walkhighlands

Beinn Bhuidhe - bike and hike

Route: Beinn Bhuidhe, via Glen Fyne

Munros: Beinn Bhuidhe

Date walked: 16/03/2024

Time taken: 7 hours

Distance: 21.5km

Ascent: 955m

Myself and my walking buddy Colin picked this as our first Munro of 2023 - we have no idea why other than it was one we were looking at a fair bit over the past couple of years but just never got round to. Being 'off the hills' as it were for some time due to various external factors we thought, having planned it when we were fully fit, that it was going to be a breeze. WRONG!!!!

We planned to follow both the WH ascent and descent, knee surgery was one of the things keeping me off the hill and the WH descent would surely be easier on my knees - probably not wrong but probably not much in it.

We biked in from the car park passing two separate younger pairs on the way and thought we were doing well, and we were. We left the bikes at the sign asking not to cycle any further because we're responsible walkers but were hacked off to find that although the notice says 'to prevent degradation' etc. we were passed by someone in a car who drove all the way to the cottage at Inverchorachan. Surely a few bikes aren't causing any more damage or degradation to a prepared track than that car was? I understand the driver needs access to the cottage but still felt a bit miffed by it. My recommendation would always be to obey the rule but in all honesty....... well, come on now - it'd be up to your own conscience.

We'd been off the hills for a while, I've done a Graham and we've both done Brown Cow Hill, a particularly boring Corbett, as well as being regulars on the local, lower hills already this year and were expecting a comfortable enough day. However the ascent on this is steep and unrelenting, there is a bit of respite at around the 700m mark but that's followed by a particularly steep, if fairy short, climb the sight of which might destroy the soul of the less experienced walker. In all honesty though you're up it fairly quickly. Lower down than that WH warns of a few 'scrambly steps' that can be bypassed on grassy slopes above - they're not bad and the worst of them has a very comfortable hand hold to get yourself round it. Only thing I'd say, having a friend who suffers this, is that if you're a bit wary of exposure maybe the detour might be your choice, that worst one is a bit exposed.

Once up that last steep climb it's a pretty straight forward walk up to the summit, turn left (west) at the cairn that marks the top of the climb. When we got to the summit it was in cold clag with probably 30mph wind so it was very, very cold - probably minus 10 with wind chill - and views were no existent. We had our usual ten minute stand about taking summit photos before the cold became too much and we headed back. This time at the cairn we took the easterly path as recommended by WH. The wind was still up so we descended a fair bit before the wind eased and we could get a comfortable stop.

The WH recommended descent? Ooofft. It's less steep than the ascent and avoids the scrambly bits, but that doesn't mean it isn't steep - it's still very steep. One of the pairs we'd passed on the bikes had passed us on the ascent and also near the summit as they were coming down and we were going up. They'd decided they were taking the hydro track down, that means going down the really steep bit (right and down at the cairn) onto the flatter area. It would be a bit less interesting and might save time but wasn't for us - we had bikes to collect. However, given that the weather was closing in, and considering how cold it was at that point, we couldn't blame them for wanting to just get down.

My knees didn't like that descent one bit but the benefit of it being so steep is that it's over fairly quickly (I guess). As I said at the start of this diatribe we'd been off the hills for some time and it was our first Munro of 2024. We'd identified it as an easy enough one when we were both fully hill fit - when we did it we were anything but fully hill fit. However it was an excellent walk to get back into the swing of Munro bagging so 100% happy that we did it, the only way to get hill fit is to walk hills isn't it? As I sit here the day after with muscles aching and body asking if I'm completely mental I'm not so sure but it won't be long before we're back out again - the Scottish hills are just too good not to climb.

2.jpg
Me at summit


3.jpg
Colin at summit


4.jpg
Lunch time at last

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Activity: Mountaineer

Munros: 173
Corbetts: 8
Fionas: 2
Sub 2000: 4



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Statistics

2024

Trips: 1
Distance: 21.5 km
Ascent: 955m
Munros: 1

2017

Trips: 6
Distance: 89.31 km
Ascent: 5501m
Munros: 11
Corbetts: 1
Sub2000s: 1


Joined: Apr 22, 2017
Last visited: Mar 28, 2024
Total posts: 20 | Search posts