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Another showery weekend... Summer went on strike this year and decided to stay away from Scotland. But despite wet conditions we were desperate to add more summits to our tally. We looked for something less wet than Glen Roy and the Mamores seemed a reasonable option. Sadly, we didn't realize that the descent from Na Gruagaichean is just as wet and pathless
We only had the eastern four Munros left in this range and a big walk, taking in all of them didn't look like a good idea in cloud and showers, so we decided on two peaks only, Binnein Mor and Na Gruagaichean, leaving Binnein Beag and Sgurr Eilde Mor for another day. For the former, I have a sneaky idea to climb it from Glen Nevis and SEM by itself would be a lovely shorter route for an autumn day.
With logistics sorted, we set off from Beauly on Saturday morning. I made sure we packed in waterproofs and hot tea. Weather didn't disappoint us, we drove through a couple of showers... All right, I'm already used to it in Scotland!
But when we arrived in Kinlochleven, we were welcomed by lovely sunshine and blue sky. Fingers crossed, I said, may we keep this smile of fortune for the whole walk!
The morning optimism:
We followed the usual route for these two Munros, up Coire an Lochain first, then to Binnein Mor, traverse along the ridge to Na Gruagaichean, with direct descent to lower Coire na Ba:
Having climbed out of the birch wood, we spent a few minutes admiring (and photographing) the Loch Leven panorama. I think it's one of the most beautiful views in Scotland and though it wasn't the first time we saw it, we couldn't just ignore it!
From a bit higher:
The Mamores were still hidden in patchy cloud, but we hoped the clag would eventually disperse:
The first shower caught up with us when we reached the track to Loch Eilde Mor. We stopped to put on waterproofs, but the rain lasted maybe 10 minutes and we had to undress again
Most of the stops we took that day were for taking off/putting on additional clothes
Call it mountain catwalk show. Well, the CATwalk part sounds appropriate
Catching the dry moment to film the landscape...
We followed the path to Coire an Lochain, with nice views opening up to the right, over Loch Eilde Mor:
The path divides at the entrance to the corrie, we took the left branch below the crags of Sgor Eilde Beag. The classic view of the higher twin, Sgurr Eilde Mor, was breathtaking, even with cloud in the background:
Binnein Beag looking so close... and so far at the same time...
Paths are well marked and we had no problem finding the right turn into upper Coire a'Bhinnein:
Another shower came and went. With all that rain this year, mountains look very green, obviously the vegetation is thriving! We took another break to gaze up the crags of Sgor Eilde Beag - they reminded me of a giant pipe organ
The path is narrow and towards the end it gets quite steep, in wet conditions care should be taken, but once we emerged on the ridge, it was all wows and ohs
Overwhelmed... looking back into the glen, with Binnein Beag to the left:
The southern panorama, framed in dark cloud, reminded us that the next shower was not that far away!
Big Bookil:
We stopped and watched as a heavy shower passed by. It never reached us, but moved east along Loch Eilde Mor:
Our second target of the day with the rain behind it...
...but first, we aimed for Binnein Mor (summit seen here to the right), which required some more ascent, but it was easy walking on an obvious path, with spectacular views all around!
My favourite view of the day: Sgurr Eilde Mor with the set of lochans below and the steep cliffs of Sgor Eilde Beag:
Heavy cloud over Grey Corries:
We reached the first top (1068m) and I was surprised, how symmetrical the ridge was. Very similar to An Gearanach when seen from An Garbhanach and for a split second I wondered if we climbed the right mountain!
There was Nevis in the frame, too, the old, majestic Ben and his sidekick Carn Mor Dearg...
...and the Ring of Steel peaks, from above mentioned An Gearanach to Carn a'Mhaim behind it...
Rainy days never say goodbye...
OK, here we go, the summit is only a stroll away. At last a new Munro, after weeks of bagging Corbetts because weather wasn't up to anything too tackling... OK, this wasn't a great day either, but good enough to strike a happy pose!
The ridge to Na Gruagaichean:
Zoom to Devil's Ridge:
There was plenty of weather about, cloud over the neighbouring mountains moving quite fast and we knew, we would encounter rain sooner or later, so we pushed on to the summit while it was still dry
Many other walkers started arriving, including one chap who was doing the whole Mamores Ridge (I'd never even dream about such route). We sat down by the cairn and enjoyed cuppa & sandwich, watching the cloud move to cover the top of Nevis. Kevin was happy to do a new Munro, no. 192 - he's nearing the magic 200!
Despite the crazy fronts moving around, we managed some nice photos on the summit of Binnein Mor. It's a spectacular viewpoint, especially towards Sgurr Eilde Mor...
...and to Binnein Beag. The Grey Corries on the horizon and another gloomy shower passing by:
Spectacular!
I can't wait to bag the last two Mamores, especially Sgurr Eilde Mor with all those lochans around it, it looks steep from every angle, but hey! I like a bit of a challenge!
Speaking of challenges, we definitely had some challenging weather chasing us! As soon as we returned to the 1062m top, more rain arrived, this one lasted much longer. We wrapped up in waterproofs and slowly made our way along the narrow connecting ridge to Na Gruagaichean. In good weather this rocky, scramble-ish traverse would be a delight, but the rain was so heavy we couldn't see a thing
It started to ease off as we reached the second summit of the day. We lingered on for five minutes, hoping for a clear spell, but it wasn't to be.
Wet cat on the top of Na Gruagaichean, my Munro no. 178:
View west from Na Gruagaichean:
Showers over Loch Leven:
It was still raining when we began to descend from Na Gruagaichean. We knew it was steep but we never knew how bad it would be lower down... To start with, we traversed to Leachd na h-Aire, the 880m southern shoulder of Na Gruagaichean, so far it was easy walking on grass and occasional rocks:
From the end of the shoulder, we turned west and aimed for Coire na Ba, as suggested in WH walk description. To begin with, there was a sketchy path and the slopes, though steep, were not too waterlogged, so we managed all right. So far, so good.
That's the way down, honey!
Down to 600m, we walked out of the rain. At last, some sunshine! Views were great, too, and we considered it a nice ending of a wet day...
...until we hit the steeper ground below us. The steepness itself wouldn't be such a problem, but the soil was so wet, we were sliding in the mud like on skis! I called it a success that we managed to stay upright! We had to slow down significantly. Thank heavens the rain was now gone for good!
The final 100m was the worst - wet, slimy, steep and overgrown with high bracken. By the time we reached the deer fence, we were both exhausted. A look on the map, and we decided we didn't fancy following the fence all the way to a gate. The track into Coire na Ba was only 20m below us in a straight line, so we climbed over the fence, praying it wouldn't fall under us (it felt wobbly to say the least!). Somehow, we succeeded in overcoming this final obstacle and reached the track. I dropped down to my knees and kissed the ground. Dry and solid at last!!!
Honestly, if we return to Na Gruagaichean, I will NEVER EVER descend this slope again!!!!!!!!
Finally, we followed tracks and paths back to Kinlochleven. We were knackered when we arrived back in the car park, but it was well worth it. The nasty descent aside, this was a brilliant pair of hills, superb views and some fantastic ridgewalking, such a shame the rain spoiled some of it, but on the positive side, we captured some interesting weather phenomena, the passing curtains of rain and descending cloud included. 1300m of ascent may seem like a lot but I didn't really feel it was that much, as the way up is on excellent paths. In better weather we would have spent more time exploring tops, maybe we would have added Sgurr Eilde Mor as well, but in given conditions, I think the Kinlochleven trip was a success. Meow!
In my next story me & Kevin will celebrate our respective Corbett centenaries on the wonderful peaks of Sutherland.