Spending a long weekend with Leianne in an AirBnB on the South Loch Rannoch road I took the opportunity to get a wee Corbett in. Beinn a Chuallaich was not far away and after studying the weather I chose Sunday to do it with the promise of less wind than was forecast for Saturday, which turned out be a stunningly clear day, if very cold
Sunday came and it was a lot cloudier. I set off and reached the start point of the walk just before 11 am.
On route Shiehallion stood like a sillhouete with a few wisps of cloud passing around it but now was mostly covered in clag.

All around you could see that the cloud was thick above and there was no sign of the sun. Patches of fog filled the valleys below.

I crossed the road into the field, through the first fence, by the shed and then through the second fence and onto the path that takes you up the hillside at a good easy gradient to the right before you turn back on yourself and head in the direction of the summit. On a clear day you would now have great views of The Fairy Hill.

The path begins to peter out and and I started to head straight up, although the Walkhighlands route goes straight up round about where I turned left for a bit. There was just heather as far a the eye could see and I worked my way through it, finding gaps and what looked like short but frequent tracks that were probably made by the creatures that live on the hill trying to keep as much as a straight line as possible. It was just as well that it had been cold for a few days as I started to encounter a lot of bog but much of it was frozen and I was able to keep my feet dry. As I gained height it started getting windier and colder and the summits were covered in cloud. It was becoming the kind of day you question why you do it but you also come up with the answers. Just get wrapped up and dig in , they can`t all be good days with extensive views and thrilling ridges. And it`s why you buy all this winter gear ! Eventually I found myself at the dip before the climb up to Meall nan Euan, the summit before the actual Corbett, and there was now a thin layer of snow on the ground.
I had a wee rest just before I reached the top of this in case the wind was much stronger. After a bite to eat I carried on and crossed the beallach between the two tops and knew I was at the top when I saw the trig point and the huge cairn.

Nearly 3 hours it had taken me and I was worried about the quick fading light at this time of year. And to be honest I couldn`t be bothered following the WH route and walking back up the road to the car. I had initially planned to just double back but that was too brutal to consider. So I made my way down the ridge enough to get below the cloud and see the conditions on the East side of the hill. It was steep in places but I was able to make my way down and as I had my winter boots on I had plenty of grip.This was a quick exit and as I descended I saw a massive herd of deer travelling below me climbing uphill, possibly heading for Loch Na Caillich to chill by the beach.

Far off to the east the cloud was lifting a little and the last of the day`s sun was shining on the peaks in the distance.

I could also see the way I wanted to head back now and headed for the forestry below. Again, thankfully it was frozen ground mostly as it would have been a real bogfest otherwise. I had one tricky rocky obstacle to get by just above the treeline but I took my time and got down carefully before joining a path back to the gate at the start of the walk.