Beinn na Caillich and Mam na Gulainn

Sunday 4th June 2017

On the middle weekend of my holiday in Scotland I had camped beside the beautiful lochain that lies in the saddle between Sgùrr Eilde Mor and Sgòr Eilde Beag at about 750 metres above sea level. The previous morning I had woken up at five o’clock feeling very cold due to the high altitude, but I was able to snuggle up in my sleeping bag and get warm. During the early hours before this walk I was woken up at four o’clock not just from the cold but from the rain and wind that was shaking my tent and seemed to be blowing through both the tent and my sleeping bag so that I was unable to get warm or get back off to sleep. I suddenly did not want to be camped at that exposed spot anymore so I rolled up my sleeping bag, got my waterproofs on and ventured out of my tent only to be greeted by blue skies and the rain soon stopping. Although this was mildly frustrating it meant that I could take my time having my breakfast before breaking camp and heading back down the mountain. With hindsight I had probably overreacted as my tent has proven pretty resilient in the past and even survived the thunder storm the previous afternoon.

Eventually I set off down the mountain slowly descending the same path that I had climbed not only two days previously but also the day before due to my bizarre route selection. On my first ascent I had paused at the burn Allt Coire nan Laogh and considered camping there before continuing uphill. With hindsight I think this would have been a much better place as it would have been warmer, more sheltered and not required the strenuous climbs at the end of both days. Retracing my steps of the previous afternoon I followed the Loch Eilde Mor track with the view slowly brightening as the day gradually woke along Loch Leven. A shower passed overhead as I skirted around Coire na Ba where I had descended the previous day but it had stopped by the time I reached the rather grand looking Mamore Lodge where the track starts to climb once again until it reaches the West Highland Way coming out of Kinlochleven. I have walked this final section of the Way twice, first when I did the whole trail in 2004 and again in 2012 when I was feeling tired and wanted an easy walk.

Although I had been walking for almost three hours it was still only nine o’clock and I wanted to make something out of this walk. There are a couple of hills, one of them a Corbett, to the left of the valley that the West Highland Way passes through at this point and I had always wanted to climb them so this seemed to be an ideal opportunity. A boggy path comes off the busy trail dropping down to a burn on the opposite side of which the path improves immensely as it zigzags ingeniously through heather until the gradient finally eases. This good path is so brilliantly designed I think whoever built it deserves a pat on the back. After a largely flat section the gradient steepens again up what had seemed an impregnable, vertical cliff face but another well-made path worked wonders with the gradients zigging and zagging me many times up the steep hillside all the way up to the top of Beinn na Caillich. It is an utter joy to be walking on paths as good as this and the rain showers failed to quench my enthusiasm.

Unfortunately this is not the Corbett, even though it deserves to be, as there is a higher hill further along the grassy ridge. It was cold and windy on the ridge with dark clouds covering the mountains behind me, but ahead of me the weather was quickly improving with stunning views soon appearing across Loch Leven. The magnificent mountain of Beinn a’ Bheithir seemed to glisten in the sunlight and continually attracted my eye while behind me the Glen Coe mountains sat under thick clouds. This was such a spectacular sight it compensated for the dreary views ahead of the grassy mound that is the Corbett of Mam na Gualainn, nevertheless I headed up the dull slope where no zigzags or ingenious path was needed to bring me up to a cairn. Frustratingly this is not the summit and after a short drop a steeper rise eventually brought me up to the trig point that sits upon the summit of Mam na Gualainn. The sun was now shining warmly and due to my early start to the day I felt it was time I had my lunch even though it wasn’t twelve o’clock yet.

There was no cleverly engineered path to take me down the north-western slopes, so instead I had to somehow make my own way down the grassy slopes even though one is marked on maps. Occasionally one did briefly appear but it was no help in getting me down although the great weather and the stunning views along the valley that carries the West Highland Way more than compensated. Eventually I came across a narrow path that comes up over the pass from Loch Leven and I followed this as it slowly descends below the northern slopes of Mam na Gualainn into the valley. This path was a little frustrating for me as it heads towards Kinlochleven rather than Fort William where I wanted to go, but eventually it does join the West Highland Way, at the ruins of Lairigmòr, where I could turn around and head back along the trail towards Glen Nevis. Even though this day had started a lot earlier than I would have wanted it was turning out to be a rather good one with a great climb up Beinn na Caillich along some fabulous paths before walking along the ridge with stunning views over Loch Leven.

I had not expected to enjoy the end of this walk along the West Highland Way but I was pleasantly surprised, although the trail was benefiting from the good weather. When the path narrows the West Highland Way passes through felled plantations that are being allowed to naturally regenerate which produces more pleasing surroundings for me. I was even more surprised when I suddenly got a clear view of Ben Nevis, a lot earlier than I was expecting, thanks partly to the good weather but also to the felling that has cleared the views from the trail as you approach Glen Nevis. The West Highland Way does eventually deteriorate when it joins ridiculously wide forestry roads and it doesn’t get any better on the last couple of miles beside a road all the way into Fort William. Despite the depressing end to this walk I enjoyed the good weather and relished the chance to climb a couple of hills that I’ve wanted to climb ever since I first walked the West Highland Way in 2004.

Binnein Beag and Binnein Mor

Saturday 3rd June 2017

This walk was characterised by rapidly changing weather, sunshine and heavy showers, and by indecision, but curiously the indecision was not really caused by the weather. I was camped beside the small loch that lies in the saddle between Sgòr Eilde Beag and Sgùrr Eilde Mor, which is an excellent location where I had a good night’s sleep and woke to the same fabulous sunny weather that I had enjoyed when I went to bed. Setting off along the good clear path that passed my loch I dropped down to cross the Allt Coire a’ Bhinnein before following the excellent path as it contours around Coire a’ Bhinnein. Already this walk was entertaining me as I enjoyed the good sunshine on this great path that led me to the foot of Binnein Beag where a faint path climbs the loose scree all the way up to the summit of the Munro. This mountain is an outlier of the Mamores and the most remote peak in the range so that it is the last one in the range for me to, I hesitate to use the word, bag. As I was climbing I saw dark clouds coming from the west over the Mamores slowly drowning out the gorgeous sunshine that I had been enjoying since the day before.

From the small top of Binnein Beag I headed back down the scree with my attention now fixed on the mountain opposite, the much higher neighbour Binnein Mor, that throws a craggy ridge towards Binnein Beag. There didn’t seem to be much of a path up to this ridge and a very steep bastion of rock defends the approach that did not make the ridge look easy to climb and would involve some potentially tough scrambling. Alternatively there is a distant northern ridge and a much closer eastern ridge that looked easy enough once I’d crossed the mouth of Garbh-choire. In worsening weather I crossed the saddle and made my way to the mouth of the small, rough corrie and reached the start of the easy ridge just as it started to rain. A faint path gradually materialised as I made my way up what became an enjoyably good climb on an airy ridge with hardly any scrambling required, which was fortunate in the wet weather, and led me straight towards the summit cairn of Binnein Mor. I have been to the top of this Munro twice before, first in 2006 and again in 2008, and both times bad weather prevented me from enjoying a view from the summit.

Despite the rain that had accompanied me for most of the climb I now had clear views so I see all the way along the ridge to the south top and onto the neighbouring Munro of Na Gruagaichean and the rest of the Mamores. Although the rain had stopped by the time I reached the top of Binnein Mor, the mountains to the south were still receiving a heavy deluge while the sun attempted to break through behind me creating a dramatic, contrasting view. As I made my way along the ridge to the south top I was once more undecided on my onward direction as I’d originally planned to turn left and descend Sgòr Eilde Beag back to my tent, but it was far too early in the day and the weather seemed to be improving. I’d planned a walk that was far too short, simply up Binnein Mor and Binnein Beag, which was accomplished but now what? When I reached the south top I turned right and headed towards Na Gruagaichean knowing full well that I would have to retrace my steps. The weather continued to improve as I descended with fabulous views of the Mamores ahead of me prompting me to stop, have my lunch and take off my waterproofs.

After eating I set off down to the bottom of the col and up the narrow, craggy ridge to the summit of Na Gruagaichean that I had previously visited on the same walks that had taken me up Binnein Mor, and so consequently I had also not seen a view from this summit until this moment. It was great to be at the top of these fine mountains in improving weather that enabled me to get a view across the entire range of the Mamores. These stunning views of the awesome ridges of the Mamores were making it hard for me to turn back as all I really wanted to do was keep going. Ever since I spent a fantastic weekend in the Mamores in 2005 I have loved these hills and their narrow connecting ridges so it was very difficult for me to turn my back on them. Eventually I descended to the narrow gap that separates the small, rocky summit of Na Gruagaichean with its broad, grassy north-west top where I stopped at the cairn that overlooks the broad saddle to Stob Coire a’ Chairn and gazed out over the views.

The narrow gap between the summit and the north-west top is badly eroded with such a difficult path between them that I was so reluctant to retrace my steps I just kept on going down the broad slopes to the bottom of the col and took the path that descends into Coire na Bà. Part of me really wanted to keep going further into the Mamores to bag a few more Munros, but there was no point in doing that as I’ve been up these mountains before. Despite the fantastic weather I took this path that I had taken down in 2008 and is very good initially as it skirts below Na Gruagaichean but soon deteriorates as it drops steeply into the valley. It would have been great if I could have followed the contours round the slopes of the mountain but this would be stupid and pathless on steep ground, although that didn’t stop me briefly attempting it before coming to my senses. As the path deteriorated on boggy ground the weather also began to deteriorate with rain once more beginning to fall.

Although this rain was brief, by the time I reached the Loch Eilde Mor track at the bottom of the valley it had started to rain again and this time it was falling very heavily and it also brought thunder. Being at the top of a mountain in a thunder storm is not a good idea, however fortunately I was not at the top of a mountain, but I had camped near the top of a mountain. With the rain falling heavily around me I had to walk along the Loch Eilde Mor track until the rain and thunder eventually stopped so that I could have a more pleasant walk up the path that I’d taken the previous day climbing all the way up into Coire an Lochain to what was left of my tent. In some ways this was a fantastic walk with an awesome climb up Binnein Mor where I was finally able to get a view across the fabulous Mamores, however my choices may not have been great. I had descended all the way down to 250 metres above sea level only to then have to climb all the way back up to 750 metres at the end of a tiring day. This may not have been the wisest action, however it had meant that during the thunder storm I was safely down in the valley rather than exposed on top of the mountain.

Sgùrr Eilde Mor

Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd June 2017

Setting off from the Leacach bothy that had been my home for the last three days, I followed the path that passes the bothy and climbs over the pass between Meall Mòr and Stob Bàn. After several days of walking with a light rucksack it was quite a shock to suddenly be carrying a heavy rucksack again even though it was now a lot of lighter than it had been when I’d walked to the Leacach bothy. The weather had deteriorated since the wonderful conditions that I’d enjoyed the day before on the Grey Corries ridge so that now it was grey and overcast, so in other words back to normal. Just after I reached the top of the pass I stopped to attend to a blister that I had on my foot, which had probably been acquired on the rocky ground of the previous day. After a compeed patch had been applied I started descending into the valley with tiny, yellow, flowers lining the path as it followed the Allt nam Fang to the vicinity of the Meanach bothy. Rather than going to the bothy I turned right and crossing the stream heading up the virtually pathless valley of the Abhainn Rath.

I came this way in 2013 while on my way from Dalwhinnie to Fort William and the walk was just as dreary as I’d remembered. There is little or no path to follow and nothing really interesting to look at except for the occasional spotted-orchid. After passing over the watershed I started descending into Glen Nevis while the weather tried to both rain and bring the sun out as if it didn't know what it was doing. There is a point in upper Glen Nevis where the path splits and I remember on previous occasions taking the lower path beside the river after failing to see the higher path, so this time I made a determined effort. After crossing the Allt Coire a’ Bhuic I left the path and started climbing the hillside until eventually and after a lot of effort I found the good, though not necessarily better or dryer, path. This higher path had improved significantly by the time the lower path joined so it would be good to take the path in the opposite direction sometime in the future and see where this higher path starts.

Eventually I reached the ruins of Steall and passed into the popular Steall meadow at the foot of An Steall waterfall. I have been here many times with the last time in September just one week before a big landslide had demolished the path that goes through the Nevis gorge. Thanks to the excellent work of the John Muir Trust this fabulous path has been rebuilt and reopened enabling me to pass through, and it was interesting to see the signs of the recent rockfall. In places there were many large boulders and damaged trees below the path that are a testament to the destructive power. By the time I reached the end of this great path it was raining persistently, but this didn’t stop me as I followed the road down for a distance before taking a delightful path through carefully restored woodland on the other side of the river down to the lower falls. Forest tracks kept me off the road as I made my way to the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel arriving mid-afternoon, but since it was now raining quite heavily I was happy to stop before making a quick trip into Fort William for supplies.

The following morning I waited for the bus to take me back to Fort William and then took another one from there to Kinlochleven while the weather seemed to be improving with blue sky breaking through. I was a little confused by the paths as I started to climb through the woods above Kinlochleven, which I recalled was also my experience when on this path in 2008, but this time I realised my error early and retraced my steps so I could take the right path though it was horribly eroded with deep scars making for a difficult climb while carrying a heavy rucksack. Once the path finally emerges from the woodland there is a fabulous view down the length of Loch Leven with mountains and woodland framing the picture on both sides of the loch. Several heavy showers fell on me in between hot sunshine that made it difficult to decide what to wear with my waterproofs coming on and off several times while behind me the tremendous view down Loch Leven continued to attract my notice until the gradient finally eased. Crossing the Loch Eilde Mór track I took a path that climbs into Coire nan Laogh to reach the Allt Coire nan Laogh.

With the weather continuing to improve I contemplated stopping at this burn, which would have made a fabulous place to camp, but instead I kept going climbing steeply up the path around the southern slopes of Sgòr Eilde Beag until I reached the loch that lies between Sgòr Eilde Beag and Sgùrr Eilde Mor. In the fabulous weather that I was now enjoying, so long as I kept out of the cold wind, the conical mountain across the loch looked awesome and really inviting. After pitching up my tent near the loch I set off towards Sgùrr Eilde Mor, past the loch and onto the path that snakes up the hillside that gets increasingly steep as it climbs the slippery scree. This was an excruciating climb upon a surface that was more dirt than stones and really tricky to get a grip. I was really relieved to reach the summit ridge, however this is so narrow that I felt a bit of vertigo as I walked up the stony ridge to the summit of the Munro. The views everywhere in the good weather were amazing and justified the climb with every mountain around, including Ben Nevis, clearly seen.

So long as I kept my eyes on the distance I was okay, enthralled in the awesome views, but as soon as I saw how steep the hillside all around me was I felt rather uneasy. Before too long I started making my way back to the surprisingly relative safety of the sheer scree slope where I found that my poles were a great help in ensuring I made a slow, careful way down the loose stones all the way back down to my tent. I was camped in a fabulous location and that Friday evening the weather was sensational, and I enjoyed every moment. Most of these two days were spent merely travelling with only brief moments of interest, and most of them were later in the second day. The first day was just in order to get away from Lairig Leacach and the main purpose of the second day was so that I could get into the ideal position to do a great walk over the Mamores, but that would come the day after. Going up Sgùrr Eilde Mor at the end of the day was a bonus even though I had the rather uneasy feeling that I was merely Munro-bagging. How could I?!

Stob Bàn and the Grey Corries

Wednesday 31st May 2017

The clouds were high in the sky when I got up at the start of this day with a promise of great weather as those clouds slowly broke during the course of the morning. I had arrived two days previously at the Leacach bothy and sat through persistent rain patiently waiting for the weather to clear and now I was rewarded with an amazing day. The usual target for people staying at this bothy is the Munro Stob Bàn that lies close by, and that was also my first target of the day. Crossing the stream that had been my water supply for the last couple of days, I came off the valley track to start climbing on a faint, narrow path up a developing ridge. The terrain was, at times, boggy, which is inevitable after all the rain I’d just sat through, until as I climbed more rocky terrain appeared and eventually I reached the summit of Stob Bàn. During the ascent the morning warmed up as the sun started to peek through the clouds with blue skies coming up from the south to reveal the great day that had been promised. From the top of Stob Bàn a gruesome scree slope led me down to the bottom of the col where a long climb took me all the way up to the top of Stob Choire Claurigh.

I visited this Munro back in 2006 on an epic walk from Spean Bridge to Glen Nevis via the Grey Corries that took me twelve hours, and ever since I have looked back on that walk with a lot of affection as being one of my favourites. I had come to Leacach with the express intention of revisiting this fabulous ridge once again that I had glimpsed last September from Sgurr a’ Bhuic where my desire to return was reawakened. The sun didn’t completely come out until just before I reached the summit and now, as if timed perfectly, the glorious Grey Corries ridge was arrayed in bright sunlight stretching west before me with Aonach Beag and Ben Nevis standing proudly beyond. The views were so awesome I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be back on this ridge with such great weather, especially after all the rain that I’d had on this holiday, and would later have. While standing at the summit there was a song playing in my headphones that repeatedly said: “A little piece of heaven”. As this was repeated many times I couldn’t help thinking that, in this weather, the Grey Corries really looked like a little piece of heaven.

Eventually I tore myself away from simply looking at the ridge to actually walking along the narrow, gently undulating ridge that meanders slightly left and right while underfoot are the white or grey stones that give the ridge its striking appearance. Slowly I passed over the tops on the ridge enjoying every moment as I passed over Stob a’ Choire Lѐith, Stob Coire Cath na Sìne and Caistell until I eventually reached the Munro at the end of the ridge, Stob Coire an Laoigh. Throughout the traverse I was thanking God for the great weather that was even better than I had enjoyed the first time when I walked along this ridge in 2006. I would probably consider this ridge, between the two Munros, to be the best ridge in Scotland as it both looks fabulous and is not too difficult to walk along. I loved walking along this ridge eleven years ago and now my appreciation of it has increased even more. To be able to do this ridge once again, and in such good weather, was more fabulous than I can possibly express. At the summit of Stob Coire an Laoigh I stopped to have my lunch and to consider my onward plan.

To get back to the bothy the shortest route from Stob Coire an Laoigh was simply to retrace my steps along the Grey Corries ridge, which was no great hardship, but it was only lunchtime and another Munro, Stob Chòinnich Mór, is not that far away. Therefore I decided to keep on going by descending the scree slope and up the short climb to the top of Stob Coire Easain, which is a top that should not be confused with the Munro of the same name above Loch Treig. A path seemed to lead down from the summit veering towards the western slopes but soon became horrendously steep to walk down and was clearly not the correct way. I should not have gone that way; I should have stayed at the top of the ridge and to quote myself from eleven years ago: “descended spectacularly on a rocky platform”. With a lot of effort I traversed the abominably steep rock and scree slope until eventually I reached the saddle, Bealach Coire Easain, where after I had thoroughly worn myself out I slowly dragged myself up a steep path that weaves up to the summit ridge of Stob Chòinnich Mór.

This Munro seemed to be very different in character to the Grey Corries and seems to share more in common with the mountains of the Nevis range where dark grey, granite rock abounds unlike the Grey Corries where quartzite is the dominant rock. It is a pity that I was so tired by this point as the path up is ingenious and leads to a gorgeously narrow ridge at the end of which is the fabulously tiny summit, but as soon as I got there I turned around and headed back the way that I had come. Eleven years ago I continued to head west passing over Stob Chòinnich Beag before dropping down into Glen Nevis, but now I was able to relive the whole Grey Corries ridge again and better appreciate the whole experience. I now had the ridge all to myself and the clouds had almost completely disappeared so that I now had even more stunning views of Grey Corries ridge. With the sun behind me the Grey Corries ridge was lit up even better than it had been earlier in the day giving me awesome views as I slowly made my way back along this fabulous ridge, and a cold crosswind wind failed to dampen my enthusiasm.

When I eventually reached Stob Choire Claurigh, for the second time on this walk, I realised that this was my sixth Munro of the day, and even taking into account that only four of them are distinct Munros that is still a hefty total. Turning north I headed along the narrow ridge that leads to Stob Coire an Ceannain that proved to be the trickiest ridge of the day where some scrambling was required over the rocks until I reached the top. From there the descent was relatively straightforward as I came down the increasingly grassy slope eventually veering right to avoid crags and drop down heather slopes all the way down to the bothy. This was an awesome walk along a fabulous ridge in amazing weather, but it was a shame that it was marred slightly by my error on Stob Coire Easain. This was the best weather that I would get in my whole holiday, but I had taken full advantage of it in doing a tremendous walk and even though Scotland wasn’t generally kind to me on this holiday the Grey Corries didn’t disappoint. This ridge has had a special place in my heart for the last eleven years and this walk has reinforced that feeling and multiplied it many times.