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To inaugurate my (future?) set of reports in Walkhighlands, nothing could be better than starting with a small but classic hill like Stac Pollaidh. During my time in the Highlands (the one writing is a Spanish expat living in Inverness for almost 2 years) I have climbed it several times, being the area of Assynt among my absolute favourites in the whole Scotland. But definitely, my last walk up Stac Pollaidh will remain in my mind as the most memorable time I ever spent on that hill!
With a weather warning issued that weekend for most of the Highlands , it seemed that there was no other option apart from staying comfortably at home... WRONG! That's not the preferential option for two southern Spaniards hungry for cold wild weather and wintery hills. Metoffice showing sunny intervals together with light snow and excellent visibility on Stac Pollaidh helped us to make the decission...
Heading out of Inverness to Ullapool, most of the journey was under quite miserable weather conditions, and it wasn't until past Ullapool that the clouds broke and let the sun light the spectacular scenery of Coigach and Assynt that opened in front of us. The hills half covered in a thin layer of snow, patches of blue sky and beautiful light, this is how I like it baby!
This was my first attempt in quite wintery conditions, trying to tackle the whole ridge and get to the top. Stac Pollaidh is a popular and "easy" mountain with a very well built path up to the main bealach, therefore is quite well documented and not much of a walk report is needed here. But, although reaching the ridge is easy, walking the ridge up to the top is tricky and requires some scramble. And there was ice...
First half of the hill we walked very quickly and didn't bother taking many pictures. Some low clouds had suddenly appeared from nowhere and were covering the snow-capped tops, so we just made progress walking up.
After we reached the final steepest stretch before getting to the ridge col, the clouds had lift up leaving an unbelievable picture behind.
Here some pics:
Getting close to the bealach on the ridge. Dramatic and threatening sky over Cul Mor:
And looking north across the Assynt wilderness, with Suilven and Canisp in the distance. That sky is frightening!:
Once on the ridge, we climbed first to the easy eastern summit, and realized it was quite icy and slippery... Good fun if we want to attempt the real summit! Also, lovely strong frozen wind gusts would add to the challenge. So there we went, headed west to the ridge, and started the scramble. Mostly nice and easy, there were a couple of spots where we struggled because of the ice and wind. I can remember specially one step on the north side, with a very narrow and slippery ledge overlooking a deep gully, where I really thought I wouldn't go on. But the mind-blowing panorama around me kept me going. Some more pics:
On the ridge, looking east over Cul Beag and Loch Lurgainn:
Rock formations on Stac Pollaidh ridge, overlooking Loch Lurgainn and Ben More Coigach:
Four different shots looking towards Ben More Coigach, jaw-dropping landscape and light!:
Summer Isles in the distance and sky starting to open a bit from the west:
Now it was time to pose for the typical “outdoors magazine shot” traditional in every walk, standing as close to the edge of the cliff as possible. First was time for my dear mate Alex, with pretty good outcome as can be seen below. When my turn arrived, I tried my best to be presentable and majestic-looking, but conditions didn't help... Wind gusts together with slippery ground as well as my poor balance added up for a series of ridiculous pictures that I'm afraid can't be shown. I'll keep working on my modelling skills, I swear.
Finally, we got to the point where we couldn't keep going. There was a big rock in front of us, about 3 meters high, with big drops to both sides, which required an exposed and not easy scramble that couldn't be bypassed in any way. Alex gave it a little go, whereas I didn't even bother as it was too icy and windy. Even in good conditions I think I would struggle to pass it as it seemed quite exposed. Will have to check next time... But that day, Stac Pollaidh beat us!! Lucky us that at least this other rock didn't fall on Alex's head...
As a conclusion, one of the most rewarding day out I can remember since I live here. Stunning scenery, isolation, wilderness and wild weather, absolutely dramatic skies and light... just nature at its highest. Stac Pollaidh, or where the reward highly exceeds the little effort.
