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At long last a favourable weather forecast, after checking the forecast religiously since my last outing almost a month ago, I decided to head back to Kintail for the last time, until my goal has been accomplished
As we all know the rain and wind has been a daily feature and to say that I was getting fed up not escaping to the hills is an under statement
It was midweek that I made the "executive" decision and advertised the fact on the 'meets' section to see if anyone fancied a day out in Kintail. To prove that posting on the forum is productive, I managed to pursuade 2 folk to join me
Daniel (larusso) and Evie (Sunny Speyside), were to be my companions for the day. Arrangements were made and Daniel (who had never posted on WH before) was going to catch the train from Edinburgh and I would uplift him from the station in Inverkeithing at 5.47am.
Alarm was set, not that I needed it as I hardly slept (as usual) and I met Daniel at the agreed time and after brief introductions we set off
The journey north was uneventful, no sign of any of the flooding that had been affecting Perthshire. As Daniel is from Germany we had plenty of subjects to discuss and we arrived at the start point to be met by Evie - who was early as usual
After introductions, we kitted up and set off in pursuit of 3 youngsters
(Evie's description, as she watched them depart). We would follow the 3 youngsters all day and finally meet up on the summit, we have to thank them for "trailblazing" as I know from experience it isn't easy being the first to cross untrodden snow and ice.
Parking area
Loch Cluanie early shot
Looking towards the S Glen Shiel Ridge
Evie and Daniel
Loch Cluanie from slightly higher up
As you can see from the photo's there is a bit of low cloud hovering over the water, but apart from that there is hardly a cloud in the sky
The air had a definite wintery chill in it, but I was just so happy to actually be out walking. A few stops on the initial ascent were needed. to take photo's and get our breath back. We were doing the route anti-clockwise and taking in the Corbett Am Bathach first. The path was well trodden and a bit damp underfoot, but that was hardly surprising after the daily dose of rain
As we gained height the ground became firmer and crisper, it was a constant slog with hardly any flat sections until we reached the summit of Am Bathach
Looking down on the Cluanie Inn
The big yellow thing in the sky about to make a shock appearance
The 3 youngsters ahead
Looking across to A'Chralaigh
Low level cloud covering Loch Cluanie
Looking towards S Glen Shiel Ridge
Another brief stop
Looking west towards 'The Brothers"
Loch Cluanie with no cloud now
A'Chralaigh again
Evie leading the way, snow a bit deeper
Summit cairn of Am Bathach with Ciste Dhubh in the background
Daniel & Evie approaching the summit
Ciste Dhubh looking pretty special
The descent off Am Bathach came as a surprise a descent of over 200m is never welcome, but as the north side of the hill hardly see's the sun, there were some icy patches where great care was needed. We knew the group on front had already put their crampons on, as the footprints in the snow indicated. It wasn't until we started the ascent of Ciste Dhubh that we made the executive decision, sorry that should be Evie made the decision
The conditions underfoot were very unpredictable, at times the snow was very soft varying in depth from an inch to 18 inches, other area's had icy patches and snow covering icy patches, so great care was needed
The 3 youngsters in the distance having negotiated the peat hags
Looking back to Am Bathach
Going up again, so a quick stop for a photo
One of the youngsters lagging behind
Looking across to A'Chralaigh from a different angle
Action shot on the ascent
The zig-zag ascent through the snow clearly visible
Looking back
Looking NW
Another stop
It wasn't too long before we reached the 'top' An Cnapach and the views were amazing
The trailblazers on/approaching the summit of An Cnapach
As above but zoomed
Fantastic shot across to Ciste Dhubh
Looking back towards the Brothers
Another pit stop
Looking back to An Cnapach
Looking Sw towards the Brothers
Nice little snow features
Daniel trudging uphill
Looking north towards Torridon in the distance
Looking across to the impressive Mullach Fraoch-choire
Looking north zoomed
The final push up to the summit of Ciste Dhubh was quite a struggle, the snow was deeper which meant more energy had to be used and I could feel my thighs starting to cramp up - but I soldiered on
On the summit we spent quite a bit of time chatting to the 'trailblazers', who consisted of Tom, Andy and a very chatty South African guy (sorry forgot your name and probably couldn't spell it
). They all live on Skye, so I was curious as to what they all do workwise
Due to the interesting conversation I forgot to take the usual summit shots
I also forgot to take a selfie with my phone, that I usually send home, so I had to stop on the way down and carry out that task. It didn't really matter as there was no phone signal
Time to descend we set off a minute or two ahead but when I stopped to take my selfie, we were overtaken
The initial part of the descent was tricky, as descending on ice is far more difficult than ascending and after about 5 minutes or so of descending we met 2 young ladies who were heading uphill.
Descending and what fabulous views
What a view
Follow the leaders zoomed
Daniel approaching a deep patch
The descent down into the glen
Looking back up towards the bealach, impressive cliffs
The way ahead
This shot highlights how soft the snow was
The final section of the walk which we were expecting to be a bit of a bogfest, wasn't too bad due to the light covering of snow and frost. As we got further down the glen we would team up with the guys from Skye and had a good chat. They are all lurkers on Walk Highlands and perhaps after a bit of pursuasion they may even take part in the fun
To sum up, a cracking day in what turned out to be ideal weather. A huge thanks to my companions for the day
Regular viewers will know I try and end with a 'what's next', that as usual is subject to the weather, but the next Munro will probably be Fionn Bheinn. However before that I may be tempted south into the Borders to pay a Corbett or two a visit
