Sgurr Ruadh

Friday 30th May 2014

The weather at the start of my third day in the Coulin Forest was stunning with clear blue skies and it felt very warm even from the start of the day, though as on the day before it did cloud over as the day progressed, but I was still feeling amazingly lucky to be in this great area of mountains in such good weather. Unfortunately this was my last day in the Coulin Forest so ultimately my aim for the day was to return to Achnashellach railway station, but on the way I wanted to have a bit of a walk and climb to the top of a mountain. I had just spent a second night in the Coire Fionnaraich Bothy, and this night in the company of five young women, so after saying goodbye to the bothy, and to the five young women, I set off back up the valley, past Loch Coire Fionnaraich and back up to Bealach na Lice. This was a rather tiring climb, especially with the hot temperatures and now that I was carrying a much heavier rucksack than the day before.

At the top of the valley I turned right towards Bealach Bàn, where the level gradient made the walking a little easier than it had been on the climb up the valley, with a further pleasure to be had from the tremendous views all the way down the unspoilt valley back to the bothy. As I passed delectable spotted-orchids at my feet I walked along the excellent path that I had previously taken just two days ago over the pass into Coire Grannda to outstanding views of the Torridon Mountains in the distance and the backs of the Coire Lair Mountains before me. This is a fabulous path in great mountain landscape and amazing views, and despite this now being my third time on the path I still thoroughly enjoyed it. As I approached the top of the pass into Coire Lair the clouds started to close in again and spoil the great views by putting dark shadows over everything, but since the clouds stayed well above the mountains I had nothing to stop me heading up Sgurr Ruadh.

I had first walked in this area in 2009 on my way from Torridon to the railway station at Achnashellach, and on that occasion I had elected to go over Beinn Liath Mhor, to the left of Coire Lair from the pass. Two days before this walk I’d returned to Coire Lair and decided once again to climb Beinn Liath Mhor meaning that I had still never been up the mountain on the other side of the valley so that was going to be my route for this walk to the station. However, first I had to get up there and that was proving to be tremendously difficult as my muscles screamed at me with every step. I was in absolute agony while climbing out of the pass and up the steep grassy slopes that led me to the top of the ridge coming down from Sgurr Ruadh. Once again I was thinking that my rucksack was too heavy as I slowly dragged myself along the narrowing ridge on a good path through the rocks and up to the summit of Sgurr Ruadh.

I was loving the good paths and reflected that I like a good path up to the top of a mountain that doesn’t make the climb too easy, that is just tough enough to make you feel like you’ve accomplished something, but not so tough that you feel lucky to be alive at the end of it. That is one of the appeals of the Coulin Forest as there are generally very good paths throughout the area that provide excellent access to all the mountains, with the notable exception of the route I took up Maol Chean-dearg the day before this walk. At the summit of Sgurr Ruadh I had some good views across to Glen Torridon and Strath Carron where the sun was shining brightly while grey clouds lingered over the mountains of the Coulin Forest in between. While at the top of the Munro I had my lunch before setting off down the slope on the other side of the mountain.

Having enjoyed a good path on ascent I was now faced with no path for the descent but the rules all go out of the window in descent. Before me was now a broad outcrop-filled slope that would have provided me with a tedious, prolonged ascent but in descent it was a joy as I picked my route around the crags and down to the complex loch-filled saddle of Bealach Mòr. Faint paths occasionally materialised during the descent but they were fleeting and instead I had to decide which way to go myself, which is always a lot easier in descent. The saddle at the bottom was such an undulating place it would have been like a maze in mist, but on this occasion I was able to keep heading towards the immense crags of Creag Mainnrichean in order to get across the bealach and before reaching the far side of the pass I came across a surprisingly clear and well-made path that led me unerringly down into Coire Lair.

The impressive crags of Creag Mainnrichean, to my right, constantly drew my attention as I began my descent and I wished I’d had time to go to the summit of the mountain that lies behind them, Fuar Tholl. Ralph Storer claimed that Fuar Tholl is the finest mountain in the area despite not being a Munro whereas Sgurr Ruadh and Beinn Liath Mhor are both Munros, and I’m sure it is the amazing Mainnreachan Buttress that earns it that accolade. As I slowly walked down the path into the valley I was in awe of the huge crags that line this side of Core Lair, not just on Fuar Tholl, but also on Sgorr Ruadh, and create a rugged, imposing presence to the valley. I was also in awe of the excellent footpath that I was walking along that enabled me to easily, and with dry feet, drop down into the valley amongst this inspiring landscape. It is a testament to the people who originally created these paths that the Coulin Forest, and Coire Lair in particular, is such a fabulous place to walk. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to return to the area, and at a time when the weather was so good.

My biggest disappointment with this walk is that I had to catch a train at just after three thereby cutting the walk short halfway through the afternoon. With more time I would have been able to climb to the top of Fuar Tholl and explore the impressive Mainnreachan Buttress. Instead I came down to the bottom of the valley where I carefully crossed the river and dropped down the excellent path that took me to the Rhododendron-surrounded Achnashellach railway station. I had just had a thoroughly enjoyable three days in the Coulin Forest and I was sorry to be leaving; it’ll be a shame if I don’t return sometime soon. I caught the train to Kyle of Lochalsh and there I caught a bus onto the Isle of Skye where I planned to spend a couple of days. On Tuesday it had looked like this week was ruined when I had missed the only bus all week to Glen Strathfarrar, but my backup plan turned out to be even better than I’d originally planned.