walkhighlands

LIATHACH - in PERFECT weather!

Route: Liathach, Glen Torridon

Munros: Mullach an Rathain (Liathach), Spidean a' Choire Lèith (Liathach)

Date walked: 31/05/2021

Time taken: 6 hours

Distance: 11.5km

LIATHACH – in PERFECT weather!

Our trip started somewhat by chance; with the Spring Bank Holiday coming up both me and my brother had booked 1st of June off work as well, to make the most of a long weekend :D . My third brother is still at school, so half term time. Discussing what to do with the time, our thoughts went back to an epic trip we’d done to Suilven back in 2020 and we thought, hang on, why don’t we do the highlands again! A few google searches, and walk highlands reports later we settled on Liathach as the perfect destination. How absolutely nailed that decision proved to be!! :clap: :clap:

Our window to get to Liathach and back home again was Sunday evening to Tuesday evening…and with a 9.5hour journey to reach it, well that’s a bit of a schedule :crazy: :crazy: ! We left on Sunday evening, and being young and adventurous drove through the night, refuelling at Perth and Inverness before reaching the foot of Liathach at 2:45 in the morning…time for some sleep! 3 hours later we roused ourselves, tucked back a porridge, fruit and granola concoction and off we went. Or so we thought. :roll:

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Our first taste of what was ahead, from the Car Park! What view, the whole ridge stretching on down the Torridon valley, warming up in the morning sun!


Turns out we’d parked in the Easterly car park, and so after studying the OS map with furrowed brow we returned to the car, drove down to the car park near Glen Cottage and set off once more! :lol: :lol:

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Steadily gaining elevation


The sun rising and filling the Torridon valley with its golden glow was absolutely spectacular! The scale of the Scottish Highlands always impresses me – Snowdonia etc is generally our stomping ground. So getting higher and higher up, one could not help but be awestruck by the mountains all around gently warming in the morning sun. :shock: :shock:

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Warming up already :) Stopping for breaks every now and again to look back behind at the stunning scenery!

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The steep slopes of the Corrie providing a dramatic setting. As you climb up alongside the waterfall you head up into what feels like a mountain cathedral before then heading up to the ridge itself!


The weather was incredible and we knew very early on that we’d be in for an epic day! :clap:

Before too long we were in shorts and t-shirts 8) 8) and pulling ourselves up the slope, gaining elevation all the time and stopping every now and again for a short breather and to look back over the valley to admire the view! The path is steep but well defined, so it's really a case of keeping your head down and your legs moving forward :)

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Views south looking absolutely amazing in the morning sun! It gets better the higher you go, with elevated lochans appearing and then the view stretching down to Skye and beyond :)

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High altitude clouds adding to the drama


Reaching the bealach between Stuc a’ Choire Dhuibh Bhig and Stob a Choire Liath Mhor is one of those WOW moments that live long in the memory :clap: :clap: :shock: :shock: 8) 8) and never fail to impress! The whole of North Torridon and beyond stretching out, filled with the Munro’s of Beinn Eighe, Beinn Dearg, Beinn Alligin et al. Absolutely stunning, and the contrasting blue sky and golden brown mountains looking utterly epic! 8) :shock: :clap:

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North Torridon really is such a spectacular view from the Bealach!!

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And the views back south...


We turned right up to Stuc a’ Choire Dhuibg Bhig as we were keen to see the view of Beinn Eighe from this point. Past a false summit (Bidean Toll a’ Mhuic I think) and on to the full summit, there was Beinn Eighe in all its glory! 8) Mental note to come back and get up there when possible! There’s a lovely flat rock at the top and we spent a while here, trying to somehow get the views logged into a camera and feeling that freedom that only comes at the top of epic mountains! 8) 8)

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Clambering up the rocks of Stuc a' Choire Dhuibh Bhig

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Does it get any better??? An incredible panorama of the top of Stuc a' Choire Dhuibh Bhig with Beinn Eighe filling the background. A truly epic viewpoint!

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The northern peaks, with the Western end of Beinn Eighe coming in from the right


Looking west along the way ahead I was struck by how steep and narrow the path seemed, but as is always the case it’s actually fine once you get onto it! After some food and nourishment we turned back down, returned to the Bealach and quickly made Stob a Choire Liath Mhor before reaching Munro number 1, Spidean a’ Choire Leith.

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Look West towards Spidean a Choire Leith. The path looks quite steep and treacherous from this point, but actually not so bad once you get onto it!

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Looking east towards Beinn Eighe from the summit of Spidean a Choire Leith, Stuc a' Choire Dhuibh Bhig in the foreground


Here you get another WOW moment as you look down round the pinnacles of Am Fasarinen and onto Mullach An Rathain! :clap: 8) 8) Even in May there were small sections of snow still hanging round which again contrasted very nicely with the blue skies! The feeling of elevation, being surrounded by the most incredible scenery, this is exactly how the mountain bug bites you! Needless to say, we stayed here for quite a while. We were hoping the wind would be calm enough to get some drone footage from the summit but unfortunately this was not to be. Never mind, the camera photos look incredible enough, never mind the experience of actually being there. If you’ve never climbed Liathach before, then I can wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend it!! :D :D

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Mullach an Rathain first view with the Pinnacles along the left hand side!! Truly epic

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Looking back the way we'd come, all the way over to Beinn Eighe

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The Pinnacles sitting there waiting for us!


Coming down off Spidean a’ Choire Leith is quite a rocky/scree experience but the path is pretty clear all the way through and the on down to the Bealach before reaching the Pinnacles! Here we gathered ourselves, not entirely sure what to expect for the way ahead – there are various reports of the Pinnacles and it’s hard to know what to actually expect on the mountain. Being a long way from home, we didn’t want to take risks, but again being young and adventurous the bypass paths were not for us! :wink: :D :D

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Don't look down! Or actually, you can if you want, because the valley floor far below is a spectacle in itself! Epic gully's at various points, this one in between Spidean a Choire Leith and the Pinnacles :)


So over the top we went! 8) To be perfectly honest, you can make it as scary or as safe as you like. The exposure is there, but at the same time you never feel as if you’re on anything else but a sure footing. Plenty of hand and footholds and clear routes over, around, forwards etc. :D

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Looking over to Mullach an Rathain with the Pinnacles getting ever closer

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Craggy :)

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Freedom!!

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A perch somewhere along the pinnacles, looking back the way we'd come


The Pinnacles were very enjoyable indeed! :D We didn’t rush, but simply enjoyed clambering over these dramatic rocks and revelling in the surroundings and taking in the wondrous views in every direction. Many photo opportunities with epic gully’s and rock formations aplenty! 8) 8)

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The shoulder of Meall Dearg coming in from the left, looking out to Beinn Dearg with Baosbheinn and Beinn a Eoinn behind, Beinn a Chearcaill through the gap and then Saill Mhor coming in from the right.

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The final lump on the pinnacles looks very dramatic from this view point...

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Like so!


Past the pinnacles and another breather before then pushing onto Mullach an Rathain. This is a straightforward blast up the ridgeline and before long we had made the summit and congratulated ourselves on what had been an epic EPIC experience!! :clap: :clap: From the summit we could see the final view that I was looking forward to, that of Glen Torridon stretching out to sea. The great vast stretch of water glistening in the sun and looking absolutely incredible!

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Mullach an Rathain summit! Glen Torridon lying in the sun and stretching out to sea with Skye etc in the background! Epic

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Looking back along the pinnacles etc, feeling very satisfied at this point!

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The Northern Pinnacles


What an experience, Liathach you’re an incredible mountain! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Now came the time to leave the summit and head down, down, down to the car. It’s a long old slog, and the knees and quads won’t thank you for it! Steadily working down towards the valley the path works down through the scree slopes and steadily becomes more vegetated the further down you get. By this time in the day it was getting very hot, people coming up the path having taken off t-shirts etc in the blazing sun! :lol:

We finally got back down to the road and started out on the slog back to Glen Cottage, which we did in about 30 minutes I think.

Just Wow! Getting back to the car and looking back up at the hulking ridge line, its incredible and such an epic feeling to have done it! Thanks Liathach, I’m sure we’ll be back some day :clap: :clap:

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fabsdoouss


Activity: Mountain Walker
Place: Wester Ross
Gear: La Sportiva Trango Boots!
Ideal day out: My ideal day out is long, covering plenty of miles and really digging deep and pushing to more of an endurance style of day. But this needs to be combined with anything scary, ridge-walks, scrambles, epic views etc!




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Statistics

2021

Trips: 1
Distance: 11.5 km
Munros: 2


Joined: May 25, 2021
Last visited: Apr 07, 2022
Total posts: 3 | Search posts