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Since we started our hill journey together, I've been patiently adding new Munros and Corbetts to my tally, trying to catch up with Kevin. 10 years ago, he was about 90 M's and 30 C's in front of me, but over the decade I managed to narrow the gap to just 4 M's and one Corbett
Yet this single, illusive Corbett was teasing me... We visited many neighbouring hills and I had a good look at it from different angles, but it was always put off "for another day". Until I run out of patience and said enough is enough. We're climbing Beinn Trilleachan.
Kevin's memories from this hill were dim. He did it in cloudy conditions and didn't remember anything particularly difficult about the route. Well, it was over 20 years ago, but mountains don't change as quickly as people
What's 20 years in hill's life? A blink of an eye.
Glen Coe mountains from Beinn Trilleachan, summer 1992:
I was positively charged when we left home for the long drive down south to Glen Etive. It was only when we arrived at the car park at the end of the public road that I discovered the painful reality. We jumped out of the car, ready for adventure - and we were viciously attacked by the wee black army. The National Hungry Midge Day has arrived!
Kevin searched all pockets in his rucksack and realized that he had left the deet bottle at home. We were being sucked dry already and we had no repellent!
Kevin said he heard somewhere that bog myrtle deters midges, so we rubbed some of that into our faces and hands. Smells nice and fresh, but does b**er. The only solution was to keep moving and hope that higher up on the mountain we will find some breeze that might keep the wee vampires away.
Our route was the standard approach to Beinn Trilleachan, up the northern ridge. There's nothing technical about the climb, but a huge word of warning here. Expect BOG, BOG and even more BOG, plus a forest of bracken on the lower slopes
The descent route was a bit different from the suggested retrace-your-steps option, but we wanted to do some kind of circular and it was too wet and slippery to descend the steep eastern side of the hill.
Loch Etive from the car park:
Initially, the route follows the edge of a plantation. WH walk description says "there is a wet path of sorts" and yes, we found a line we could follow, but calling it a path would be an overstatement. It was more like a muddy ditch
Looks benign from below:
The muddy ditch continues and the higher we went, the worse it was
Higher up, we encountered some bracken. To begin with, it was knee high, but higher up we walked into 2m high forest, where millions of midges only waited for an opportunity to bite! With no repellent, we were resigned to hand waving and swearing...
More bog:
Having climbed maybe 200m we were fed up with the boggy nightmare and decided to turn left up the steep slopes, even though we could see crags above us, but we hoped we could avoid them on the grass. It had rained all the previous night and the ground was waterlogged, but at least higher up we were free from bracken and midges didn't attack in such vast numbers.
The craggy bits can indeed be avoided:
Panorama to the north - this is the most interesting view from Trilleachan:
It was a slog. The ground was so saturated in places that I was worried I might leave my boots behind when taking a step!
And this lovely sound: Gloomp! Gloomp! Squelch!
After another 200m of fighting the steep slopes, grabbing vegetation for balance and slipping on the saturated ground, we were exhausted. By now, we agreed that we didn't fancy returning this way and we would have to find an alternative route for descent.
Higher up, the acute angle eases a bit and going is less painful:
On a dry day, there are many potential wee scrambles over large boulders, but we didn't fancy it in wet conditions:
View north was getting even more interesting:
Looking for a gap in the crags:
The two shepherds:
Weather was improving, cloud lifting and even some blue sky shone through:
The long ridge of Beinn Sgulaird:
Looking through a gap in the rocks down to Loch Etive and Ben Starav:
The northern pano once again:
When we arrived on flatter ground, the summit still seemed far away:
We took our time to get to the lower top (767m), admiring the views as we walked. All the pain and tears from the steep, boggy ascent were forgotten. Beinn Trilleachan is an excellent viewpoint (the lower top probably even better than the true summit), so we spent some time here, taking photos.
Might be a slog to get here, but it's well worth the reward!
Panorama east, looking down to Loch Etive and Ben Starav:
Loch Etive and Glen Coe hills:
Northern pano:
View NW with Bidean nam Bian to the right - summit covered in cloud:
The true summit lies on the opposite end of the ridge, across a small "dip":
Panther examining the rocks on the short descent to the "dip":
This short drop is very steep and rocky, but no real problems finding our way down - again we took time, making sure we didn't slip on the wet vegetation.
Ooops, looks steep! The descent route from the lower top and Loch Etive below:
Panorama across to Ben Starav again. This hill is now growing on me, what a majestic mountain!
One more
This steep gully is suggested as an optional route for descent, but in given conditions we didn't want to risk it. Far too wet and slippery!
From the "dip" it was easy 130m of ascent over grass and flat slabs to the summit cairn. Weather has settled: some high cloud, but mostly well above the summits. I'm only beginning to explore the southern Scotland and many shapes are still unfamiliar, but I felt very excited thinking about all these hills still to visit. Hopefully, I'll get my chance!
View north back to the lower top and the Glen Coe hills beyond:
Loch Etive to the south:
Beinn Sgulaird to the west:
Corbett no. 127 for me, no. 49 for wee Lucy. And what's most important: I caught up with Kevin!
...and he is not very happy about it!
Another group of hills I haven't touched yet - Cruachan & friends!
Fraochaidh and Ballachulish Twins:
After resting on the summit for a while, we studied the map in search for an alternative descent. Dropping east to Loch Etive was a no-no due to conditions underfoot, so we decided to go west, into Coire Leacach. There is a small stream to follow and going is not too bad, much less steep than the other side:
We aimed for Lochan na Saobhaidhe but when down to 400m, we started contouring around to eventually reach the boggy path by the forest. Going was relatively easy, if wet and squelchy:
Had it been dry, we would have had some fun climbing the slabs on the western side of the hill, but it wasn't meant to be today:
We struggled through the final boggy section down to the road and jumped back in the car as quickly as we could - midges in the glen were still hungry and they didn't take hostages!
......
All in all, a good day up there, despite the wee b**ers and the bog. Maybe this Corbett is better tackled in winter/early spring, when the mud is frozen and the bracken still not in full bloom
........
I was a bit disappointed we didn't get to do any scrambling, but I got my share the next day. We visited a cracking Graham in Kintail area, where my husband suddenly decided to give me a few scrambling lessons... Report to follow.
