walkhighlands

Will ye Go Lassie Go - Bros & Sunny Soul Sisters

Munros: Aonach Meadhoin, Sàileag, Sgùrr a' Bhealaich Dheirg, Sgùrr Fhuaran, Sgùrr na Càrnach, Sgùrr na Ciste Duibhe

Date walked: 13/10/2014

Time taken: 10.5 hours


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Don’t ask me why, but I set my alarm for 0500. When I awoke to it, I re-set it for half past and got up just before 0600.

When I emerged from the tent the moon and stars shone brightly down in Glen Shiel and my car was covered with a layer of hard frost. :shock:

How on earth did I manage to stay warm in my tent I hear you ask? :crazy:

Well, I have my Mountain Equipment Sleeping bag, laid out on my camping mat, which is rolled out on my waterproof picnic blanket. I grabbed a bag from the house which appeared to contain a duvet. When I opened it inside the tent, a feather pillow popped out of a thick double duvet along with a thin single one! :lol: I was snug in my cosy long johns, woolly socks, new Sherpa base layer, Rab Jacket, hat and gloves!! Crazy, I know, but a girl needs to keep warm. :D

I had a half frozen banana for breakfast and decided it was too early to go anywhere so climbed back into my cosy bed for a further 40 winks. :idea:

By 0730 I was parked up by the forest and river (approx. 1 mile West of the Cluanie Inn) gearing up for the day. It looked like it was going to be a good day. The path was quite good to start with before it crossed a bit of bog past a shieling and pretty much disappeared. Stags bellowed up the hill to my left and upon the right and a few hinds sprung out of the undergrowth and bounded up the mountain.

My ascent.jpg
The route up

The Shieling.jpg
The Shieling & Waterfall

Looking back down to the road.jpg
Looking back down to the road

Part of Glen Shiel Ridge.jpg


I bumbled up the hill through the thick clumps of grass alongside the river before turning West and up the shoulder through some slidy rocks before making a bee-line for the summit of Aonach Mheadhoin. The cloud descended just as I ascended! :roll: Having been on this mountain before, sadly there was no tick to be had.

I whacked on a layer as there was a chill in the air and had a quick snack before taking out the map to check the direction in which I should be travelling but to be honest the path was pretty obvious and it was an enjoyable walk to Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg which has a surprising little spur with a dyke running along the top that leads to a well-built cairn. 8)

Looking back up AM.jpg
Looking back up Aonach Meadhoin

Between AM & S BD.jpg
The ridge from Aonach Meadhoin to Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg

A view at last.jpg
Looking down into the Glen

Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg.jpg
Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg

The dyke on S BD.jpg
Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg


The cloud was coming and going revealing little snippits of glens and yonder mountains and the ridge. It was really lovely and for once I wasn’t the target for wind and rain! :shh:

Me 1.jpg
Me on Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg


Onwards to Saileag, another nice little hill where I met 3 sets of people all doing the Brothers Ridge in the opposite direction. They would be the only people I would meet on the hills all day. Up onto Saileag, no time to stop, I’m on my way to the Five Sisters. :thumbup:


Pano 2.jpg


At the Bealach an Lapan, I take a quick glance at the small cairn indicating the descent path and press on. The weather seems to be better the further West I travel.

Rocky ridge.jpg
The Rocky Ridge


At this stage I am conscious of the time but I don’t want to start ‘clock-watching’. The section between the bealach and the first Munro on the Five Sisters Ridge seems to take an eternity: the first cairn is reached but it doesn’t mark anything significant. On again and another cairn – this one marks Sgurr nan Spainteach. It’s a really lovely ridge which meanders in and around the top of some steep gullies.

Sgurr na Carnach and Fhuaran.jpg

The ridge to Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe.jpg


Just before Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe is reached there’s a steep down climb, which I take my time on. A fall here would be lethal! The path doesn’t exactly follow ‘the ridge’ here but goes around a hollow and curves around through the boulders to the large summit cairn. Exclaiming out loud about the view, I’m enjoying the solitude. Typically just as I get my camera out the cloud rolls in so I opt to get warm and have a sandwich until it clears and it doesn’t take long for it to dissipate. :-o

The Forcan Ridge 1.jpg
The Forcan Ridge

Loch Duich.jpg

The Cuillin.jpg
The Cuillin


As a few of you may be aware I love singing and I have always wanted to sing from the top of a mountain at the top of my voice. I can see two figures in the distance on Sgurr na Carnach, but there’s no-one else around. A Scottish tune seems rather appropriate so I sing Wild Mountain Thyme and John Anderson my Joe amongst others. I loved it!! :-D

It is 2pm and I reckon that it is going to take me a further 4 hours to climb the last two Munro’s and get down to the road. I’m not far wrong.


Looking back onto Sgurr na Carnach.jpg
Looking back onto Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe

Me.jpg

Loch Duich Pano.jpg
Panorama Loch Duich

Loch Duich & Sgurr na Carnach.jpg
Loch Duich & Sgurr na Carnach


More pictures and I am off descending Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe. This would be a good scramble if heading in the opposite direction, but as I am heading down it it’s a bit trickier, bag bashing off rocks, etc.

Up onto Sgurr na Carnach soaking up the fresh air and sun-rays and then dropping again for last steep climb up onto Sgurr Fhuaran and another song on the summit. Truly stunning: the last Munro was a bit of an effort, but I made it. I wish I had the energy and the time to climb the Fifth Sister but I need to get down to the road in daylight if I am to stand any chance of getting a lift back up the road. This is my real worry now…. Having to walk all the way back….?! :shifty:

Looking West from Sgurr Fhuaran.jpg
Looking East from Fhuaran

Sgurr nan Saighead.jpg
Sgurr nan Saighead


I took the wrong line of descent of course and ended up traversing the side of Sgurr Fhuaran shoulder when I should have really gone down the ridge. I’m about mid-way between the ridge and the deep gorge and the walking is slippy and much care is required. A large rock disappears beneath my foot and tears off down the hill and drops into the gully. Oooooft!

My line of descent.jpg
The route down


I make it to the ridge, strip off a few layers and trip, lunge, run and fumble my way down to the river. I didn’t really know where I was going and all I could think about was getting to the road, but I should have followed the track that runs back towards Achnangart. Instead I headed straight for the large white house, hastily deciding to trudge through the river which meant I was soaked. Squelching my way through the field I realised I was being eye-balled by 4 lovely Grey’s (horses that is!) who decided to follow me. :)

Through the fence I sneaked, where the road was finally met, but it was quiet…. Really quiet!

Thumbing a lift is not something I have done for about 11 years and not something I particularly like doing, nor recommend, but would you want to walk it? Eh nope… didn’t think so! :lol:

Please, please, please someone give me a lift…… :problem:

It has taken me 10.5 hours to reach this point and I walk for a good few miles before a car comes back for me. To the lovely couple from Stoke on Trent who were up on Skye for a couple of days and stashed me in their boot – Thank you so Much!! :thumbup:

It was just getting dark when they stopped and my chances of a lift were diminishing – the walk in total (road alone) I think is around 8 miles, so I would have faced a walk of around 2 hours at least, all uphill.

An absolutely cracker of a day! And a good haul of 5 new Munro’s. Well chuffed! Followed by another night in the tent and Stags bellowing by my tent :shock: :eh:

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Comments: 28



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dawnfoth


Location: Dunblane
Activity: Munro compleatist
Mountain: Beinn a Bheithir
Place: Glencoe
Gear: ME Jacket
Member: none

Munros: 269
Corbetts: 16
Fionas: 3
Donalds: 1
Wainwrights: 11
Hewitts: 8
Sub 2000: 3
Islands: 6



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Statistics

2014

Trips: 3
Munros: 8

2013

Trips: 1
Munros: 2

2012

Trips: 3
Distance: 29 km
Munros: 1


Joined: Oct 06, 2012
Last visited: Mar 08, 2024
Total posts: 267 | Search posts