"Catching up" in the Highlands.

[martin.h]

I can remember, back in 2013 when we were having a rather breathless scamper along the Brothers Ridge in Kintail, how much we were enjoying it, the weather was ok, the mist was breaking up and the views, when we got them, were superb.

We had done a few Munros together up to this point, but not many. I started that day on 19 all of which had taken 39 years to collect, I was in no rush , Denise was on 10, all of those were with me over the years since we met in 1979, never thinking we would collect many more or taking a more serious approach, it was just one of our rare days out in the Highlands.
Two days later we were having a go at the South Glen Shiel Ridge, seven Munros in one long day, that's when we decided we'd see how far we could get along this Munro "bagging" list, not taking it too seriously but lets see what happens.

Six years later we've not done too bad, still not taking it TOO seriously but, mmm, could we actually finish them?
My personal ambition was 200 Munros which I arrived at in April of this year, next was Denise's 200, it would be great if we could get her part of the way by doing some of the nine I was ahead with, Carn Mor Dearg was one of those so we chose to have a steady day just doing the one, taking our time and, as it turned out, the weather allowed a very leisurely day

We parked up in the North Face car park, Torlundy, we thought we were being clever by arriving fairly early to get a space, it was 07:20 and it was full just one little space between two vans and We were lucky to get that by the time we were ready for off, another 7 or 8 cars had arrived

The initial part of the walk was through the plantation so not much in the way of views, after half an hour or so on forest tracks the trees get thinner so the views improve

DSC03356 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03354 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

Once away from the trees you get this.

DSC03357 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

As you clear the trees there's a deer fence with a massive stile over it, you are then on the path for the CIC hut which is excellent.
The views to the Ben are fantastic, especially today with the blue sky and the wispy clouds highlighting the dark face.

About a quarter of an hour or so from the stile there's a little cairn marking the start of the path up Carn Mor Dearg.
it's a bit squelchy for the first 300m of so of ascent adding an element of fun trying not to end up wading ankle deep in soft peat,

DSC03358 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03359 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

above this it improves and turns into a nice solid path and the Ben gets closer.

DSC03362 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03365 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

Higher up still it gets steeper becoming stony and a bit loose in places, as it levels off just below Carn Dearg Meadhonach the path starts to meander through the boulders.

You can see Carn Mor Dearg now, just beyond Carn Dearg Meadhonach, to our right the scale of the North Face was becoming very apparent, a massive collection of crags, gullies and ridges

DSC03364 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

mist was starting to obscure much of the face so this was adding to the atmosphere, we reached the cairn on Carn Dearg Meadhonach just as a thin layer of mist enveloped us this just added to the sense of scale, it felt like everything had become magnified, after a short break we carried on to Carn Mor Dearg.

DSC03366 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

By now the only summit that was free of mist was Carn Mor Dearg, lucky for us but not so good for the views, when we arrived at the summit cairn the mist had cleared enough to see the views south and south east, the Mamores being the clearest, the outline of the Aonachs just visible, the Arete was clear on its eastern side, Coire Leis obscured by mist.

DSC03368 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03370 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03371 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03380 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

It was warm with a very light breeze so we decided to sit for a while and see if the Ben would clear.

DSC03372 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03373 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03374 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03375 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

We hadn't planned to do the Arete so there was no rush, it was around 11am so we had plenty of time to enjoy the peace and quiet A few people came and went, some just doing Carn Mor Dearg, the majority continuing along the Arete, the temptation was there but we just wanted to be idle

We spent an hour on the top, just wandering around or sitting down chatting, all the time the mist was just about clearing enough to see the Ben fully then coming in again to snatch the view away we came to the conclusion that the mist wasn't playing ball so we decided to start on our way down.

DSC03381 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03388 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

By the time we got back to Carn Dearg Meadhonach the mist had just about cleared, usually the case so I did manage to get a few decent photo's

DSC03393 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03396 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03397 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03400 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03401 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03408 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03409 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr

DSC03392 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr


Much of the descent is quick and easy, the wet bits didn't seem as wet somehow, when we were on the main path again we stopped for a bit of a rest.

DSC03412 by Martin Hawer, on Flickr


It was just a short stop, however, because more or less as soon as we were motionless the real beasties of the insect world, the clegs, homed in on us and put paid to any relaxed break

Back at the car park it was busy, very busy, a lot more cars than when we set off earlier and a lot of people enjoying the weather.

So, Denise's first Highland "catch up" and a superb day to do it in, there's more catch ups planned over the next couple of trips to the Highlands, there's two that might test the nerves a bit, they're on the Aonach Eagach, we'll need a good day for that and a bit of company

[dav2930]

Looked a great day out. What a grand place to be 'idle' at! Very nice, and the leisurely approach means you can concentrate on the photography. You've caught the crags of the Ben in a superb light - just the right time of day it seems. The ones of Tower Ridge are especially fine

[rockhopper]

Great day for it. Some rather atmospheric mist shots esp the arete which make it all the more interesting. Nice place to sit around a pass the day. Thanks

[martin.h]

Looked a great day out. What a grand place to be 'idle' at! Very nice, and the leisurely approach means you can concentrate on the photography. You've caught the crags of the Ben in a superb light - just the right time of day it seems. The ones of Tower Ridge are especially fine

Great day for it. Some rather atmospheric mist shots esp the arete which make it all the more interesting. Nice place to sit around a pass the day. Thanks

Hi Guys,
It's not often we get the chance just to sit on or around the summit of a mountain for any length of time, it was just right today, the weather was perfect and we weren't planning on going any further once on the top, it was only just 11am so we found a couple of comfortable boulders with a view and relaxed, a nice summers day in the mountains, just can't be beaten

Cheers

[Jaxter]

Very nice - I love this hill As you say the path up CMD is really obvious but I remember completely missing it in the dark and blundering through rock and heather for hours Sometimes a bit of cloud adds to the atmosphere and I like how some of your cloudy Ben pictures are almost eerie

[martin.h]

Very nice - I love this hill As you say the path up CMD is really obvious but I remember completely missing it in the dark and blundering through rock and heather for hours Sometimes a bit of cloud adds to the atmosphere and I like how some of your cloudy Ben pictures are almost eerie

Hi Jackie,
Clouds add so much to the atmosphere especially when the sun is warming up the day, we were lucky (or unlucky depending on your point of view ) when they finally cleared to reveal the epic side of B.N

I think one of the reasons we all get out into the mountains is to witness such things, I can vividly remember the feel of the mountain even now, nearly three weeks later

Cheers