walkhighlands

Second Time Lucky on An Teallach

Route: An Teallach, Dundonnell

Munros: Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill (An Teallach), Sgùrr Fiona (An Teallach)

Date walked: 25/07/2021

Time taken: 10 hours

Distance: 15.6km

Ascent: 1402m


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August 2018 - My son and I stood on the summit of Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill and surveyed the view that stretched all of... 5 metres. The weather forecast had indicated there would be good visibility and it initially looked like that would be correct when we set off from Dundonnell, but the clouds had rolled in by the time we reached Sròn a' Choire and the whole An Teallach ridge was socked in for the rest of the day.

I sighed. My son might have sighed as well but the strong gusts of wind whistling around made it hard to hear (the forecast was correct in that respect). This may have been my first (long overdue) Munro, but it wasn't as I had envisaged. Our plan to climb Sgùrr Fiona and Lord Berkeley's Seat was abandoned and we retreated back down to the car feeling somewhat unfulfilled - it was a great workout and climbing our first Munro a cause for celebration but for many years I had longed to gaze upon THAT view of the ridge from Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill. An ambition denied, for who knows how long.

July 2021 - We had returned to the holiday cottage just south of Ullapool and I was hoping beyond hope that this time the weather wouldn't let us down. We arrived at Dundonnell at about 6:30AM to be greeted by a bank of fog covering the valley. No problem - this was exactly as forecast, and we were confident the fog would lift. Maybe an inversion wouldn't be too much to ask?

We made decent progress up the slopes of Meall Garbh, although no speed records were in danger. I'm no spring chicken at 52 but exercising our Border Collie keeps me somewhat fit, although mountain walking is undertaken rarely. My son is 20 and the veteran of many Duke of Edinbugh's Award expeditions so had to be reined in quite a bit so he wouldn't leave the oldie behind.

Still the fog persisted, and I had dark visions of the fog lifting at the same rate we were climbing, following us around all day. It wasn't until we reached about 400m that we noticed the light increasing and the ball of the sun becoming visible. Suddenly, a few minutes later, all the fog fell away beneath our feet and we were above it in glorious sunshine. Our hopes of an inversion were granted in fine style - the cloud stretched all the way out to the Summer Isles and beyond. What should have been Little Loch Broom was a velvety carpet of cloud - fantastic!

ImageJust above the clouds

ImageIsn't Little Loch Broom supposed to be down there?

We were following the WH route up the ridge of Meall Garbh giving great views of Glas Mheall Mòr, towering above. Soon, the summit of Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill was revealed and tantalising glimpses of Sgùrr Fiona, Lord Berkeley's Seat and Corrag Buidhe appeared under the blue sky - virtually all cloud was below us and would remain so throughout the day. The midges were being kind so far, only tracking us down when we paused for a view or a breather.

ImageThe way ahead, Glas Mheall Mòr to the left

ImageThe first glimpse of Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill

ImageCorrag Buidhe, Lord Berkeley's Seat and Sgùrr Fiona from near the summit of Sròn a' Choire

We had a rest and a sausage roll at the bealach between Glas Mheall Mòr and Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill. We decided to take the good path that climbs up Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill's west face - this zigzags its way up and joins the ridge just southwest of the summit. The temperature was increasing, and it was thirsty work; we had both started with 4 litres of water, but rationing was in order or we would have glugged it all long before the end of the day.

ImageView north from the path up Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill

As we neared the ridge my excitement was building - I could tell we would soon be treated to THAT view and I wasn't to be disappointed this time. "Photos don't do it justice" is a bit of a cliché but it's so apt here. No matter how many photos and videos I had seen it didn't spoil the grandeur and sheer scale of seeing the An Teallach ridge with my own eyes. I just stared for a few minutes taking it all in. It also brought home how much I need a wide-angled lens!

ImageTHAT view. I'd waited years to see this

ImageClose up of Corrag Buidhe, Lord Berkeley's Seat and Sgùrr Fiona

It was just a short walk up to the trig point at the summit of Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill and what a difference from our previous visit. Views in all directions stretched for many many miles, with the inversion persisting to the north and west.

Image2018 vs 2021 - spot the difference!

ImageJust taking it all in

ImagePanorama from the summit of Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill

We enjoyed a well-earned rest and a gourmet cheese, ham and tomato roll that I had prepared the previous night and surveyed the route ahead; Sgùrr Fiona, Lord Berkeley's Seat, Corrag Buidhe, Stob Gobhlach and Sàil Liath were all in glorious sunshine on the skyline, with Loch Toll an Lochain far below.

The straight-line distance to our second Munro of the day, Sgùrr Fiona is not far (and only a two-metre drop) but it seemed like quite a descent to the bealach where, as described by the WH route, we took the path that rises along the north face to the northwest ridge and tackled the scramble to the summit from there. There's a decent path that leads all the way up and the scramble is pretty easy. It's a fine, peaked summit and we had planned a good long rest here, but we discovered that it was flying ant day at the top of Sgùrr Fiona! There were thousands of the little buggers buzzing around, not quite up to midge-infested nuisance levels, but it was not conducive to sitting in peace. We discovered a grassy patch just metres away to the south which was mercifully ant-free.

ImageOur route up Sgùrr Fiona was to take the path up the face to the right and then the ridge to the summit

ImageView from the flying ant-infested summit of Sgùrr Fiona. The grassy area to the right was ant-free

ImageView from Sgùrr Fiona back to Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill and Ghlas Meall Liath

Next stop would be Lord Berkeley's Seat, a short distance to the south. I'd heard differing accounts as to the difficulty of scaling this pinnacle, and the angle it juts out over Coire Toll an Lochain does look rather intimidating from the base. The scramble presents no difficulties, however. Within a few minutes we were on top and savouring yet more excellent views. There was no leg-dangling and no pipe-smoking, there is plenty of space to sit without having to get dangerously close to the edge. The position is one of the best of the whole ridge, nestled between the higher peaks of Sgùrr Fiona and Corrag Buidhe but still affording great views of the ridge in both directions and, of course, into the depths of the corrie and beyond.

I was having a fantastic time. And then suddenly I wasn't...

I had decided to walk along the ledge where I could get a good look straight down and that's where the exposure hit me. I have always had a good head for heights, although very respectful of them, but this ledge suddenly seemed very precarious and there was no barrier between me and many hundreds of feet of nothingness. I had a horrible feeling at the back of my neck, and I wanted to take a big step backwards which was, of course, not advisable. I really had to concentrate very hard to prevent my legs turning to jelly as I edged back to safety and sat down very carefully next to my son. Even then, my head was spinning for a while and I felt like I couldn't move a muscle, or I'd plummet to my doom. I closed my eyes - my son reports that I was muttering (although I can't remember doing so) "Need to get down. Need to get down. Need to get down". A few deep breaths later I started to feel better and when I opened my eyes again I was just about back to normal, although I was not for venturing out on the ledge again! We stayed sitting for several more minutes so I could fully regain my composure and I then took it nice and slowly on the descent.

ImageLord Berkeley's Seat - site of my moment of crisis

ImageLoch Toll an Lochain from Lord Berkeley's Seat - it's a long way straight down!

ImageView from Lord Berkeley's Seat back to the two Munros of Sgùrr Fiona and Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill

We'd already decided that we wouldn't be tackling the pinnacles of Corrag Buidhe, probably a good job considering the experience I'd just had, but we climbed a short distance so we could get some good views back along the ridge. A couple of people had already taken our place on Lord Berkeley's Seat and that was a theme throughout the day - a glance at the major peaks would often reveal someone's presence. I suppose by An Teallach's standards it was quite a busy day but I'm sure it was a tiny fraction of the hundreds of people who were climbing Ben Nevis at that exact time.

ImageLord Berkeley's Seat and Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill

We took one of the bypass paths around Corrag Buidhe and, although I'm certain it's not as spectacular as tackling the pinnacles, it still afforded fine views of Loch na Sealga and over to Fisherfield. We spotted a group of five above us on the pinnacles, all roped up - it seemed a very good job we hadn't attempted it!

ImageThe pinnacles bypass path

ImageLooking out over Loch na Sealga and Fisherfield

ImageClimbers on Corrag Buidhe

As we rounded the corner of Corrag Buidhe, the ascent of Stob Cadha Gobhlach looked very easy compared to what we had tackled earlier in the day but the descent to the bealach is quite a distance and when we reached the base of the climb it didn't look easy at all - quite steep and prolonged. It wasn't helped that halfway up I started to get cramp in my right calf, necessitating a stop on a grassy shoulder for a breather and a cheese and onion pasty. A goat and its kid walked along just below us and disappeared from view as they climbed down some vertical-looking crags.

We discovered a couple of used flare canisters here that had stained the grass red - perhaps the site of a recent rescue.

The summit of Stob Cadha Gobhlach was soon obtained and then another descent and the final pull to the top of Sàil Liath. My muscles were feeling a bit tired by this point and I was relieved to see the sandstone giving way to quartzite as the final summit neared. The reverse view back along the ridge, although not a breath-taking as those from the north, is still impressive, showing us all the peaks we had visited during the day.

ImageThe view back from Sàil Liath. Lord Berkeley's Seat is peeking out between Corrag Buidhe and Sgùrr Fiona

Next came the toughest part of the entire walk - the descent of Sàil Liath. It starts off nice and gentle for a while but then it gets much steeper. As the WH guide suggests, we aimed for Lochan na Bràthan but the descent over small loose rocks was punishing to fatigued knees. It seemed to be taking a long time to descend and the lochan never seemed to get any closer but eventually the gradient eased somewhat, and we were almost at the first water source for many hours. There's some boggy ground here, although much had dried up due to the recent spell of dry weather. It didn't stop my son finding a particularly boggy section to slip and fall in, though - he managed to plonk his backside right in and when he stood up it looked as if he'd had a nasty accident of a different kind! The temperature had much increased at this lower altitude and at the lochan I dipped my hat in the cool water, filled it up and slapped it quickly back on my head while it was still half-full - so refreshing.

All that remained was to locate the path from Shenavall and follow it to the track that leads to Corrie Hallie. The end of the walk was still a couple of miles away and goes through an idyllic native woodland - some shade at last! We arrived at Corrie Hallie and awaited the pre-arranged spousal taxi back to our cottage which arrived just as the midges were getting interested in us. We had just used up all of our water and were thankful for the extra couple of bottles in the car. I gave thanks to my wife for bringing them and she muttered something about bringing deodorant next time as well, but I didn't really hear as my mind was wandering back to the experiences I'd just had on one of the best mountain days ever.

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Comments: 1


DaveBhoyGreen


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Activity: Wanderer

Munros: 3
Corbetts: 4
Fionas: 1
Donalds: 2
Hewitts: 3
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Statistics

2021

Trips: 1
Distance: 15.6 km
Ascent: 1402m
Munros: 2


Joined: Apr 09, 2017
Last visited: Jul 03, 2023
Total posts: 1 | Search posts