free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
So I'm back home and on Walkhighlands forum, too. Good to see Scottish mountains again. After two weeks of family gathering and my mum's oversized portions (don't even try to say no!), I'm dying to get out on a hill, even if just a tiny little one.
Just after returning home I caught a nasty throat infection - Kevin still keeps laughing that I brought some kind of Ebola to Scotland
Luckily, it's just a plain autumn cold. Aspirin, honey tea and cough lozenges are doing the job. I hope to be in a better shape for the weekend - weather looks promising and my inner mountain monster won't stay tamed for much longer
Well, that's why today I'm going to catch up with backlog report from the 12th of October. We managed to visit hills one more time before holidays but I had no time to post this story earlier, so here it goes.
We wanted a shorter walk that day and the two Corbetts next to Grey Corries seemed a fine opportunity for easy scrambling. Plus the circuit can be done in 5 to 7 hours and the walk-in is on a good track. The ascent to the first summit is steep but straightforward, and some entertaining scramble-ish climbing awaits on the second Corbett.
We crawled our way up the bumpy track from Corriechoille and parked in the first of the two small parking areas (couldn't torture the poor car up to the second one
). There were people on the higher car park, getting ready to walk, but nobody followed our route so we had the Innses to ourselves that Sunday
Just as we were leaving, we realised, we forgot our walking poles! It had rained the day before and the ground was bound to be wet, so it was a bit of a concern for me, as I'm used to having my walking pole as my "third point of balance" on steep, soaked slopes. Kevin sighed and said - we have to manage without them. At least I have one Pole to walk with - you!
The car park and the morning mist:
The low cloud/mist was everywhere though patchy and I kept my fingers crossed it would burn off later on...
Beinn Bhan and the low cloud around:
The lack of walking poles was not a problem at the moment and very quickly we reached the wee minister, only to find him in his new outfit!
I was fascinated with the layers of low mist and couldn't stop snapping photos...
Past the forest, good pace on the beaten track and soon we faced our first "culprit" - still in cloud and not looking very friendly, but I hoped that the mood changed soon...
What a contrast to the blue-and-mist landscape behind us!
According to the WH description, which I duly read before setting off on this walk, we were supposed to start climbing from an area quarried for grit - we located that easily just after crossing the bridge. There is even a tiny cairn, marking the start of ill-defined path. The path soon disappeared but we didn't really mind, it was just as wet everywhere. Now, I thought, I would appreciate "the third leg" on the slippery surface. But I had to climb using my two legs only
Not that it was a problem...
Hey-ho, let's go!
Overall, the ascent is not as bad as one would think when gazing up this slope. The wettest ground is around a tiny stream, so we just avoided this area and headed slightly to the left, where climbing was easy on grass and heather. Reaching the col just south of Cnoc nan Ceann Mora was simpler than I thought. Looking down, I saw the track below and the massive wall of Stob Coire Gairbhe across the glen:
Five minutes break on the col was necessary for hydration and recording the cloud-dancing spectacle around us...
Just stunning:
Pick-aboo! Stob Coire nan Ceannain playing hide and seek:
Now we faced the final ascent of about 300m to the summit of Cruach Innse - the top was still enveloped in thick cloud but as we noticed, the white fluff was definitely breaking over the Grey Corries, so fingers crossed, it would disperse on "our" hill, too!
The ground became even steeper now and without the walking poles we had to zigzag up to avoid an unpleasant slip. The views behind were good enough reward, though...
Steep it may be, but hey, I'm in my element!
There are some crags (not marked on 1-25k map) on the left-hand side as one faces the summit on the final climb so it is best to keep a straight line. Higher up, we located a faint path and soon we were embraced by the cloud. As a big fan of mr Stephen King I always have scary thoughts when entering the white world... Any monsters in the mist? Giant spiders, blood-sucking insects the size of ravens, flying dinosaurs? Wait, there is something above us, moving!
Luckily for us, it's just a sheep in the mist!
For the last 50m of ascent the angle eased off and much to my joy and content, the mist began to break...
Also, the sun came out and suddenly, we were walking in a totally different surrounding. The world was smiling again!
The summit cairn appeared before us and in next to no time I was posing for my Corbett no. 77 photo
Sgurr Innse was still a misty mirage at the moment:
It was much colder on the summit so we wrapped up in warmer clothes and decided to have a well deserved break here - photos, filming, wandering about, a snack and slurp of something hot. Plus the free cloud-dancing spectacle around us!
To the north and west, lots of little fluffy patches very low above the ground:
To the east... well, judge for yourselves:
Stob Coire nan Ceannain:
The Easains still cloudy at the moment:
Funny cloud shapes:
Summit cairn of Cruach Innse:
Loch Laggan Munros still hidden in the cloud, to the left in this photo two Grahams I would love to climb soon - Binnein Shios and Binnein Shuas:
As we were getting ready to go, the cloud lifted off the other Innse - so we could continue our walk facing the superb view. You must admit though, that with al due respect to Sgurr Innse, it looks tiny compare to the Easains behind:
The Easains clearing:
The descent may look intimidating when one gazes down, but there is an obvious path which omits all crags. Of course, we spent too much time photographing rocky outcrops:
Looking south into Lairig Leacach:
The path is easy and no real scrambling involved anywhere, but it is a bit exposed in places - well, I've grown used to drops above and below, but this may not be to everybody's taste:
Sort-of-scramble-ish section
Looking back up the southern slopes of Cruach Innse:
We descended to Bealach na Cruaiche which turned out to be as wet as it seemed from above. The path dispersed here, but we aimed straight for the second Corbett. Initially, the ascent was straightforward and not too steep. We manoeuvred a bit to avoid the boggiest sections and when we had a glimpse back, well, Cruach Innse looked fantastic in the autumn sunshine:
The massive body of Grey Corries tot he west, with the summit of Stob Ban just peeking out to the very left:
I must admit, our Fuji Finepix has a very impressive zoom!
We reached the bottom of the intimidating wall. According to the description, there IS an easy route to the summit, though it didn't look like it from my perspective...
Stob Ban now in plain sight:
The devil is not as black as he's painted. After a short section up scree and boulders we located a path - it still required some good balancing skills on wet ground, but at least I didn't have co scramble directly up the vertical wall
Back to Cruach Innse again - my favourite view of the day:
The path traverses to the left and as this photo illustrates, the slopes are very steep. Higher up, it zigzags upwards, avoiding the worst rocks - if you stick to the path, hands are not needed
Actually, I played with my camcorder while ascending - making the "Very scary Scottish movie" which then my parents refused to watch, 'cause it seemed too scary for them
View west across the glen to the Grey Corries:
A nice pano east from near the top:
Cruach Innse and the cloudy northern sky:
The summit area, after all that steep dancing-balancing, seemed rather flat, but the views are unforgettable on a good day. The summit cairn is small and built on top of a rock. I posed for my Corbett no. 78
Ok, now sit back, relax and enjoy the superb panoramas from the top of Sgurr Innse. All the cloud gone, sun shining, we had the most breathtaking experience. Really worth the climb!
The Easains. We even spotted walkers on the ridge between the two summits
Binnein Shios and Binnein Shuas again, and my appetite for these two is growing!
View north, with Cruach taking the centre stage:
Zoom to the hills of Knoydart:
Stob Ban. I'm tempted to return to this one in winter conditions - if we get any this year
The two Shepherds from Etive:
Kevin all happy on the summit - he has just climbed two Corbetts with one Pole
Panorama NE with the bulky massive of Creag Meagaidh in the middle:
A happy couple on the hills
Getting ready to go!
On the descent we took a slightly different line (there is actually more than one path up/down that steep section). It turned out that going down the slippery grass without a walking pole for support can be a bit tricky, but we landed back down without any nasty accidents. Of course, I found a good background to pose for another "me on a rock" picture:
One final look at the steep section:
Cruach Innse:
We returned to the col and then turned left and headed in a straight line for the track in the glen. The descent wasn't as boggy as I had expected and even crossing the bottom of the glen didn't present much trouble. Soon we were back on the beaten track and could now enjoy walking to the car at a lazy pace. The day was still lovely, sunny and much warmer...
Sgurr Innse as seen from the track - looks very craggy!
Crazy Panther happy to have ticked off two more hills
The sun decided to show us one more spectacle just before we reached the car:
All in all, we finished the circuit in 6 hours and that including long breaks for photos, especially on the second Corbett. I'm not sure if these two would be suitable for complete beginners, due to the steepness and exposure, but I must recommend them to all of you who like a bit of a challenge. Views are first class and the bog is not as deep as it seems from below
Meow!
