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Corbetts: Creag Rainich.
Date: 01 and 02/02/2014.
Distance: 20km.
Ascent: 815m.
Time taken: 5 hours, 15 minutes.
Weather: Windy, sleety, snowy, rainy, in/out of cloud, very occasionally sunny.
With Gill away in Glasgow, I had the car to myself for the weekend. Unsurprisingly the weather didn't co-operate, so rather than waste money driving down to Glen Etive for what would have been a long day in the snow, I opted for a bothy trip closer to home. Seemed a good way to get out into the hills without actually having to go up any if things were really bad. The Huchison Hut appealed until I thought about how much effort it would take to get a bag of coal in there from the north
. Never mind - Lochivraon was also high on the 'to do' list.
Left the house at 2:30pm on Saturday, stopping off in Contin to get some coal and kindling. The weather was quite mild and the winds low when I arrived at the pull-off next to the Lochivraon track. Easy walk-in. Passed a few people on the way in - a couple of dog walkers, some guys who had been out in the Fannichs, and some estate guys on an ATV. That was all in the first 20 minutes though. The rest of the way in was quiet.
Heavy load:
Gleann Breabaig:
I arrived shortly after 5 with a little light remaining, and reminded myself how poor my fire skills were. Took me a couple of hours and many failed attempts to get a good blaze going. Still, I didn't have anything better to do.
Worth the effort:
The bothy is in the shed behind the main house, and well kitted out. There is even a toilet and a sink. The main drawback is that it is a single room - hard to keep the heat in. Interesting corrugated roof too. Sounded like the end of the world throughout the night, but the weather was no worse than normal. Plenty of familiar names in the (full) log book - Squiz, Clova, Foggieclimber and Keithpostie were spotted immediately.
At first light the next morning, things were looking grim. I went back to bed and contemplated walking back out to the car by the loch. When I eventually rolled out of bed again, there were spots of blue sky. So I decided that I should at least head out over Creag Rainich. By the time I started walking, it was after 11am, and it was the only feasible option really.
Lochivraon Bothy:
Lochivraon lodge:
Loch a’ Bhraoin and Beinn Enaglair:
Beinn Beag:
Beinn Enaglair and Meall Doire Faid:
Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair looked extremely tempting on the walk westward, but I'd left it a bit late for either that or the slabs up to Sgurr Ban. Also I knew the windspeed would be fun enough at 800m, never mind above 1000m.
Eastern tops of Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair:
Slioch:
Sgurr Dubh:
I can't remember where I read that Fainasheen was at one time a habitable bothy - maybe it was Dave Hewitt's 'Walking the Watershed'. There's little left of it now though.
Fainasheen – bothy no more:
Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair:
Cul Doireachan:
I followed the same route up as I had a couple of years ago, sticking to the western edge of the hill for the views over Loch an Nid. Slioch and bits of Torridon made fleeting appearences to the south.
Sgurr Ban:
Loch an Nid and Beinn a’ Chlaidheimh:
The Loch an Nid slabs looked as great as ever. There were some strongish gusts of wind as I gained height, usually accompanied by showers of pelting hail/sleet. Fortunately there were good views in between.
Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair and slabs:
Slabs cascading down into Loch an Nid:
Summit of Creag Rainich:
An Teallach:
Fionn Bheinn and Groban:
An Teallach:
N face of Creag Rainich:
Just like on my last visit, I ended up racing the bad weather to the summit, only this time I won. Only just, though. The weather was upon me as I descended towards Meall Dubh, still unsure whether to stay up high or descend back to the lochside for the walk back to the car.
NE ridge:
North from the summit:
Lochan on Meall Dubh:
I decided to stay on the ridge, as I hadn't done this last time. A couple of places I traversed the side to get some shelter, almost descending on one occasion. The descent to Loch a' Bhraoin looked rough though, so I stuck with the ridge. Glad I did, as the clag cleared briefly on the final summit of Meall an t-Sithe, with great views back to Strath na Sealga. Mind you, my camera was struggling to cope with the moisture by then, so it doesn't look as great as it really was.
Groban:
Loch a’ Bhraoin:
Summit of Meall an t-Sithe:
Beinn a’ Chlaidheimh and Beinn Dearg Mhor:
…and An Teallach:
Then it was a short, steep descent towards the road. Interesting to observe how quiet and desolate this road can be from above. I hardly saw anything on it. A quick squelch across the flat bog took me to within a 15 minute road walk of the car.
Towards Loch Broom:
A’ Chailleach and Sgurr Breac:
It was howling as I opened the car up, so I jumped in and drove off without getting changed. An hour later I was home and dry. Quite a reasonable use of a poor looking weekend.
