced buttresses to climb down,not seen from the top,but these pose no probs and in no time you are heading home with some wonderful views all around.
Well thats my report,hope you all enjoy it even half as much as we did,and I"ll tell you something about our miracle,it wasnt a miracle,just a stunning day in the mountains,the miracle,my miracle was back home waiting,waiting for me,waiting to see my pics,waiting to hear my story........Thanks.