Wind in the Fannichs

[Fife Flyer]

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Day 2 of the WH meet at Aultguish. On Friday evening over the odd alcoholic drink various weather forecasts were studied and Saturday looked a bit doom and gloom The wind was forecast to be strong and increase as the day progressed
The hills on the agenda were An Teallach, that was definite no, no, far too risky and dangerous, Beinn Dearg was an option but because the walk would be a fairly lengthy we opted for the Central Fannichs
With the forecast scheduled to get worse we opted for an earlyish start of 8am. Whilst we were in the kitchen area a Police car pulled up outside and 2 Officers paid us a visit, naturally we were all curious to see what they wanted
They informed us that a lorry had left the road about a mile away and one of them asked if they could use the toilet, sighs of relief all round
We set off as planned just before 8am and after about 2 miles we came across the scene of the accident The Police were in attendance and no traffic was moving in any direction A Tesco lorry had gone straight on instead of going round a left hand bend, the lorry had left the road down a grass verge and the trailer unit was half on the road. The Officers told us the driver was shocked but uninjured. There was a large breakdown truck at the scene but the process of recovering the lorry and trailer would take some time
After 20 minutes sitting watching nothing happening the Police allowed traffic to move past, in one direction only - but we were now on our way. Luckily the start point was only about 20 miles away and we were off walking by 8.45.


The straggler catching us up after a bit of faffing around


Smiling faces, wouldn't last very long


The slog uphill

The initial part of the walk was on a nice track, after crossing a couple of bridges, the nice track had gone and was replaced by a muddy path We kind of followed the path by trying not to go ankle deep in either mud or standing water. It wasn't long before the slog uphill began, which was made even more difficult and unpleasant by the wind that was in our faces. After huffing and puffing for about half an hour we had a team meeting, we knew the forecast was for the wind to strengthen so a ridge walk was not looking a very good idea. We had a couple of options, change the route direction with a view to having the wind behind us when we were up high. David made a very good point, that the wind would probably change direction (which it did), so we binned that idea
We decided to soldier on as we knew the first summit of Meall a'Chrasgaidh was not pointy or at all dangerous and in the hope that things may even improve


David's facial expression sums up how enjoyable the ascent was


Karen enjoying the ascent, does look kind of steep


David pretending not to be out of breath

Once we reached a mini plateau the angle of ascent then eased considerably, still a slog into the wind but not quite as demanding on the lungs As we gained height the one good thing, in fact the only good thing was the views, they were superb. One summit we hardly saw all morning was what was supposed to be our next target Sgurr nan Clach Geala, it seemed to have it's own individual cloud. The ridge to the summit of Sgurr nan Clach Geala could be seen and it looked undulating from lower down and we knew from previous WR's that the ridge is narrow in parts. The wind was now really strong and even walking was becoming challenging, you kind of had to lean forward to make progress


Sgurr nan Clach Geala with it's own personal cloud


Cracking shot across to An Teallach


An Teallach zoomed, looks very impressive


Looking back to the start & the A835

We eventually reached the summit and we were all in total agreement that to continue was not really a safe option, so we just enjoyed the shelter out of the wind took a couple of photo's and then headed down


Meall a'Chrasgaidh summit shelter which we were really grateful for


2nd shot, note the background clag

After the summit photo's my camera went in my rucksack and wasn't extracted until we reached the safety of the flatter ground About 10 minutes after leaving the summit saw a couple of other muppets heading uphill, from a distance I guessed who they were Allison's fleece was a bit of a give away and there aren't many other walkers like our brave duo who would laugh and smile and even enjoy the conditions We stopped and had a good old laugh and a chat, naturally Allison said the wind was just a "gentle breeze". I was trying to picture them pitching a tent in those conditions and wouldn't have been surprised if they had been carrying a tent
We wished them well and started the gallop downhill We were even more surprised to meet another couple heading uphill, we stopped for a chat and warned them what to expect as they gained height.


Loch a' Bhraoin


Boathouse

When we reached the bridge at the end of Loch a' Bhraoin we had a rest and a bite to eat, David had obviously forgotten it was windy as he let a wrapper get snatched from his grasp - but like a good Walk Highlander he chased after it and managed to catch up with the offending litter


Resting bridge


David galloping along the river bank

I think my colleagues will agree, that walk won't go down as a favourite Everything seemed to be against us, the wind actually decided to ease whilst we were relaxing, but the Central Fannichs had had their chance and will have to wait for another day now
As we finished much earlier than expected we had rather alot of time to spare, we decided to stop and visit Corrieshalloch Gorge, especially as we were passing the car park. Here are a few photo's of said Gorge which was rather impressive. For anyone who suffers from vertigo the bridge over the gorge is quite high up & has a warning sign advising a maximum of 6 persons on the bridge Naturally one of our group (any guesses?) thought it would be a good idea to make the bridge wobble a bit


The bridge over the gorge


View down


Viewing platform in the distance




The bridge from the viewing platform


Bridge zoomed a bit

We arrived back at Aultguish and were not surprised to discover we were the first ones back Naturally the first port of call was the fridge and a nice cold alcoholic beveridge
Not the best days in the great outdoors, but even with hindsight we made the right decision to abandon. Many thanks as usual to my colleagues for their company and banter. We could have done some revision for the quiz later in the evening, but as it transpired we didn't need to bother as we had a very secret weapon
Next walk was to be on the way home

[Borderhugh]

Well done for completing your homework (3 walk reports). At least you were able to complete a munro. Nothing more galling than having to pull back at 850-900m.

[PeteR]

Another entertaining report. You all still seem to have fun, even on the less good days.

I'm sure you'll all enjoy these three all the more when you return Martin. I don't actually remember much about them myself, as I couldn't really see much of them when I was there I did get "temporarily misplaced in the mist at one point - heading off to the eastern 4 by mistake.