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I have long though there must be a better name for demoted Munros than designating them 'tops' or 'Corbetts'. 'Fossil' Munros perhaps?
For whatever reason this seems to be an area which has suffered disproportionately, from being re-assessed with a piece of string and a Commodore 64 home computer in the 80s at some point. To my reckoning my walk would once have included 3 Munros: Sgòr Gaoith, Sgoran Dubh Mòr and Geal Chàrn (also Carn Ban Mor if I had been paying attention). Now only Sgòr Gaoith warrants a tick.
I am not enough of an anorak to dwell on the technicalities of Munro status, but in fairness you could probably shout to someone on the summit of Sgòr Gaoith from Sgoran Dubh Mòr on a calm day. Geal Chàrn, on the other hand, has a pretty decent separation along the ridge, so it's demotion seems perhaps a little unfair.
Regardless, the point being that the non 'rock star hills' very much add to a great walk, and anyone who missed them out for the convenience of a bagging run would be missing out.
Ascending as per the WH route from Glen Feshie, it didn't take long to get into the cloud. After a period of meandering across the plateau, unable to see further than a few yards ahead, the visibility cleared and I was treated to the summit cliffs of Sgòr Gaoith and views of the Loch below
I ate a roll with my legs swinging off the summit rocks, then followed a clear path to Sgoran Dubh Mòr. Given the short distance it seemed like a worthwhile detour, and the thought 'they changed it's status once they can do it again' played in my mind.
Sgoran Dubh Mòr has one of the BIGGEST summit cairns I have ever seen! Whether that is part of a strategy for it to regain Munro status I am not sure (my understanding is that lateral displacement was the issue, not the elevation). Again the cloud cleared briefly to give a few moments of brilliant views.
Returning to the ridge, I enjoyed a steady walk taking in Meall Buidhe and Geal Chàrn. It was a strangely humid sort of day, with flies constantly buzzing even at that altitude. Being slightly lower had taken me out of the cloud, which gave the unplanned for benefit of a better visibility that if I had just taken in the main summit itself.
The descent back to the main path from Geal Charn, was quick and quite enjoyable in the soft, spongy heather. Though I can see it will get tougher once the native woodland starts to recover.
The path up
The summit cliffs.
Giant summit Cairn on Sgoran Dubh Mòr!
Views from ridge