walkhighlands

Share your personal walking route experiences in Scotland, and comment on other peoples' reports.
Warning Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.

corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest


Postby mgmt! » Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:16 am

Corbetts included on this walk: Beinn na h-Uamha, Càrn na Nathrach, Druim Tarsuinn, Sgòrr Craobh a' Chaorainn, Sgùrr Dhomhnuill, Sgùrr Ghiubhsachain

Date walked: 21/04/2012

Time taken: 18 hours

Distance: 40 km

Ascent: 3348m

10 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).

ive had a busy few weeks, fishing, weddings and a few nights out. id sneaked in a few corbetts while travelling to and from deeside fishing, mostly finishing in the time the smc guide book give for getting to the summit. quick little hills, but i needed something more, a weekend expedition, something to test me mentally and physically. after reading klasslopts jaunt from arrochar to streap i looked at the ardgour section of my smc book. this route stood out to me, 6 corbetts streching the length of ardgour. i started planning the route and broke it down to two sections with an overnight camp. my initial distances were day 1 17km with 2000 m of ascent, and day 2, 15km with 1200m of ascent. now ive done a few big routes and thinking i was quite fit i had visions of actually completing the whole route in one big day. (how wrong was i )
i txted my daughter my route and said to contact mountain rescue if i didnt contact her by 6 30pm sunday evening, headed up to the lomond mc hut at onich on friday night. caught the 7 50am corran ferry and was on my way at 8 am saturday morning. turned left from the ferry and headed along the a861, after a few km took a right to sallachan, crossed the bridge and turned right at the gate into glen gour. walking along the south shore of loch na gabhar the first corbett of the day comes into view, beinn na h uamha.
P4210016.JPG
beinn na h uamha

after about 5km i had to cross the river and gain the south east ridge. there are no paths ( or i couldnt see any ) so i plodd up a grassy gully that takes me to the base of the outcrop stob uilt dharaich, quite rocky, but again its up little grassy gullies and a little scramble here and there before i gain the eastern ridge of uamha, two more steep and soggy plodds and im on the summit, its a pea souper of clag and i cant see a thing. i take a bearing for a little lochan to the west and head off. i round a little rocky ledge and bypass a bit of snow, after a few minutes i should be at the lochan, but i cant see it. or anything else ! i take out the map and as the mist thins i see a little rise to my left and im thinking that shouldnt be there ! spark up the gps and get a grid ref, take another bearing and eventually find the lochan. once im descending the western ridge the mist clears and i can at last see the way ahead.
P4210017.JPG
the view down glen gour from uamha

as im heading westward to sgurr a chaorainn the terrain reminds me of knoydart rugged and knarrly, its difficult to determine a route, you basically have to go with the terrain, weaving in and out and up and down the rocky knolls.
P4210021.JPG
sgurr a chaorainn

once on chaorainn i descend steeply to the bealach with sgurr na h lghinn, and ascend steeply again to the top of sgurr na h lghinn. im blowing here, the ground is soggy, there are no paths and ive got a full weekends camping pack.
P4210023.JPG
srurr dhomhnill

the cloud level seems to be around the 700m mark, but its showers and the summit views come and go with the showers. after another slog up im resting on the summit, photo taken, i head north westward down the steep snow clad ridge, its extremely slippy and as i near the bealach i meet a group of walkers on the way up. they were staying in strontain and had just come from carn na nathrach ( my next target ) after discussing there route i stick to my own and ascend the unnamed 803 top.
P4210028.JPG
sgurr dhomhuill from 803 top

P4210029.JPG
carn na nathrach from 803 top

while compiling this route i had concerns with two of the descents, this northen ridge and the descent of the northern ridge of nathrach. this first ridge proved tricky, the clag as it always does comes down when you dont want it too. im not to sure and as im looking for a way down on my bearing its too steep, i manage to find a gully dropping eastward and follow this down bearing north and westward as and when i could. its a relief when i get to the dried up lochan which marks the end of the descent. but this only heralds the start of another steep ascent. im really toiling now, slipping and sinking into the soft moss. im stopping more often than i do, i take a photo of the ridge i just come down and im glad i choose the gully.
P4210030.JPG
north ridge

i sit at the summit of carn na nathrach goosed, i make myself a cup of coffee and take some food. the views of the way ahead are clear, but ive another tricky descent and im really feeling the pace.
P4210034.JPG
coire an t searraich and the way ahead

the initial descent from nathrach is west, im trying to gain the westerly ridge over looking mam beathaig, i find the ridge, i think im following klasslopt,s route and intend following the gully down to the forrest edge. the gully becomes steeper and steeper, its not easy going down with this weight on my back and im really tired. i get to one step !! i call it a " right your here " moment, its my way of saying to myself switch on, this could go pear shaped, i get my poles dug in and get down the step. i verred out to the rockier ground on the left and its with some relief im at the riverside looking for somewere to make camp.
P4210035.JPG
druim tarsuinn and meall mor

P4210037.JPG
campsite

i make some food, have a few drams ( medicinal ) and its lights out at 9 30pm. after breakfast and packing up camp im making my way up the very soggy path into coire an t searraich, once above the trees the views open up,
P4220039.JPG
gleann an lochainn duibh

as i gain the bealach an sgriodain the clag comes down, i leave my rucsack and head upwards to druim tarsuinn. i find a cairn but take a look round to make sure the ground drops off,confirming im at the summit, return to the bealach, pick up my bag, take a bearing and head northwest, there are lots of fence post here and once on the ridge down there seems to be two sets of fences running parrallel, i stay in no mans land and as the clag lifts i follow a set of fence posts up the southern slope of meall nan creag leac, soggy and grassy as i near this top i meet the last eeijit to try this route with a full weekend pack.
P4220041.JPG
remains of the last attempt

clag comes in again as im on top of meall nan creag leac and its a bearing again to gain the eastern ridge of sgurr ghiubhsachainn.
P4220044.JPG
druim tarsuinn
P4220046.JPG
sgurr ghiubhsachain

with the little shower that passed the way ahead was clear, and after a few little tops im on the penultimate corbett sgurr ghiubhsachain. the way ahead is clear as i head of eastward to a little lochan.
P4220048.JPG
sgorr craobh a chaorainn
P4220048.JPG
sgorr craobh a chaorainn

after the lochan im on my final ascent and this seems to be the easiest of them all and the views around are stunning.
P4220050.JPG
beinn odhar mhor, bheag and beinn chaorainn
P4220052.JPG
nevis range

at last i reach the final corbett of sgorr craobh a chaorainn,
P4220051.JPG
chaorainn summit pic

i get the stove out and brew up a nice cup of coffee, and savour the views all round.
P4220053.JPG
coffee and cake on the summit

its all downhill as i head of northeast over meall na cuataige, pick up the path passed callop. i walk along the a830 to the station at glenfinnan.
P4220060.JPG
glenfinnan monument

im early for the train so i hitched a lift to fort william, got dropped off facing macdonalds, so i popped in for a big mac meal ( would have been rude not too ) and as i try to txt my daughter my phone goes dead !!! its 4pm my car is at corran and the bus leaves at 7 10 pm. i walk to the police station and inform them im ok if my daughter does call.
as im at the far end of town i try to hitch down to corran, 10 minutes later im in a bmw heading to corran, pick up my car and hot tail it back to glasgow. i plug in my phone at 7 25 pm and phone my daugher ( i had 10 missed calls from her ) she was giving me till 7 30 before making the call in case i slept in :lol:
well i wanted a big weekend and i certainly got it, and as for being a bit blas-e about this route, these ardgour corbetts put me in my place big syle
Attachments

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

Last edited by mgmt! on Tue Apr 24, 2012 5:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
mgmt!
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 540
Joined: Oct 18, 2010

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby kevsbald » Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:33 am

had looked at doing this, this summer but adding in a couple of Grahams too. Fine effort indeed. Good to see the logistics.
User avatar
kevsbald
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 2248
Munros:273   Corbetts:134
Fionas:82   Donalds:53
Sub 2000:16   Hewitts:17
Wainwrights:29   
Joined: Jan 15, 2009
Location: Glasgow

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby Mountainlove » Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:57 am

Wow what a walk and with the added weight of a backpack this sounds pretty hard going...but well written and I enjoyed the photos. Thank you for sharing :D
User avatar
Mountainlove
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 1346
Munros:88   Corbetts:54
Fionas:7   Donalds:10
Sub 2000:3   
Islands:10
Joined: Feb 2, 2010
Location: North Ayrshire

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby BoyVertiginous » Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:35 am

mgmt! wrote:as i near this top i meet the last eeijit to try this route with a full weekend pack.

:lol: :lol:

Enjoyed that, thanks. Intend to do some of these in October, won't be all six though.
User avatar
BoyVertiginous
Wanderer
 
Posts: 1327
Munros:251   Corbetts:75
Fionas:26   Donalds:11
Sub 2000:49   Hewitts:33
Wainwrights:62   Islands:18
Joined: Jun 14, 2011
Location: california

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby mountain thyme » Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:36 am

were you not fit enough to add in Garbh Bheinn too... I planned to do that taking in that one also :)
User avatar
mountain thyme
Walker
 
Posts: 984
Munros:40   Corbetts:222
Fionas:12   Donalds:11
Sub 2000:3   Hewitts:1
Wainwrights:1   Islands:17
Joined: Jul 22, 2010
Location: Glasgow

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby mgmt! » Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:07 pm

kevsbald wrote:had looked at doing this, this summer but adding in a couple of Grahams too. Fine effort indeed. Good to see the logistics.

thanks kev, the stats are from my memory map route, actual route would be a tad longer, good luck when you tackle these.

Mountainlove wrote:Wow what a walk and with the added weight of a backpack this sounds pretty hard going...but well written and I enjoyed the photos. Thank you for sharing :D


thanks ml, one of my hardest weekends to date.

mountain thyme wrote:were you not fit enough to add in Garbh Bheinn too... I planned to do that taking in that one also :)


defo not fit enough to include garbh bheien in weekend, look foward to your trip report and see how you factor in garbh bheinn
BoyVertiginous wrote:
mgmt! wrote:as i near this top i meet the last eeijit to try this route with a full weekend pack.

:lol: :lol:

Enjoyed that, thanks. Intend to do some of these in October, won't be all six though.


thanks boyvertiginous, have a good trip whichever one you do.
mgmt!
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 540
Joined: Oct 18, 2010

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby monty » Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:20 pm

Nice report Mgmt. Sounded like a tough walk at times with full kit and some serious ascents and descents. Excellent. :D
monty
 

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby xslawekx » Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:47 pm

Good effort, man. Interesting route. Almost chocked too death on my fruit cocktail trifle when saw the photo "remains of the last attempt' :thumbup:
User avatar
xslawekx
 
Posts: 656
Munros:282   Corbetts:211
Fionas:169   Donalds:57
Sub 2000:335   Hewitts:5
Wainwrights:8   Islands:13
Joined: Jul 17, 2010
Location: Inverness

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby Collaciotach » Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:55 pm

You crossed my beat a bhalaich :lol: ...she is a wet boggy palce in parts especially moving up the Glen at the start

good report :D
User avatar
Collaciotach
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 1896
Munros:282   Corbetts:219
Fionas:47   Donalds:10
Sub 2000:25   
Islands:28
Joined: Aug 8, 2011
Location: Gàidhealtachd an Iar

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby mgmt! » Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:48 pm

monty wrote:Nice report Mgmt. Sounded like a tough walk at times with full kit and some serious ascents and descents. Excellent. :D

xslawekx wrote:Good effort, man. Interesting route. Almost chocked too death on my fruit cocktail trifle when saw the photo "remains of the last attempt' :thumbup:

Collaciotach wrote:You crossed my beat a bhalaich :lol: ...she is a wet boggy palce in parts especially moving up the Glen at the start

good report :D


cheers guys, thanks for replying
mgmt!
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 540
Joined: Oct 18, 2010

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby Bod » Wed Apr 25, 2012 12:14 am

Well mgmt, I am going to have too look at your route carefully now and remind myself of some old plans of mine that you have successfully brought back to the forefront of my mind. This is an amazing area, well done going for it and making it sound such a great adventure ..... :) :) :)
User avatar
Bod
Walker
 
Posts: 1548
Munros:282   Corbetts:67
Fionas:34   Donalds:21
Sub 2000:44   Hewitts:27
Wainwrights:51   Islands:25
Joined: Jul 30, 2010
Location: Cowdenbeath

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby Klaasloopt » Wed Apr 25, 2012 7:59 am

:thumbup: :wave:
You had me smiling a couple of times, and of course brought back some memories of Nathrachs descent. Brutes are these, and among my favourites. Had the same feelings about Craob a'Chaorain: things open up, you're free of the tangle and Glenfinnan is near.
User avatar
Klaasloopt
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 326
Munros:168   Corbetts:71
Fionas:13   
Sub 2000:22   Hewitts:49
Islands:11
Joined: Jan 13, 2011
Location: Santpoort-Zuid, The Netherlands

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby Johnny Corbett » Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:23 am

mountain thyme wrote:were you not fit enough to add in Garbh Bheinn too... I planned to do that taking in that one also :)


I look forward to this report also, how many Sherpas will you be hiring for this trip MT? :D

A superb report Michael :thumbup: Sounds like a hard couple of days and good to see you doing your Corbetts with all the enthusaism you had for your Munros with :thumbup:
User avatar
Johnny Corbett
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 2983
Munros:25   Corbetts:214
Fionas:168   Donalds:74
Sub 2000:302   Hewitts:1
Islands:14
Joined: May 14, 2010
Location: Livingston

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby dooterbang » Wed Apr 25, 2012 3:35 pm

It appears Corbett bagging is the way forward these days :)

Thats an epic walk with loads of ascent...and going solo meant you didnt have the extra weight of MTs gear :wink:

Thanks for that as possibly something i can attempt one day.
User avatar
dooterbang
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 1828
Munros:262   Corbetts:58
Fionas:18   Donalds:10
Sub 2000:10   Hewitts:18
Wainwrights:21   Islands:19
Joined: Oct 27, 2009
Location: Isle of Skye from Feb 2019 (Originally Glasgow)

Re: corran to glenfinnan a 6 corbett sloggfest

Postby mgmt! » Wed Apr 25, 2012 7:11 pm

Bod wrote:Well mgmt, I am going to have too look at your route carefully now and remind myself of some old plans of mine that you have successfully brought back to the forefront of my mind. This is an amazing area, well done going for it and making it sound such a great adventure ..... :) :) :)


cheers bod, it was an adventure, ferry, mountains, wildlife, camping, food and whiskey :) get over there man, look foward to the report.

Klaasloopt wrote::thumbup: :wave:
You had me smiling a couple of times, and of course brought back some memories of Nathrachs descent. Brutes are these, and among my favourites. Had the same feelings about Craob a'Chaorain: things open up, you're free of the tangle and Glenfinnan is near.


thanks klaasloopt, it was your fantastic report that gave me the motivation :clap:

Johnny Corbett wrote:
mountain thyme wrote:were you not fit enough to add in Garbh Bheinn too... I planned to do that taking in that one also :)


I look forward to this report also, how many Sherpas will you be hiring for this trip MT? :D

A superb report Michael :thumbup: Sounds like a hard couple of days and good to see you doing your Corbetts with all the enthusaism you had for your Munros with :thumbup:


maybe mt will drink loads of red bull and not need any gear !!
done the route in one to save on 5 seperate days as shown in the smc book, ecconomical as well as enthusaism :)

dooterbang wrote:It appears Corbett bagging is the way forward these days :)

Thats an epic walk with loads of ascent...and going solo meant you didnt have the extra weight of MTs gear :wink:

Thanks for that as possibly something i can attempt one day.


awright dooterbang, some of these corbetts are hard going, not as much paths as the munros, and get yourself a good tent and wildcamp, you will love it, you can take your new friend too, brownie points :)
mgmt!
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 540
Joined: Oct 18, 2010

10 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).

Next



Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Walk reports - Scotland

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Jaywizz, Marty Maciver, ScotFinn65 and 77 guests