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Another weekend where Laura was working Sat and Sunday so I was free to roam the hills both days. I got in touch with Spiderwebb to see if he fancied anything; the weather was not looking to be up for the cup so plans were rather sketchy. Saturday was ruled out and as I had a bit of man flu I lazed all day. Spider informed me he was meeting with some of his mates from another Facebook thread that were also on WH on the Sunday and asked if I was up for it, hell yeah as the trip they had planned included two new hills for me.
I had to remember the clocks were going forward at Midnight on the Saturday night, cripes this meant an even earlier start. Therefore I packed the car the night before and aimed to pick up Spider at 6am ish. The roads were real quiet so I made good time and collected him and we were on our way to Kintail for Am Bathach and Ciste Dhubh. We parked at the layby around 1km East of the Cluanie Inn and waited for the others. Introductions were done and the team consisted of: me, Dave (Spiderwebb), Willie (Gammy leg walker), Wullie (not sure on avatar name), Davie (not sure on avatar name), Pauline (Pollyh33), Theresa (Mountain tyme) & Jonny (Jonny616). I hope that’s correct!!
We set off East along the road towards the rusty gate that let us enter the glen and we started the slight climb up the Corbett Am Bathach following the path alongside the deer fence.
- Looking up to our route, Am Bathach (right) Start of the brothers ridge (left) from the road
- The route ahead following the fence
Ahead the snow line was visible and once we got to there it was clear this was fresh snow as it was soft and made the ground beneath slippy.
- The snow line ahead
The views back to the South Glenshiel ridge and the start of the brother’s ridge were brilliant.
- Over to the South Glenshiel Ridge
- The team heading up
After a couple of up’s and downs we made the summit.
- First top of Am Bathach
- Second top of Am Bathach, then summit then Ciste Dhubh in background
- The girls heading up
- Am Bathach summit ahead, Ciste Dhubh summit to the right of it
- Am Bathach
This was my tenth Corbett and now into double figures.
- Summit dogs before I moved on so the team got peace from the dogs begging for food
The views over to Ciste Dhubh (The Black Chest) were fantastic, the clouds opened and revealed the extreme South-East face and it looked stunning. It was like a wee whales fin poking up from the bulk of the mountain. Am Bathach really did hold the Key to the Black Chest as the views it offered to the summit of Ciste Dhubh really made the Corbett worth it.
- Ciste Dhubh (the Black Chest) through a break in the clouds
- Zoomed
- The Black Chest looking awesome
- And again, Am Bathach offered great views to the mountains best side
- Our route up would follow the pinnacles
We set off from the Corbett into the bealach below; we had a laugh on the way down with people sinking and slipping in the deep fresh snow, Jonny got on his safety bag to attempt to break a record he already holds of the fastest snow line descent. The snow was too fresh to get up to much speed today. We stopped for lunch on a slab of rock in the bealach, I had read reports of it being a bit of a bog fest but the snow made it seem not too bad.
- Lunch stop on this slab of rock
After our stop where plenty sweets and treats were distributed, we set off up towards Ciste Dhubh. The thin layer of snow on the grass made for hard going so we decided to head up the edge of a snow field as underfoot it was more stable. Davie and Theresa broke trail.
- Davie and Theresa heading for the snow field on the left
- Dogs following on
As we gained height the snow showers became heavier but visibility was still good for a couple of hundred feet, my jacket was on/off a few times till we reached An Cnapach and it stayed on from there.
- Snow shower
The dogs went on leads from here onwards as the cornices to our right (the east) were severe.
- Looking back on the guys heading up
- Am Bathach
This would have been a nice ridge to walk along on a clear winter’s day and even today but I stayed to the West with the dogs and followed a line just below the crest of the ridge up to Ciste Dhubh.
- Looking back on the team passing An Cnapach
Wow, it was a bonnie summit, the sun came out and we got a few snaps, my camera gave up the ghost a few times due to the cold so I didn’t get any. We spent a good few minutes enjoying the views before deciding on our descent route. The path outward in the glen to the east looked best but the descent off to the East looked dodgy, Dave and Theresa went ahead to scout the route and found it was doable, the mist made it look worse than it actually was, the snow was stable and we made good time on this part, a few bum slides were done and some fun was had.
- Our route down to the glen after negotiating the steeper section
We descended all the way down to the glen to meet the path that would take you into Altbeithe. It was a decent enough path, boggy but we all had the winter gear on so we trudged through. Eventually the path becomes a land rover track which we followed all the way out to the road to the short section along the road back to the cars. Personally I had a great day, met new people that were a great laugh. Roll on the next adventure. Cheers Dave, Willie, Wullie, Davie, Jonny and the Girls Pauline and Theresa.