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I hope this TR will provide some useful information for all Walkhighlanders coming to the Spring Meet. Me and Kevin will definitely show up somewhere on Saturday morning (watch out, the meowing one is coming
).
Since my injury, any time on the hills was spent mostly bagging Grahams, as the easier option. But I was aching for something bigger... better... more challenging... I wanted a classic. I considered Beinn Dearg group but Kevin was still a bit apprehensive, saying maybe I wasn't ready for such a big walk just yet. At the end of the day, he was right. I'm almost recovered but going too far too quickly could end me up in nowhere's land
The forecast for last Saturday was good, sunshine and low winds, so we could be fussy and aim for a longer route with rougher terrain. Baosbheinn was on my wish list, has been for a long time, especially since last October when we climbed Beinn an Eoin. Kevin called Baosbheinn "Little Alligin" for its distinctive shape. There is striking similarity between these two and since Alligin is my husband's old favourite, he expected the wee brother to be just as entertaining.
Brave souls tackle both Corbetts in one trip but since we had already ticked off Eoin, Baosbheinn was the sole target for us. I don't think my knee could handle the two of them in a single walk, anyway. We decided to follow WH route and that's what we did, with a small variation due to rivers in spate.
Our route:
Before I get into details of the walk itself, a few words about the current parking situation. A832 is currently undergoing a major development, being widened from 1 to 2 lines. Plenty of diggers and other equipment everywhere, hot tar and speed restrictions (10 or 20 mph). That by itself would just be a pain in the neck, but sadly the parking space by the green shed is used as construction site: tractors, piles of debris, bits and pieces of stuff. Thankfully, they don't seem to work on Saturdays, so we decided it was OK to leave Black Arrow next to a tractor (there was already a car parked there, looked like another hillwalker's).
The roadworks:
Another snap taken on the way back:
The long walk-in to Loch na h-Oidhche is always a pleasure in itself, we had weather on our side and plenty of time to enjoy this trip. Our first look at the target confirmed our earlier thoughts, that it was still wise to carry crampons. Most of the hill was bare, but the final climb to the summit would be on the snow and in warm weather it was bound to be slushy-slippery.
Baosbheinn on the approach:
Crampons might be needed:
We reached the ford over Abhainn Loch na h-Oidhche, where we discovered, river was in spate and the stepping stones completely submerged
We didn't fancy taking our boots off (too much time and hassle), so we walked along the banks of the river instead, using a wet path. When we reached the spot where the river divides in two (an unusual feature - not natural, as I found out later), we found a suitable place for crossing... Just about. On the other side, the path disappeared and from now on it was only us and "mushy tatties" kind of experience
Me, Baosbheinn, river in spate, bog under my feet...
To the south of us, the cloud was dancing around the summits of higher Torridon hills. We kept fingers crossed that "our" mountain would stay clag-free, as it was at the moment.
Surprisingly, to the north conditions were much better, clear sky and mountain tops well visible. Like An Teallach:
Trudging up the soaked slopes, we slowly neared the steepest section of the climb. It's only about 450m of ascent from the level of Loch na h-Oidhche to the summit of Baosbheinn, but the lack of path and the boggy conditions made us feel like it lasted forever!
Looks benign but it's a bogfeast:
Behind us, Beinn an Eoin and Loch na h-Oidhche, cloud threatening to spoil the day:
We crossed Allt an Reidh-choire and found a large, flat rock to sit on. It was already 12 o'clock, we were so slow today, arghhh... Kevin said he was hungry, no wonder, after all that bog-snorkeling...ehm... I mean: hillwalking.
We took a break for tea and sandwiches, sat there studying the final climb and whether we would need to dig up crampons:
After lunch we felt more energetic and carried on up the slope. We discovered that the snow was, as we suspected, very wet and slushy, with just as wet, slippery grass underneath. But where the snow had melted, the vegetation was a bit drier, so we continued climbing, using patches of grass. So far, so good.
The final 100m above us:
I looked around my shoulder and spotted Slioch, the Castle of Torridon. Such an iconic mountain and I'd love to climb it again
The view cheered me up!
We aimed straight for the col between two towers (Sgorr Dubh to the left hand side). It's a steep slope but nothing difficult. Snow was a bit firmer here so it was easy to kick steps in. My problem at the moment is of a different kind - I can't look down. If I do, my stomach twists and the memories of my fall come back. I kept telling myself - don't panic, silly woman, it's a slope like many others you've already tackled, it's just a bit of slushy snow, come on! When I emerged on the col just below Sgorr Dubh and actually looked down, I felt so stupid. I remembered Bruach na Frithe in winter conditions, similar kind of porridgy snow, I was scrambling on Cuillin Ridge covered with it and I had no vertigo whatsoever! How an accident can mess with your head!
Relieved to be on level ground:
The breathtaking pano of the Fisherfields:
The final climb to the summit looked a bit hairy and we had choice: put crampons on and push straight up the snowy slope or use this path:
and traverse the sunny side of Sgorr Dubh to find a way up from the west.
We decided - the path. It was wet but we soon spotted a breach in rocks from the west, a grassy slope leading to the summit:
This was still steep and I didn't dare looking down... Nah, that would be a lie. I did look down, as soon as I found an excuse ("I just want to take a few snaps..."
):
Five minutes later I touched the cairn. The summit area is surprisingly flat. I expected a tiny cairn perched on the edge of a rocky cliff - something Cuillin style, maybe.
Corbett no. 103!
For me, this hill was a triumph. Triumph over my recent mishaps, over sore knee, but also over my panicking mind. I proved to myself, I can still do it. But for Lucy... For her it was business as usual
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 398 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Kevin was gobsmacked with the views around us. Simply fantastic and even better than Beinn an Eoin, as Baosbheinn is a better vantage point towards Beinn Alligin. So no wonder my chum spent a lot of time with his camera...
HIM and Slioch:
HIM and Alligin:
Alligin zoomed:
The bad weather front still stubbornly held above Liathach and Beinn Eighe:
Coire Mor and the vertical cliffs of Baosbheinn, Loch na h-Oidhche and Beinn an Eoin ridge in the background:
The northern half of the ridge:
My wee camera has an easy panoramic function so I played with it as much as I could. This summit is a perfect place to practice pano-making
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 407 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 410 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Me and Liathach:
This photo, taken by Kevin as he wandered around the summit area snapping (almost 500 photos from this trip in the end, choosing the right ones was a pain...), shows the true size of the mountains and how little we are compare to them. Mighty Alligin, big drops down to Loch a'Bhealaich and a tiny, tiny person in the frame. It makes me think, we should always respect these giants... How insignificant we are in their shadow.
The last pose before we left the summit. Lucy bagged her 19th Corbett. I was just happy to have reached the top (and be able to have a selfie with Slioch).
Plan minimum was to bag the top and if my knee felt sore, we considered retracing our steps. But down that slushy snow? Ehmmm... I'd rather do the full traverse!
To be honest, I felt like I could carry on, knee wasn't too bad, a bit tired but no real soreness. The descent slope looked all right from above, no snow here, just steep ground, so we decided to continue the traverse as planned.
Weather over the giants began to improve:
As we walked, we couldn't take our eyes of the western end of Beinn Dearg, "The F** Corbett behind Liathach". I found it hard to believe, we actually went straight up that slope! Looks unclimbable from this perspective, an from what i remember, it was stiff-steep some easy scrambling but nowhere near as bad as it seems!
Beinn Eighe (Corrie Mhic Fhearchair) now sunny:
Zoomed Liathach:
The descent from Sgorr Dubh required some care as it's steep, but one can follow a zig-zagging path.
What a mountain! Every corner we turned, we had a different perspective on the vertical drops around us...
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 234 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Back to Sgorr Dubh:
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
From the ascent to the next top:
The "middle" top has no name on the map, but it's another good viewpoint, we stopped again to enjoy ourselves:
The descent continues along this ridge, with fantastic view to Beinn Alligin:
One man and his camera:
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 412 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Beinn an Eoin across the loch:
I really had to cut down the number of photos in this TR (otherwise it would go on and on forever), so only the best snapshots here. A few panos:
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 297 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Me and Baosbheinn:
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 299 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
A couple more:
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 424 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 300 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
There is one more top on the way, Ceann Beag. Technically, it can be omitted by dropping down to the loch side from the col, but we decided to stick to the original route, not that we are bothered to collect all Graham tops, but it looked like another potential viewpoint:
While climbing the last top, we met the only people we saw that day, a group of young folks doing the full traverse in the other direction. They were well equipped so I'm sure they managed the descent from the snowy side of Sgorr Dubh without any problems. So nice to see the young generation on the hills
Weather has turned very nice now and I felt that sudden sentiment "I don't want to go home just yet"...
Zoom to the stone chute on Beinn Eighe:
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 346 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Right, but it was already 3pm and we needed to hurry up if we didn't want to spend the night in Flowerdale Forest
We began the painstaking descent from Ceann Beag, picking our way carefully on the slippery ground. The lower we were, the worse the conditions. By the time we reached the loch, we were both fed up with bog, bog, even more muddy bog, slippery vegetation and "mushy tatties" under our feet. i guess this is the only downside of Baosbheinn - once of the ridge, it's bog-snorkeling
Loch na h-Oidhche was so tranquil...
Some more walking over mucky ground and we reached Poca Buidhe:
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 354 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
It was time for a well deserved rest, another cup of tea and something sweet to boost up glucose levels...
Looking to Baosbheinn over Loch na h-Oidhche:
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 351 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
We spent almost half an hour, lazying on the bench by the bothy, but eventually we had to pack up and walk all the long way back to the road. At least it was walking on level ground now, and on a relatively good track/path. Views - priceless...
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 367 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Thankfully, the level of water in Abhainn Loch na h-Oidhche has dropped since the morning and we could now use the stepping stones
I was reluctant to go home... It's such a superb area, here one can taste Torridon without meeting the crowds. I remember, every time we climbed any of Torridon Munros, there was always a cue of people waiting to get to the summit
On the opposite side, Beinn Dearg we had only to ourselves. Generally, Torridon Corbetts seem to attract fewer people which is fine by me - I can meow as much as I want without being led away in a straight jacket
2016-04-02 baosbheinn 378 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
So that's it, we returned to the car, drove home and lived happily ever after
...................
I think no need to add anything to advertise Baosbheinn! I'd love to visit it again and explore the northern tops. The whole circuit took us 9.5 hours but we were quite slow on the steep, slushy ground, not to mention ages spent taking photos and simply gazing down the cliffs! So far, my best day on the hills in 2016
