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.

A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach


Postby ScottishLeaf » Fri Sep 26, 2014 12:40 am

Route description: Liathach, Glen Torridon

Munros included on this walk: Mullach an Rathain (Liathach), Spidean a' Choire Lèith (Liathach)

Date walked: 13/09/2014

Time taken: 9 hours

Distance: 10 km

Ascent: 1220m

7 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).

First of all let me apologise to my walking buddies for the tardiness of this report, such has life been in these past few days this is the first time I've had an hour to sit down and write. In that time, Jonny616 has even been back up to Torridon again and written a cracking report of his own.

So let me take you back to the Saturday before last, the 13th day in September 2014. When not even the referendum could hang in the air, as large as the southern face of the Greyish One. The mighty southern cliffs of Liathach made for an intimidating welcome after the long 4 hour plus drive into the North West from the Central Belt.

Liathach South Face.jpg


Perhaps, it was an omen for things to follow, because immediately thought... "No Thanks."
Such thoughts didn't last long, for I was soon under an aerial bombardment. Torridon's Midgie Flying Squadron were swooping in for breakfast. It was time to get booted and suited and just as 9 o'clock tolled, we were off.

The walk starts off relatively straight forward, but soon gets steeper and steeper. Up the glen Sgurr Dubh and Beinn Liath Mhor look grand and from here so does Seana Mheallan across the glen. Great scores visible across the Marilyn, showing the direction of the travel of the ice that sculpted this amazing place.

But in what seems like no time the walk takes you higher than the wee Marilyn and the first, of many, many scrambly bits are reached.

Scrambly Bit.jpg


These first few scrambles don't present any real difficulty in the dry and soon we were reaching the only rest bite Liathach offers on the ascent, in the little flatish bit at the foot of Toll a'Meitheach.

Path up.jpg


Toll a'Meitheach.jpg


We took the liberty of a breather here, taking on board fluids and pepping up for the last steep slog up onto Liathach's ridge.

After the flat bit the path is a bit rougher and there are some parts where you'll probably need to get your hands dirty, but there are no real difficulties, other than the punishingly steep terrain. As you look along the ridge, the great terraces that make up Liathach just seem to make the moutain look even tougher.

Dirty Hands.jpg


Terraces.jpg


Then rather unexpectedly the path begins to flatten out and a small cairn is reached... don't be too exuberant when you reach the cairn... don't run past it, or you find yourself being Wylie Coyote.... only humans don't recoved from 3000 foot falls like cartoon coyotes! Coireag Dubh Beag lies way down below and bring a stark reminder to brains fogged by the tough slog up the mountain that Liathach is not a mountain to trifle with and this is a tame part!!

At the wee cairn our party split in two, three of us went of the Eastern top, Stuic a'Choire Duibh Bhig. Hoping to gain a view of Beinn Eighe through the grey mists. Nae such luck, but the wee top was in the bag..... This top is the same height as Ben Vane at Arrochar... Ben Vane's a tough nut, but SCDB makes it look like a walk in the park... then the realisation dawns SCDB is not even a munro!

Sail Mhor.jpg


The grey mists were annoying, they were sparse enough that we could see all the great drops around us, but dense enough to rob us of most of the stupendous views we knew this mountain grants walkers.

We didn't hang around on the eastern top for long, no real views and three pals to catch up with meant time was short on it. The walk back towards the wee cairn if anything provides an even better view, the narrow ridge leading up to Spidean a'Choire Leith.

Liathach Ridge.jpg



Liathach Man and Ridge.jpg



Clear Ridge.jpg



The ridge is however easier than it looks, yep there is exposure, but only on one side and the paths are broad. A steady plod along these paths and over some boulders passes without much difficulty. Soon we had caught the others at the top of Spidean a'Choire Leith. Number 90 in the bag for me and definitely one of the most challenging and rewarding. "YES!" I had made it! I had strived for the impossible dream and gotten it, even if the views were partially obscured.

Pinnacles.jpg



Mullach an Rathain.jpg


The descent down from the Spidean is over an awkward a steep boulder field, can't say I enjoyed it too much, but my mind wasn't thinking about boulders...it was thinking about the ever approaching pinnacles. We were literally heading into The Teeth of Liathach, Am Fasarinen.

Spidean Boulders.jpg



The Teeth.jpg


As we approached them I decided I'd was going over the teeth and not around them. I was to be last up. I wanted to watch the others and see what route they took... this was the first time I had done any "real" scrambling and I didn't want it to be my last.

The first pinnacle has a big rounded boulder near the top, with only a couple of wee grooves to get your feet into. For an experienced scrambler, no problems. I however just couldn't see where to put feet... on the other side of the boulder.... nothing. Thin air for the best part of 900m straight down. Time to ask for help. Cue Spider, his patience was excellent. Footstep by hand hold, he got me up.. on to the top of the rounded boulder... only I decided to sit down.. Straddling the rock like it was a horse... right foot hanging over the afore mentioned thin air.


BIG drop.jpg



The left foot was much better, it was dangling about 10 feet off the ground!! ... Leaning all to the left... (I'd rather fall 2 or 3 metres than 900!) I bum shuffled along the rock, found a protruding rock, stepped onto it and up! The first pinnacle was conquered.... I needed a seat and I needed dram, but I only had lucozade... the relief swept through me. Then a strange buzz, thinking back I still don't know if I enjoyed that or not!

As I took a swqig of Lucozade, Alec was making the top of the second pinnacle.

Alec Pinnacle.jpg


I followed him shortly after and then onto the third, the but by then I'd had enough of scrambling. With the largest pinnacle to come, I opted for the bypass.... no easy alternative. Walking the bypass is like walking on a shelf. A narrow terrace extending out about one or two feet from the sheer cliff face, that snakes it's way round the front of the mountain, in and out of gullies; it slithers over damp patches, exposed boulders and muddy spots. It's not for the faint of heart.


Gully.jpg



Willie Bypass.jpg



Bypass.jpg



Once The Teeth are past it's a casual plod up the hill towards Mullach an Rathain.... It shouldn't be named after the police, it should be named after whisky..... cause after the trauma that's just past and the knowledge of the difficult descent to come, you might need a dram at this relatively peaceful summit.


Plod.jpg



Ridge From Rathain.jpg



Northern Pinnacles.jpg



Liathach Team.jpg




The greyish haze however, once again robbed us of any real views, only nearby stuff visible, Beinn Alligin all but invisible.

"Mullach nan Uisge Beatha" is left behind and an intially easy walk down the ridge is brought to an abrupt halt, on scree type stuff. It's not a scree run, but it's all loose and horrible and incredibly steep. Down, down, down it goes into coire. All the time however the path gradually improves, until the grassy stuff is reached again. "AYE!" I was down... almost!

Scree Descent.jpg



The path alternates between a dirt path crossing grass and rocky/slabby patches. It is, no matter, a tough, tiring descent and I was burst by the time the ladder style was reached.

Bottom.jpg



Thankfully the road isn't much further beyond. Where once again Spider came to the rescue. He was miles in front of me by now.. he brought his jeep along to the end of the descent path and gave us all a lift back along to the car park... Better Together... at least this once ... until we all fell victim to the Torridon Airborne Midge Squadron.

Forty-Five midgie bites later, we were driving past Beinn Eighe in glorious sunshine, all the summits completely clear. Such is, the always constant, Hillwalkers Law... at least when you're walking with the Clagmeisters Jonny616 and Gammy Leg Walker!
User avatar
ScottishLeaf
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 357
Munros:114   Corbetts:6
Fionas:2   Donalds:2
Sub 2000:6   
Islands:11
Joined: Mar 13, 2012
Location: Stenhousemuir

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby spiderwebb » Fri Sep 26, 2014 10:08 am

Great read Bryan, brilliant day :D

The impossible dream, yep, easy really, hmm impossible dream, you an Andy Williams fan too ? :lol:
User avatar
spiderwebb
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 1515
Munros:97   Corbetts:15
Fionas:3   Donalds:1
Hewitts:108
Wainwrights:68   
Joined: May 18, 2011
Location: Miltonduff, Elgin

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby BlackPanther » Fri Sep 26, 2014 11:00 am

The monster tamed again :D Well done guys, the Grey One is always a superb adventure, even if the day is a bit hazy... Actually, we were just next to you that Saturday, on Beinn Dearg, another good scrambling test!

Brownie points for "Torridon Airborne Midge Squadron" :lol: :lol: :lol:
User avatar
BlackPanther
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 3839
Munros:268   Corbetts:182
Fionas:136   
Sub 2000:75   
Joined: Nov 2, 2010
Location: Beauly, Inverness-shire

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby Avocetboy » Fri Sep 26, 2014 12:39 pm

Love it...I think the photos off that Bypass path have just about convinced me not to try it!!!
Avocetboy
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 374
Munros:59   Corbetts:21
Fionas:7   Donalds:9
Sub 2000:8   Hewitts:41
Wainwrights:74   Islands:7
Joined: Feb 6, 2011
Location: Boston, Lincolnshire

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby BoyVertiginous » Fri Sep 26, 2014 12:54 pm

Avocetboy wrote:Love it...I think the photos off that Bypass path have just about convinced me not to try it!!!

Save it for Winter, when you can't see the path :wink:
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: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby dogplodder » Fri Sep 26, 2014 2:58 pm

Felt quite tense reading that and your photos didn't help! :lol:
User avatar
dogplodder
 
Posts: 4236
Munros:242   Corbetts:74
Fionas:25   
Sub 2000:32   Hewitts:4
Wainwrights:9   Islands:24
Joined: Jul 16, 2011

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby quoman » Fri Sep 26, 2014 5:20 pm

Nice read again Bryan, Me and Dawn went up the following saturday 20th never seen a thing :( tried the first pinnacle but it was to slippy so took the path all the way after that.
User avatar
quoman
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 960
Munros:282   Corbetts:10
Fionas:1   Donalds:5
Sub 2000:2   
Joined: Nov 14, 2011
Location: larbert

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby dawnfoth » Fri Sep 26, 2014 5:52 pm

Great report Bryan! You total wuss!! :lol: Just kidding! I was so desperate to climb the pinnacles and was sooooo disappointed because I couldn't as when Wuls and I were there the weather was total pants and wet. To be completely honest though the bypass path was incredible! I loved it :D I am glad that I have done it but I will be back on a glorious sunny day to climb the pinnacles and those astonishing views that those mountain have to offer. :D The Midges up there are bloody awful! :shock:
dawnfoth
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 267
Munros:269   Corbetts:16
Fionas:3   Donalds:1
Sub 2000:3   Hewitts:8
Wainwrights:11   Islands:6
Joined: Oct 6, 2012
Location: Dunblane

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby tomyboy73 » Fri Sep 26, 2014 7:06 pm

Brilliantly scary report of a brilliantly scary mountain :clap:
User avatar
tomyboy73
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 1080
Munros:185   Corbetts:40
Fionas:9   Donalds:3
Sub 2000:6   Hewitts:6
Wainwrights:3   Islands:5
Joined: Jan 21, 2010
Walk wish-list

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby Alteknacker » Sat Sep 27, 2014 3:00 pm

A wonderful mountain, for sure. You got some pretty decent photies too, clag notwithstanding. :clap:
User avatar
Alteknacker
Scrambler
 
Posts: 3473
Munros:176   Corbetts:33
Fionas:1   
Hewitts:264
Wainwrights:118   
Joined: May 25, 2013
Location: Effete South (of WIgan, anyway)

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby gammy leg walker » Sat Sep 27, 2014 7:07 pm

Great account of our day mate.

Glad this ones now done.

Rollon the next one.
User avatar
gammy leg walker
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 3464
Munros:282   Corbetts:7
Fionas:4   Donalds:3+0
Sub 2000:2   
Islands:7
Joined: Jan 30, 2010
Location: Central Region
Walk wish-list

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby tall-story » Sat Sep 27, 2014 10:33 pm

Great stuff guys :) I remember sitting on this by-pass path having my piece :roll: on the very day the hill was on fire 3 years ago :shock:
tall-story
Walker
 
Posts: 295
Munros:158   Corbetts:222
Fionas:37   Donalds:22
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:21
Wainwrights:21   
Joined: Jan 16, 2010
Location: Doune

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby ancancha » Sun Sep 28, 2014 2:55 pm

Very informative photos despite the clag, thanks! :clap:
User avatar
ancancha
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 989
Munros:84   Corbetts:3
Fionas:1   Donalds:1
Joined: Jun 30, 2014
Location: Killadysert

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby canofirnbru » Sun Sep 28, 2014 3:20 pm

Great report Bryan :clap: and a great day out too! :D 8)
User avatar
canofirnbru
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 244
Munros:5   Corbetts:85
Fionas:11   Donalds:24+11
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:1
Islands:6
Joined: Nov 7, 2010
Location: Grangemouth
Walk wish-list

Re: A Greyish Day On The Greyish One - Liathach

Postby Rottiewalker » Mon Sep 29, 2014 7:20 pm

another great report brian :clap: :clap: , roll on beinn eighe :)
Attachments
1.jpg
User avatar
Rottiewalker
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 113
Munros:282   Corbetts:56
Fionas:5   Donalds:23
Sub 2000:14   
Joined: Apr 16, 2012

7 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: alanrnelson, murrayp, rmse047071 and 77 guests