Corbetts: Stob Coire a'Chearcaill.
Date: 01/12/2019.
Distance: 13.5 km.
Ascent: 895 m.
Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes.
Weather: Cold and mostly sunny, some breeze at summit.
Plus a 16 mile return cycle from the Corran Ferry.

Ah, Sunday. As I'd forgotten where I stashed my spare beer on Saturday night, I woke up feeling relatively good. We were packed and out by 10am and lined up waiting for the 10:15 ferry to Ardgour with the bikes. It was chilly but it looked like it would be a fantastic day, and we were glad not to have to scrape the car as it wouldn't be going anywhere until later.

Morning cloud in front of Sgurr na h-Eanchainne

A 5 minute hop on the ferry had us in Ardgour, pedalling north into gradually clearing low cloud. While we had considered a number of things today, we decided to make the most of being near Ardgour and go up Stob Coire a'Chearcaill, possibly adding Meall an t-Slamain onto the end of the circuit.


Down to Morvern


On the ferry


Off the ferry


Atmospheric cycle north


Our hill from Inverscaddle Bay


Inverscaddle Bay

After locking our bikes to the fence at Stronchreggan (and noting we weren't the only people to have cycled to this hill today), we headed back over the bridge and onto the hillside. About 30 seconds in, Jackie discovered that her legs weren't really functioning as well as they should - tiredness from a tough week at work and going too fast on the hills yesterday afternoon seemed to be the main contributors .



Meall an t-Slamain - will we make it there?


Ben Nevis


Mullach na Coirean from Meall Ruadh


Fort William


Leanachan forest

There were faint traces of path and the frost and frozen ground made the going relatively straightforward, but there was no getting away from the fact that the summit is a loooong way from the starting point! We even contoured a couple of bumps on the ridge to save time, but until we could see the final rise to the summit ridge, morale was a little low. I just had to keep reminding Jackie that this route was her idea not mine .


Cloud descends on the top part of Ben Nevis for most of the day


Mamores


Beinn a’ Bhithir across Loch Linnhe


Finally the summit is in view

Still, the weather was great and the views were atmospheric. We spotted another walker descending towards us in the distance, but they somehow managed to give us the slip in the bumpy terrain, and they were next spotted below us.


Glencoe hills and Beinn a’ Bheithir


Loch Linnhe


Ardgour looking atmospheric


Down the loch


Almost there...


...but why rush? Time for more photos


Ben Nevis and Eastern Mamores


Weather coming in over the Ardgour hills


Down a gully near the summit


Low cloud all day over Loch Eil


Druim Fada

The breeze at the top wasn't too strong, but it was definitely chilly. There were all sorts of different cloud formations around, from the cloud capping the last 300m of Ben Nevis and the Mamores to the low cloud settling on Loch Eil to the poor weather moving in from the west, obliterating everything to the west of Loch Shiel.


Good weather isn’t going to last much longer


Lots of low cloud west of Loch Eil


On top

We continued round the circuit admiring the scenery across Loch Eil, grateful that the second arm of the horseshoe was much more straightforward. Meall an t-Slamain had long since dropped off the agenda - we'd be happy just to be back at the bikes before dusk. Not that we have a problem with walking in the dark, but with a busy week ahead for both of us, we didn't want to get back to Glasgow too late.


Aodainn Chleirig


Braigh Blaich - our descent route


Gleann Sron a’ Chreagain


Time to go down

Lower down we picked up traces of path, which helped for some of the steeper section. Then it disappeared and all that remained was a knee-jarring descent to the track in the glen. Bizarrely (given how cold it was), it started raining briefly at this point. Fortunately it didn't amount to much, and shortly after 4pm we were back at the bikes.


Looking back to the summit


Across Loch Eil


Odd cloud


Loch Eil


Mamores


Rainbow in front of Meall a’ Phubuill


Ben Nevis almost out of the clag again


Ben Nevis


Frost never thawed in the floor of the glen


Back up the glen to the summit

It was far from completely dark, and there was an impressive sky over the loch, but it was definitely time for lights...which Jackie didn't have with her. Fortunately she had her headtorch, and I cycled behind. This road is so quiet that it wasn't a big deal, and we were able to spot cars coming and pull in in plenty of time.


’What do you mean we have to cycle back again?’


Sunset on Loch Linnhe


Fort William


Last light over Nether Lochaber

As we approached Ardgour, I decided it was time to announce that we'd probably make the 5pm ferry. Jackie was shattered by this point and I hadn't wanted to put the pressure on earlier. As it was, we made it with about 30 seconds to spare! What an excellent meet .