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This report was going to be called "Paths less traveled - up the slabs" or something like that but I decided to name it after a certain incident that occurred during the walk...
I know I don't have the language skills of a poet, to write a sublime story about the beauty of the landscape and how it touched the inner depths of my soul. Therefore, a simple description of the events, as they unfolded... Plus a selection of photos of this wonderful area.
A week earlier, we sniffed around the eastern Fisherfields, climbing Groban and Beinn Bheag. By the time we got back, we have already decided to climb Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair and Sgurr Ban from this side. The idea was to use the Loch a'Bhraoin track to the bothy then continue along the path to Loch an Nid and climb the slabs on the eastern side of Mullach, then traverse to Sgurr Ban and descend its eastern ridge back to the slabs. I've seen a few reports describing different variations of this approach, some adding either Beinn Tharsuinn or "Clammy", some with an overnighter in the bothy, so we knew this route was possible. And we were blessed with a fantastic, sunny Saturday, so what else could we possibly do? Let the Fisherfield campaign begin!
Knowing it would be a long day, we started very early, we were first in the car park for Western Fannichs:
Loch a'Bhraoin is magical. We have been here many times and on a good day, when the Fannichs are reflected in the loch, there's no better place to walk...
We kept stopping as we walked along the loch, so Kevin could take more and more photos... Pure magic!
Groban and Beinn Bheag reflected in Loch a'Bhraoin:
5 min break by the jetty at the opposite end of the loch. It was time for Beinn Dearg to show its reflection in the water now:
The week before, the path past the bothy was quite boggy in places, but after 6 days of warm, sunny weather it had all changed. Everything was dry as a bone, virtually no water in the river:
We followed the path/track, contouring below the slopes of Creag Rainich, to the ruin of Feinasheen:
The path continues past the ruin and soon we had a good perspective to what we were about to tackle:
Loch an Nid and An Teallach. This loch would be a perfect place for a wild camp if you're planning a multi day walk through:
Looking across the glen from the walk-through path to the eastern side of Mullach/Sgurr Ban:
The little outlying top, Meallan an Laoigh, can be climbed en route, but we didn't bother. I was too eager to get to the infamous Mullach slabs!
Having crossed the river (another one with next to no water running), we picked our way over some post glacial lumps and bumps, towards the rocky slopes in front of us. In wet conditions, the lower parts of this approach would be a quagmire, but the weather sucked all bog dry...
We stopped to refill our bottles from a small stream, Kevin spotted a few deer watching us from the distance:
A single dead tree, with the steep crags of Creag Rainich behind:
We reached the edge of the slabs and here, we found out that we still had two streams to cross, both running in a peculiar way, along the cracks in the slabs. The slabfield itself made a huge impression on me - like an airport runway at an angle!
Stunned!
This feature is unique in the whole of Scotland, as far as I know. Polished by the glacier, this giant field of flat quartzite offers easy walking in dry conditions (don't know how slippery it would be in wet weather though):
One of the peculiar wee streams:
View down along the edge of the field, with Creag Rainich ion the background:
I was busy exploring...
The edge of the slab field offers some easy scrambling but it can all be avoided if necessary (I didn't want to avoid any fun!!!).
So, now... One could cycle down this field (and I think it has been done, I remember a Youtube video of some crazy mountain biker going down the slabs), but we opted for a more ordinary approach, just walking
The field really looks like a concrete landing site!
View down the field, with Western Fannichs framing the picture:
We were marching up pretty quickly, it felt like walking on a tarmac road! higher up, a few small streams run down the slabs, but they can be easily avoided:
We reached the top of the Mullach slabby field and noticed it was already 12:30, so time for a cuppa & sandwich, before embarking on the final, steep push to the summit of the first Munro. We located a large, flat rock to sit on, stretched our legs and enjoyed the silence and the solitude of this place.
Coire Gorm is a magical spot indeed. Most walkers just look down to it when passing along the ridge above, but we were glad to have come here to see this amazing place closer up. The ridge of Sgurr Dubh to the left looked very inviting for scramblers:
To the right, the white, round summit of Sgurr Ban, topped with the last remnants of winter:
So far, so good, we enjoyed the climb. Coire Gorm is mostly grassy, with scattered boulders (E top of Mullach behind me):
...but soon we discovered another slabfield, this one quite narrow, it looked more like a road:
Creag Rainich and Meallan an Laoigh:
Higher up, the ground becomes more and more rocky. We aimed for the ridge seen above me:
A perfect straight-down line of descent
with the Fannichs on the horizon:
Not really scrambling, just some staircase climbing...
...which was followed by some 50m of ascent on horrible, moving scree and wobbly rocks, requiring good dancing-balancing skills. Thankfully, this didn't last long and soon we walked onto more stable, grassy ground just below the lower top of Mullach. I stopped to catch my breath, looked behind me and... lost my breath again! Sgurr Ban just took it away!
Zoom to An Teallach ridge:
Sgurr Dubh ridge from above:
As we stood on the lower top (981m), we could now see tiny figures on the main ridge. Hoards of them! People, people everywhere!
Views were amazing already, I couldn't wait to see more from the summit of Mullach!
Slioch, Beinn a'Mhuinidh (another wee local Graham - we liked the view of it, so we climbed it the week after) and the Torridonian horizon
The summit of Mullach was crowded (what a surprise) and people looked surprised to see us emerge from the WRONG side of the hill
, we had to explain which way we came. Of course, all others present were doing the full circuit of 5+1 and they must have felt so proud they were bagging more than us! But to be honest, I'd rather take my hills in small chunks but do more exploring, and the slabs were so much fun!
On the summit of my 204th Munro with wee Lucy (43th M for her):
Now, to the views. I think the best way to show them is in panoramas. We spent a lot of time snapping photos - all the walkers sitting on the top packed up and went, some new ones arrived, but we didn't worry about time passing. Weather was perfect, views like in heaven... Why rush it if you can embrace it?
Beinn Tharsuinn, our next target, Slioch and Torridon behind:
DSCF8507 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
"Armageddon" (A'Mhaighdean), and I'm hoping for a wild camp trip to bag this one (and neighbour):
DSCF8508 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Sgurr Ban and Beinn Dearg Mor (in the middle), a fascinating Corbett still on my to-do list, An Teallach behind:
DSCF8509 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
The eastern panorama: the Fannichs, Beinn Dearg (the Ullapool one) and the Sgurr Dhearg ridge:
DSCF8511 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Kevin was hungry... for more hills, too!
DSCF8513 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
An Teallach zoomed:
Eventually, after a looong break on the summit of Mullach, we packed up and began the descent to Cab Coire nan Clach. And here comes the humiliating part of my journey...
As this photo illustrates, the descent is very rocky and it's easy to loose footing on the wobbly stones:
...and that's exactly what happened to me. I simply slipped, lost my balance and bang! Just sat on my behind. Didn't even feel sore, didn't get a bruise. I laughed. Stood up. As I was lifting my bum from the rock, I heard a loud crrrracccckkkk! My trousers split
I was lucky, it was just the trousers, but incidentally, I was wearing a pair of bright red underpants
so with a gaping hole across my bum, they were visible from a big distance. Kevin, of course, couldn't stop laughing, which angered me a bit, but soon I appreciated the whole comical side of this situation. I wasn't in any danger of freezing my bum off or getting wet, as weather was excellent that day. The only problem was avoiding the further humiliation and covering my behind, at least as long as we were on the crowded ridge. I could see a large group of people climbing up towards us, we couldn't avoid them as there is only one way off this side of Mullach, so in a split second, I decided to put on my waterproof overtrousers. To be honest, I don't know what looked weirder: a red pair of pants showing through the hole or wearing waterproofs on a bright, dry, sunny day
I received a few odd looks from the group passing by, but I didn't really care. Kevin had the best laugh for ages.
The trouser-tearing boulderfield. Beware!
Making my way down the steep, tumbly path, sweating in double layers!
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 280 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
I must say, putting aside my wardrobe malfunction, the descent from Mullach was a horrible experience
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 286 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
The way up Sgurr Ban was much easier, a bit rocky but no real scrambling anywhere, and much less steep:
Zoom to Beinn Tharsuinn:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 296 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
The summit of Sgurr Ban was a bit disappointing, as it's wide and flat, the views are nowhere near a s good as from Mullach. I was sweating so badly, I couldn't stand the waterproofs, so I ditched them and decided, I'd rather show my bum to the world than suffer the heat any longer!
Thankfully, there was nobody in sight. We rested for 5 minutes, had a quick snack and a few photos...
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 306 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
An Teallach:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 309 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Kevin's Munro no. 213:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 313 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
As soon as we left the summit, I knew we were now on paths less traveled so I didn't have to worry about my body parts being exposed
and immediately, I was back in better mood, meowing all the way down!
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 317 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Descending the eastern slopes of Sgurr Ban is an adventure in itself, very wobbly and bouldery to begin with:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 322 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
...but soon some grassy patches appear and they can be followed:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 331 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Lower down, we encountered some flat slabs again:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 335 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
It would be easy to follow this line of slabs all the way down to Loch an Nid, but we intended to return the way we came up, so we had to cross Allt Meallan an Laoigh - the higher, the better, I thought.
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 351 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
We spent more time playing on the Mullach slabfield:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 353 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Kevin considered jumping into this wee pool, but water was too cold
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 359 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
The peculiar stream:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 362 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Allt Meallan an Laoigh running down the slabs:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 363 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
The return route took time, it's over 10km from Loch an Nid back to the car park, but we simply enjoyed the views as we walked back. We had more than enough daylight left
Long, long way to go...
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 376 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
The old jetty became our favourite spot for resting...ehm... taking a nap?
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 395 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
While I was napping, Kevin spotted a heron
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 390 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
The Fannichs and Loch a'Bhraoin in the evening sun:
2017-05-06 sgurr ban 404 by
Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
11.5 hours it took... We used the day to the full. One of those trips we will never forget and not only for the reason of wardrobe malfunction
I know that most folks prefer the classic 5+1 from Shenaval, but I'm glad we took a different approach to the Fisherfields. The slabby world is definitely worth exploring - and highly recommended!
