James Stone (Clach Liath)

Mountaineering and the Volcanic Seven Summits

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Archives for July 2013

Quandary Peak, Colorado

27th July 2013 by James Stone Leave a Comment

Quandary Peak was the final Colorado climb of my week in the US Rockies targeting a few of the 53 14’ers, the 53 peaks that are higher than 14,000ft in height.  This climb followed ascents of Mount Massive, La Plata Peak and Huron Peak.

So by the time I was looking to do Quandary Peak I was well acclimitized and feeling fit.  Because I was going on to tackle a more difficult objective within the week, I wanted an “easy” 14’er.  Quandary Peak fitted the bill.  Although it is quite high at 14,265ft it benefits from one of the higher trailheads (at 10,850ft) so just leaving 3,450ft of ascent.  The route I was planning to take is also the easiest (indeed very easy) – the East Ridge route.

The night before this climb I had also managed to sleep at over 11,200ft, but I also woke up with a niggle in my right calf.  Rain had battered down most of the night but I woke up to blue skies and fluffy white clouds.  I had intended to start the climb at around 7am (to avoid any afternoon thunderstorms), but I did not arrive at the trailhead until about 7.15am.  I had assumed that I would be one of the first to start out but there were probably 40 cars there already!!

There was no room to park at the trailhead proper.

Quandary Peak trailhead
Quandary Peak trailhead

It is obviously a popular mountain as an overflow car park is provided about ¼ mile down the road.  So I parked there.  Quandary Peak is one of the nearer 14’ers to Denver and is not too far off the interstate running west from Denver.  It is also close to the cities of Frisco and Breckenridge.  So half the population of Colorado (and their dogs) seemed to be on this mountain today!  Whereas my earlier TRs had been of climbs in the Sawatch Range, Quandary Peak is in the Ten Mile Range which is further east and a little to the north.

Helpfully the start of the trail is marked.

The trail is broad and not too steep to start with.  Because of the higher start point the tree line was reached much sooner than on the previous mountains I had climbed.  This next photo was taken after just 30 minutes and shows Quandary Peak against a rather nice blue sky.  Like many of the Colorado giants, you can see that Quandary is not a fearsome looking peak.  However, the East Ridge route is the only easy one on the mountain.  Routes on the south, west and northern aspects are either scrambles on loose, shattered rock or graded rock climbs.

Quandary does also provide good ski mountaineering terrain and is often a first winter ascent for many.

The route up the east ridge used to go up the centre of it.  Now, to minimise erosion, a new trail has been constructed that takes you up the rocky flank.

The crest of the ridge is met where the ridge narrows about 1,500ft below the summit.

Paths of sorts zig zag up through the rocks and scree – straightforward, if occasionally loose.  Suddenly you pop up on to a 200 yard long summit ridge.

I reached the summit after 2¾hrs including 30 minutes of stops.  By now my leg was giving me a bit of gyp. 

But the views compensated.  Here is one to the south looking at North Star Mountain (the ridge in the foreground) and Mounts Bross, Cameron, Lincoln and Democrat (all 14’ers).

And then the busy summit area.

Busy summit of Quandary Peak

Now south west towards the Mosquito Range.

And then someone in the way of the view to the north west!

I was in no particular hurry today.  It was only 10.20am when I arrived at the summit.  I had to be at Denver airport for the evening, but that would only be a 2hr drive.  I felt able to take everything in.  Whilst the air temperature was a bit chilly, the edge was taken off by the solar radiation.  With a fleece on it was really rather pleasant.  So I spent 1¼hrs on the top!

Eventually though I had to drag myself away from the fantastic panoramas.  There was some cloud build up to the west which indicated possible thunderstorm activity.  Here is a view down the upper part of the mountain.

And then a look back up.

View back up Quamdary Peak
View back up Quamdary Peak

You can see how there was no longer a clear blue sky.  There were still quite a few folk making the ascent and risking a deluge, if not lightning.  The descent was less than comfortable for me.  Whereas I had charged up on the ascent overtaking many in front of me.  Each step down was painful.  So it took me as long to get back to the car as it had taken to reach the summit.  I did not know what I had done! – probably too much exercise over the past 5 days!  I was back at my rental car around 2pm.

Nonetheless Quandary Peak is a good introduction to anyone wanting to have a crack at the Colorado 14’ers.  Just watch the altitude.  There were some people popping pills on the summit complaining of headaches.  On my drive back to Denver airport I thought how my week in Colorado had been most enjoyable.  I was now off to Washington State in the far north west of the US, slightly concerned about my leg.  But that is for my next blog.

Huron Peak, Colorado

26th July 2013 by James Stone Leave a Comment

The previous day I had climbed La Plata Peak that lies 6 miles to the north of Huron Peak.  Like La Plata Peak, Huron Peak is one of the 53 Colorado 14’ers, peaks in that state in excess of 14,000ft.  In Huron’s case though it barely scrapes above that height.  At 14,003ft it is number 52 on the list.

Although only 6 miles from La Plata, I had driven 25 miles to reach the trailhead for Huron.  The final 12 miles were along a washboard dirt road, a road that I probably should not have taken the rental car along.  But, apart from being covered in dust, the car seemed none the worse for wear for its bone shaking 24 mile ordeal at the end of the day!

The hike begins just past a “ghost” mining town called Winfield – some photos of that later on.  If you have a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle then you can save 4 miles of walking and 360ft of ascent by driving to the point where the trail leaves the “road”.

Here is a Jeep just starting off up the 4WD section.

I did not dare take the rental car up the 4WD section!  So I had the extra mileage to undertake.  So today’s trailhead was at 10,200ft and there would be about 3,800ft of elevation gain.  It was pleasant enough along the road if a bit up and down.  There were some great camping spots along the way. I waved to one group who had picked a nice spot in the trees off to my left.

I was a bit late setting off – 8am.  But the forecast said that the risk of thunderstorms had receded.  But it was possible that there could be some rain about.  Views soon opened up along the valley.

Granite Mountain 12,848ft

45 minutes later I was at the 4WD trailhead with the usual helpful sign.

The first couple of hundred yards of trail were surprisingly wet, a contrast to the almost bone dry terrain I had experienced in Colorado to date.  The vegetation crowded in on the trail, but soon the trail opened up into the more usual well engineered one with switchbacks.  A lady and her Belgian Shepherd passed me on this section.  It did not seem long before I was entering the meadows above the tree line and having my first view of Huron Peak.  This was after about 1hr 45mins and 1,500ft of ascent.

Further up the valley cloud still partly covered the fearsome looking Three Apostles (the centre one being called Ice Mountain).

Behind me was La Plata Peak which I had climbed the day before.

Within another 10 minutes or so I was crossing a delightful high meadow in a basin below Huron’s north flank at around 12,300ft with a ¼ mile of level terrain.  Here is a view down to it.  Along this section I passed a few early risers who were on their way down.  I could also see a few people ahead of me on their way up.  I reckoned I was still at least an hour from the top.

Upper route to Huron
Upper route to Huron

There then was a steep grassy pitch of 100ft or out of the basin (the photo above is taken from the top of this).  For most of the next 1,000ft up to the ridge between Huron Peak and a subsidiary summit (Brown’s Peak) there were a series of sweeping switchbacks over steep open grassy ground.  During this section a strong and cool breeze sprung up. I had to put another layer on.  But the final section to the ridge line was rocky which gave an indication of what was to come – a fine rocky and narrow ridge.  I was now at 13,450ft.

Here is the route towards Brown’s Peak.

Ridge to Brown's Peak
Ridge to Brown’s Peak

The final section rears up ahead.

Final rise to Huron Peak

Though any difficulties can be avoided just off the ridge line to the right.  Then in 5 to 10 minutes I was at the top.  Even better the cloud had burnt away!  View south.

The Three Apostles
The Three Apostles

View north with ridge down route of ascent.

La Plata Peak (left of centre with snow patches), Mount Massive (distant with barely visible snow patches) and Mount Elbert (distant just to the right of Massive)

La Plata Peak (left of centre with snow patches), Mount Massive (distant with snow patches) and Mount Elbert (distant just to the right of Massive)

There was quite a convivial gathering at the top, including two dogs.  And it was pleasant sitting there in the warm sun even with the breeze (which was not as strong on the top).  It had taken just 3¼hrs to reach the top including a few stops to top up on food and fluids.  I spent about 45 minutes up there and had the last 5 minutes to myself just admiring the panoramas.

Having to leave, I was soon romping down the slopes.  I did not stop until back at that high meadow.  The light was now better for some shots of the beautiful flowers there.

The remainder of the way down to the 4WD trailhead was a delight.  This climb (in my admittedly limited) experience has to be both one of the easier and prettier routes.  And it has a bit of history to go with it.

Looking down the 4WD road to La Plata Peak
Looking down the 4WD road to La Plata Peak

I was back at the car by 1.15pm – a round trip of 5¼hrs including stops.  As mentioned earlier in this TR my start point was near the old silver mining town of Winfield.  At the turn of the 19th with the 20th century Winfield had a population of around 1,500 with three saloons, three stores, a post office, two banks, a boarding house, a mill, a smelter, a church and a school.  When the silver ran out in 1918 the people left.  The place has been partially restored. Indeed some of the old houses are now occupied for parts of the year.  The Clear Creek Historical Society looks after the town. The Society is named after the North and South Forks of that creek at which the town stands.

The old school, now a museum

Nearby there are old workings that can be explored.  But I was off on the bone shaking 12 mile journey back to civilisation and a further ascent the following day up Quandary Peak.

La Plata Peak, Colorado

25th July 2013 by James Stone Leave a Comment

La Plata means “silver” in Spanish.  This reflects the mining history in this part of Colorado.  In a future posting I will provide some photos of the “ghost” mining town of Winfield.

La Plata Peak is one of Colorado’s 14’ers (standing at 14,336ft), in other words one of the 53 listed 14,000ft mountains.  Two days previously I had climbed Mount Massive.  I had given myself the following day off to recuperate and to see if my body would suffer any adverse reaction to going to over 14,400ft so soon after arriving in Colorado.

Fortunately there was no adverse reaction and I was good to tackle Colorado’s 5th highest peak.  The evening before I recced the start as the route finding is a little complicated.  However, this particular trailhead is one of the few in Colorado that starts at a paved road.  The trailhead is at 10,000ft and I was taking the North West Ridge route which involves ascent of around 4,500ft to the summit and a round trip of about 9½ miles.

La Plata Trailhead

The trail (which starts as a 4 wheel drive road) first descends to cross a river over a wooden bridge.  Signs nearby warn not to take water from the river because of pollution from 19th century mines.  After 500 further yards it then leaves the road to pass through a bit of woodland and reaches a rocky linn through which a further river rages.  Passage there is over a new wooden footbridge.

This is where I stopped that evening.

This is a view of what I would be tackling the following day – the peak on the left with the large patch of snow.

Distant La Plata (on the left)
Distant La Plata (on the left)

The following morning I left the trailhead at 7am.  There was only one car plus a minivan with trailer there before me.  I retraced my steps to the footbridge over the linn.  The trail then weaved its way for almost a mile through more forest to a narrower stream where crossing was via some dodgy branches.

Dodgy "bridge"
Dodgy “bridge”

I was now in La Plata Gulch, the approach valley.  The trail then starts some serious climbing.  In places, the trail has been improved.

There is an organisation called the Colorado Fourteeners’ Initiative that raises funds for improvement for access.  This includes trail improvements and negotiations with private landowners for access.  There is no equivalent position to that in Scotland (or Access Land in England) where there is a right to roam.  Access is generally available on public land, often subject to conditions, but access over private land has to be negotiated unless there is a subsisting right of way.

The weather was not as good as it had been two days earlier.  High thin cloud covered the sky, but that would take away some of the heat later on.  After a 1,000ft or so of ascent through the forest near to a tumbling river, the terrain levelled out at meadows in the upper valley.

The trail then leaves the valley to the left (east) and makes a rising traverse for around 400ft.  It then made a sharp left turn up a shallow gulley on the flank of La Plata’s north west ridge and went steeply up in innumerable switchbacks for another 300ft.

The final trees were left behind and a more gentle traverse along the side of the ridge started, including a ¼ mile stretch across talus (where the path was still clear).  Views started to open up.  Here is one back to Casco Peak which misses the 14,000ft contour by just 92ft.  Mount Elbert (Colorado’s highest) is the pointy one to the right.

The traverse took me to a small level area at around 12,300ft where I passed a couple of guys descending.  They were not interested in passing the time of day, but I stopped to drink and eat.  I managed my fluid and food consumption much better than I had done on Mount Massive.

It was just another 400 to 500ft up to the crest of the north west ridge and this was achieved in short order.  It is at this point that the crowning glory of La Plata comes into view.  Now most of the giants of the Sawatch Range in the Colorado Rockies are a bit like overgrown Cairngorm Munros – perhaps the rock is a bit looser and the boulder fields are bigger, but generally there is little technical difficulty that cannot be avoided.  But across to the east La Plata supports the Ellingwood Ridge which is a 2 mile long sawtooth ridge.  The start point for this is the same as where I had started but the 1,400ft is added to the total ascent with all of the ups and downs.  Voila!

You will see another view of the ridge from higher up in a moment.  The next shot is one up the ridge.  The summit is the point behind and to the left.  From here it is still 1¼ miles away with 1,600ft of ascent broken by a short level section.

The path you can see in the photo soon disappears and the terrain becomes predominantly a series of boulder fields.  Cairns show the ways through and scrambling is often necessary to surmount or make your way around some of the blocks.  On the first part of the climb I went around to the right of the first rise but it would have been easier to stick to the ridge line (as I found out on the way down).  Now here is a view up the second rise beyond the short level section.  You can get a better feel for what was under foot.  It wasn’t difficult but you had to be slow and methodical in places.

Soon after I passed a group of 8 kids and 3 teachers – from the minivan I had seen at the trailhead.  They had been camping in the valley I had passed through – very inconspicuously as I had not seen their tents!

Before the final rise I sat down for more food and drink.  Just 750ft of ascent and ½ mile to go now.  Elllingwood Ridge was now below me.

Having had my rest, I continued on finding an intermittent trail and continuation of cairns.  Near the top the ground could be a little confusing in mist.  Two tops can be seen rising ahead.  The correct one is the one to the left which is nearer.  The other is just a bump on the south west ridge which is another popular approach of similar character to the one I had used (but a bit shorter).  There was just a final 150ft climb up to the rough summit ridge.

Here is a view down from shortly before that final climb to my route of ascent.  I can assure you that the shot is a little misleading due to the foreshortening of that view.

You can see the road where the trail head is.  This is called the Independence Pass road and leads over to the ski resort of Aspen off to the left (west).  The approach valley is clear and the switchbacks I mentioned are just beyond the nearest block of trees that rise up the side of the ridge on the right.

I had the summit to myself, or at least I thought I did…..

Anyway, first of all some views from the top.  I had reached the top in just over 3½ hours from the start.

View north to Mount Elbert and a more distant Mount Massive from La Plata summit
View north to Mount Elbert and a more distant Mount Massive from La Plata summit
View east to Twin Lakes and the distant Mosquito Range


Zoom to Mount Massive about 11 miles away from La Plata summit - note the cloud build up
Zoom to Mount Massive about 11 miles away – note the cloud build up


View south to Mount Harvard standing above Mounts Oxford and Belford and Missouri Mountain from La Plata summit
View south to Mount Harvard standing above Mounts Oxford and Belford and Missouri Mountain, all over 14,000ft


View down to the Ellingwood Ridge
View down to the Ellingwood Ridge

Well two things happened.  First a group of four local guys from Leadville turned up.  They were surprised to find someone with a strange accent on this mountain.  I had heard them coming for a while. They had gone off to bag a subsidiary summit and they were walking over some very loose ground. So I could hear the loose rocks being knocked about.

Secondly, most of the time I had been on top I could hear this irritated squeaking.  As the group of four arrived this became more intense.  We found this rather upset marmot.

Irritated marmot
Irritated marmot

We were clearly encroaching upon its territory. There appeared to be an entrance to a burrow just below its butt (sorry just using the American term!)  Here is a close up.

Nature had its way of ensuring that us being a cause of its irritation was as short as possible.  The cloud had been building up.  As I had mentioned in my blog for Mount Massive, it is common for thunderstorms to build up in the early afternoon.  Shortly after I has taken this picture:

A big flash followed within no more than 2 seconds by the loudest clap of thunder I had ever heard occurred.  I could feel the pressure waves from the thunder.  We needed no further invitation to flee the summit.  I had been at the top for almost 45 minutes in any case.  I am sure the marmot was pleased at the turn of events!

For the next 40 minutes or so as we descended the regular rumble of thunder accompanied us.  About 800ft lower we met several groups who were wondering about turning back.  It was only 11.45am and a bit early for normal thunderstorm activity.  A few did and a few didn’t.  As it happens the atmospheric activity died down though it did start to rain.  This was great because it was refreshing and cleared the air.

One aspect of the Colorado Rockies was the amount of flora and fauna.  I will post some photos of the former in my next blog (see also the Mount Massive blog).  Not only were there marmots but also ground squirrels, chipmunks and pikas.

Pika

They tended to live amongst the rocks and a chorus of warning sounds would arise as I walked amongst them.  The chipmunks were too difficult to capture on camera because they moved too fast!

I met more people going up when I reached the valley bottom, including a group of three girls wearing short sleeve tops, cropped trousers and trainers.  In Colorado the norm is to wear trail shoes rather than the leather boots I was wearing.  So in US terms, trainers were not wholly out of the way.  But the remainder of the attire left something to be desired.

I was back at the car by 1.40pm – a 6 hour 40 minute round trip.  A zoom back to La Plata at the end on which you can see the top end of the Ellingwood Ridge, the false bump on the south west ridge on the right, the two rises in the ridge and the low point in the ridge where the trail joins below which is the short level section.

A better management of, particularly, fluid intake meant that I had no difficulty with the altitude – no hint of the nascent headache or slight nausea I had had on Mount Massive two days earlier.  On to the next climb!

Mount Massive, Colorado

23rd July 2013 by James Stone Leave a Comment

Mount Massive is the second highest peak in Colorado and the third highest in the lower 48 States of the USA (i.e. excluding Alaska).  Just as we tick off our lists of Munros, Corbetts etc etc, there is a list of 53 14’ers that provides a challenge, i.e. 53 peaks of over 14,000ft.  Mount Massive is 14,421ft high and lies 5 miles from Colorado’s highest peak, Mount Elbert which is only 12ft higher.  Just as once happened as with Ben Nevis and Ben MacDui the supporters of Massive tried to build large piles of stones on the summit in an attempt to boost its recognised height.  Elbert’s supporters then demolished them!

Massive’s name comes not so much from its height, but more from its bulk.  It has a three mile long summit ridge and five summits over 14,000ft.  That means this mountain has more land over 14,000ft than any other in the lower 48.

I was here to acclimatise for later adventures.  This is helped by the fact that the terrain beneath Massive is between 8,000ft and 10,000ft.  Nearby (10 miles to the east) lies the town of Leadville.

Here are Massive (on the right) and Elbert (on the left) from about 8 miles to the east.

Leadville has a colourful history.  The following sign summarises this.

It still has buildings from its hey day.  Here is the Tabor Opera House.

Horace Tabor made his fortune during the silver rush and became an important businessman and politician.  But he lost most of his money when the US government stopped buying up surplus silver so that the silver price (and the value of the mines he had stakes in) plummeted.  The spirit of the “Wild West” is maintained by the saloon.

This is now an Irish bar – which rather spoils the effect!

There are some “character” properties.

And this is the Delaware hotel, full of character and creaky floorboards (but perhaps a bit behind the times when it comes to modern comforts).

If you explore, remnants of the “olden days” can still be found.

So spending some time exploring the history of this area can help benefit the body in its adaptation to altitude.  Surprisingly, coming straight to 10,000ft from the UK did not give me any problems.  It just shows because altitude has affected me at 9,000ft before.

So within 48 hours of arriving in Colorado I was starting an ascent of Mount Massive.

I was going to tackle a trail known as the East Slopes route.  This is a 13¾ mile round trip with 4,500ft of ascent.  Technically (other than coping with the altitude) the trail is straightforward.  For the first 3 miles a long distance trail (the Colorado Trail) is followed.

This photo shows a typical section of the trail.  I started out at 5.30am.  In Colorado in the summer it is sensible to have early starts in order to avoid thunderstorms that often build up in the early afternoon.  The trails are generally well marked.  Here is the sign at the junction of the Colorado and Mount Massive trails (note the patriotic numbering given to the Colorado trail).

The thing about hiking (to use the American phrase) in the Colorado Rockies is that one spends the first couple of hours walking through the forest.  This is quite pleasant early in the morning when it is fresh and the scent of pine fills your nostrils.  Eventually you emerge above the tree line into open meadows.  This was about a further hour after the junction between the Colorado and Mount Massive trails.

Mount Massive ahead

There were some delightful camping spots here and I had passed a number of tents amongst the trees.  Certainly, in the US, there seems to be a greater tradition of camping.  I saw quite a few people laden with heavy backpacks on my return.  Just before I reached the tree line at around 7am I met a guy on his way down. He had been at the summit at 5am.  He had started at 3am from his tent in the forest.

Mount Elbert came into view above the remnant trees.

Mount Ebert

The trail then eased itself up the open slopes.  The summit (which is at the right of the picture below) is still two miles away.

Mount Massive gets closer

Isn’t the sky great!?

The next shot is looking north towards a very distant Longs Peak.

Distant Longs Peak  from the slopes of Mount Massive

The summit was slowly becoming closer.  The summer flowers carpeted the ground.  Shortly after then I was overtaken by someone running up the trail.

The route continued up a shallow bowl followed by a final steep but short climb up to the main ridge at 13,900ft.  I stopped there for a drink and a bit to eat.  A couple of other groups passed me coming down from the summit whilst I was munching some crackers.  Even at that height it was warm in the sun.  As I was enjoying my rest I saw some movement in nearby rocks.  A couple of marmots were scurrying around.

Marmot on Mount Massive

Here was a view to the south from my rest stop of Mount Elbert and La Plata (with a bit of snow).  After 20 minutes I started the final 500ft of ascent.  It is a rocky clamber and you pop up at the end of a narrowish rocky ridge with the summit (of course) at the far end.

Mount Massive summit ridge

A 10 minute walk took me to the top.  And here is the view along the same ridge but now from the summit of Mount Massive itself.

There was a keen chill breeze but there were plenty of niches to dip out of it and still be in the sun.  There was a couple from Boulder at the top with whom I chatted.  They were on their 42nd 14’er.

They left and others came.  It was quite convivial really.  People had arrived via different routes.  I spent over an hour at the top – perhaps too long, as nearer the end I felt a bit nauseous.  Anyway, here am I blocking the view to the north.

The writer on the summit of Mount Massive

And here is a view to the west.

View west from Mount Massive

And here is Leadville to the east with Mosquito Range behind.

View east from Mount Massive

So I took how I was feeling as a big hint and started the descent.  As I descended I knew I had not eaten or drunk enough.  I was able to drink more but (a common effect of altitude) I did not feel up to eating anything.  It was now hot, very hot.  Although there was some cloud build up, there was no danger of thunderstorms.  Here is a view back towards the summit.

And, taken a little later, one down to the meadows.

I was longing to be out of the sun.  There was no breeze down here.  Although I had covered up my skin and had a hat on, I felt as though I was frying.  At the tree line I was able to find a convenient log to sit down on in the shade and to drink.

This did not immediately have the desired effect.  I cannot remember the last time I have thrown up.  But a wave of nausea overcame me.  As I felt it coming on I was able to stand up and move some way from the trail.  “Throwing up” is perhaps not the right phrase.  Very little came out even though I had had a decent amount to eat at the col before the final climb to the summit.  I lost a little fluid and gunk that happened still to be in the stomach.  I was clearly out of practice in the being sick mode.  My co-ordination between being sick and breathing was out. 

I tried to breathe in and could not.  I had expelled both what was in my stomach and what was in my lungs, but the passage to my lungs was blocked.  So I tried to breathe in again but failed.  Panic now started – I thought I was going to die.  I stood bolt upright and threw myself backwards a little. Doing so I managed (whilst making what I thought was a loud noise) to get some air down what appeared to be the sides of the wind pipe.  This enabled both oxygen to reach the lungs and sufficient pressure to enable a weak cough. 

I repeated the procedure and more air entered the lungs with the same result.  After a couple of more repeats I was able to cough and splutter in a way that I was used to when “something goes down the wrong way” when eating.  I was able to sit down after this and, actually, felt a lot better in a short time.  I was thankful that no-one had been nearby whilst this was going on!

After 20 minutes I moved on.  Whilst hiking through the trees in the freshness of the early morning is good, when it becomes hot in the afternoon this can become stifling because the trees block out any breeze.

The trees also do not provide as much shade as you might think.  Anyway, the ground was easy and I achieved a good time down.  I passed several groups labouring in the heat with heavy packs. They were planning to camp before continuing to the summit the following day.

I was back to my tent by 6.30pm after a 13 hour day. I was now quite tired but pleased at what I had been able to achieve so soon after arriving in Colorado.

Two days in Fisherfield, Incheril approach – 12th to 14th July 2013

14th July 2013 by James Stone Leave a Comment

Whilst I admire those who, almost superhumanly, manage to tackle the Fisherfield 6 in a day from their car, John wished to tackle the Munros here in a more leisurely style.  I was happy to go along with that, together with his proposed approach from Incheril.  So the plan was hatched.

12th July 2013 – Into Fisherfield

We agreed to meet in the car park at Incheril at 3pm on Friday, 12th July.  I had just had a good couple of days on Skye in great weather so I did not have that far to go to the meeting place.  John, on the other hand, was coming up from the north of England via a stop near Stirling.

The forecast weather was disappointing, especially after the Skye experience, but we were now both committed.  I arrived at Incheril a bit early and started sorting myself out packing my rucksack with what was necessary for the next couple of days.  I chatted with another guy whose objectives were the same as our first days’, namely the three eastern Munros.  He was a little more organised and was off on his bike towards the Heights of Kinlochewe before John arrived on time.

Our approach was also going to be “impure”, in other words on bikes.  Mrs CL and I had wandered up to the Heights of Kinlochewe on the Sunday of the last WH meet and so I knew that that section would be good for the bike approach.  We had not, however, explored the track that branches off towards Lochan Fada.

John and I were off just after 3.30pm.  The weather was still holding fair.  There was not much wind and the atmosphere was a little sultry.  As expected, the ride up to the branch in the track was pleasant and speedy.  A high locked gate bars the way along the left hand branch.  Fortunately there is also a stile nearby that enabled the bikes to be lifted over the fence.  From here the surface of the track deteriorates and it becomes somewhat narrower, not helped at this time of year by fronds of bracken growing partially across the way.  With our heavy packs and the steepening in the track we end up pushing our bikes for a few hundred yards until the track levelled out a bit.  We were then able to cycle for a kilometre or so until just past the bridge over the Abhainn Gleann na Muice.

The steepness of the track then just became too sustained and we ended up pushing our bikes a fair way up the glen.  It was hot and humid – very sweaty indeed.  There was no air movement in the glen.  John and I reached the end of the vehicle track shortly after we started pedalling again!  The vehicle track ends where a path is shown going north over Meallan Odhar.  We decided to leave our bikes at this point, though it is feasible to take them further.  Indeed we later saw a few bikes chained to a fence another 1½ kilometres along the path.

It was just over three kilometres from where we had left the bikes to the south eastern end of Lochan Fada where we planned to camp.  Along the way I found a pair of cycling gloves.  They had obviously not been there very long because we had recently passed a group of four passing the other way who were not on bikes.

The path to Lochan Fada is good and strong as it weaves its way into ever more desolate country passing Loch Gleann na Muice and the watershed before Loch an Sgeireach.

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Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair, Beinn Tarsuinn and distant A’Mhaighdean came into view.

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We reached Lochan Fada in about 2 hours and set up camp.  There was a sufficient breeze to keep midges away but it was not sufficient not to make conditions unpleasant as we cooked our evening meal.  If it had been sunny it would have been perfect!  (As it was it was pretty good).

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The guy whom I had met in the car park earlier was camped nearby.  I wandered over and asked him whether the gloves I had found were his – they were!  So gloves and owner were reunited.  He had in fact managed to get his bike to this point.

13th July 2013 – Beinn Tarsuinn, Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair and Sgurr Ban

I poked my nose out of my tent shortly after 6am.  I promptly withdrew.  The tops were all covered and there was a bit of drizzle in the air.  The lapping of the waves that had helped me to sleep the previous evening could still be heard, pushed on to the stony beach by the north westerly breeze that also rattled the tent a bit.

We were not in a hurry and I snoozed a while.  At around 8am I was sufficiently bored to light up the stove to make myself a brew and then make my breakfast.  John was still blissfully in the land of nod.  So I went about my business noisily and it had the desired effect!

Even so we were not ready for the off until shortly before 10.30am.  Weather was still not promising.  Slioch, A’Mhaighdean and MCMF remained covered.

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We walked back along the shore to cross the outflow from Loch an Sgeireach and the nearby streams.  From here a path leads up towards Bealach Odhar between Beinn Tarsuinn and MCMF.  It is faint in places but the way up through the shallow corrie between Creag Ghlas Mhor and the southern ridge of Meall Garbh is easy enough even if the path is lost.

At the bealach (which we reached in about an hour) things still did not look too good for views from the tops.

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We turned west up the slopes of Beinn Tarsuinn.  My previous visits to this area had all resulted in no view from any of the tops.  So it was a little depressing to think that this was going to be the case yet again.  However, as we approached the summit, miraculously the cloud lifted J J.  We were at the top about 90 minutes after leaving camp spot.  Here is the tennis court.

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And a view down the other Gleann na Muice

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A’Mhaighdean kept her head covered but, increasingly, Sgurr Ban and MCMF revealed themselves.

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A guy who had camped on Beinn a’Chlaidheimh arrived on the summit en route to doing all six peaks and we had a good natter.  John and I spent half an hour on the summit and watched the views beginning to reveal themselves.  But it became time to leave.  It took less than 20 minutes to return to Bealach Odhar.  From here we took the cut across path along the face of Meall Garbh.

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The single walker seen in the photo above appeared deliberately to steer clear of us!

Emerging on the col beneath MCMF we met the chap who had been camping near us.  He would cycle out that day with a view to approaching A’Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mor from Poolewe in the next couple of days.

We tackled the steep slopes of MCMF, now passing a father and son team.  It seemed to be quite busy for a supposedly remote area!  There are a few short scrambly moves amongst the looser terrain lower down this climb if you want them.  Higher up quartzite blocks predominate and then, near the top, there is a levelling in the ridge.

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It took 70 minutes between Beinn Tarsuinn and MCMF including the couple of stops to talk to passing walkers.

Behind John I could see the beach by which we were camped.

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John “needed” to do Sgurr Ban.  I couldn’t be bothered!  So I said I would wait for him on MCMF as he did an out and back to Sgurr Ban.  I was happy to sit, eat, drink and look at the views.  I could hunker down out of the breeze.

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I knew I would not be alone for long.  I could see someone approaching via MCMF’s west ridge.  I watched him move slowly along the pinnacled section of Sgurr Dubh.  In due course, he arrived somewhat weighed down by a heavy pack.  He had spent the previous night at Lochivroan bothy and had also been at the summit of MCMF the previous weekend!

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A few minutes after he left towards Sgurr Ban, a couple of enthusiastic younger guys arrived.  They had seen John arrive on Sgurr Ban.  Having walked in from Corrie Hallie that morning they were planning to camp on the col between Beinn Tarsuinn and A’Mhaighdean.  The sole on one of the boots of one of them had partially detached itself – not the best place to need running repairs!  The one without the dodgy footwear was early into his Munro bagging career (MCMF was his 50th) but he seemed determined to add to the numbers; the other had been persuaded to tag along.

An hour and forty minutes after setting off John returned.  He said that he now wanted to go off to look at the south east top of MCMF because (apparently) there was something of geological interest there – well he is a geologist and he probably wouldn’t be as close to it again any time soon!

So I passed up on the opportunity to accompany him and made my way back to my tent.  I returned back the way we had come passing along under Meall Garbh’s face and down the shallow corrie.  It took just 90 minutes and I was soon making myself a refreshing brew at the tent.  John arrived back not too long afterwards and so I was able to have a mug of tea ready for him too.

We retired early as we needed to make sure we were somewhat more prompt in leaving in the morning.

14th July 2013 – Ruadh Stac Mor and A’Mhaighdean

The day dawned heavy with cloud again.  A’Mhaighdean had been very shy the day before too, showing herself only briefly whilst our higher hills had been cloud free.

We were prompter and were on our way along Lochan Fada’s northern shore by 8am.  There is a bit of a path to start with but this disappears where a slow moving stream joins the loch at around NH043705.  From this point we started a gentle rising traverse following a useful deer track for some way beneath the crags of Coireachan Odhara.  We then took a steeper line up towards some rocks on our horizon ahead and above.  This took us roughly level with (but a bit above) the col between Beinn Tarsuinn and A’Mhaighdean.  So we then just contoured around to the broad col.

After a spell of wet weather this whole section might be a lot less pleasant than we found it.  As it happens the ground was dry and springy.  We found a rock at the col to sit down on to have our first early lunch.  Cloud still covered the tops and it was windier today.

If you look hard enough there is a path through the peat hags on this col, a bit to the south of the watershed.  This avoids the worst of the peat hags.  As we sat there, we could see two figures ascending the slopes towards A’Mhaighdean.  I speculated that they might be the two we had met the day before who were intending to camp on the col.

John and my intention was to climb Ruadh Stac Mor first.  The local geology makes this feasible and, indeed, route finding is made easier if you can spot the transitions between the Lewissian gneiss and the Torridonian sandstone.  First you climb a couple of hundred feet until you find a shelf of the Torridonian.  Then contour north, gently rising.  Some young deer watched us curiously.

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You then get into some lumpy ground and now you are in Lewissian territory.  Here the Lewissian rock is thrust over the younger Torridonian rock and here is the highest example of Lewissian rock in the country.  There is then a bit of a descent as you turn west and then a gentle rise over the continuing lumpy ground to the col between A’Mhaighdean and RSM which we could just make out in the cloud.  We had a further food stop amongst the lumps as I was running out of energy.

We were soon at the col and we found the shelter there.

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The path up RSM splits from the stalker’s path at a small cairn.  The stalker’s path from Carnmore comes up to this col though it is not shown as doing so on the 1:50000 OS map.  The path up RSM passes through a pleasant rocky section before there is a steepening through a rock band.  The route remains clear but becomes more unpleasantly loose.  But the band is not too high and you are soon through it.  But you have then covered less than ½ of the climb from the col.  A boulder field then takes you to the summit ridge.  A line of cairns helps to guide the way – useful in the day’s cloud.

A stiff wind was blowing over the summit ridge.  We leant our way into it and up to the trig point.  There was no view.  Oh well.

The summit cairn provided a modicum of shelter as we watched the cloud shoot across the ridge line.  Soon after the two figures we had seen earlier from the Beinn Tarsuinn/A’Mhaighdean col arrived.  It was indeed the two younger guys that we had seen on MCMF the previous day.  The sole of the boot was still flopping around a bit!  We had a further chat and learned more about the plans for accumulating more Munros.

Suddenly there was a lightening of the atmosphere.  Some views appeared to the east and we could see across to Beinn a’Chlaidheimh and down to the two lochs to the north east.  The view came and went but seemed to indicate an improvement in the weather.

John and I returned the way we had ascended and the other two went off to the east.  Part way down the cloud lifted a bit.  Here is a shot of John descending the bolder field and Fuar Loch Mor in view.

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We could also now see out to the western seaboard.

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The loose ground through the rock band safely negotiated John and I were soon across the col ascending the easy ground up A’Mhaighdean.  It had taken just 20 minutes down.  For such a supposedly remote spot there was another strong path to follow.  Part way up we stopped for a drink.  RSM had now cleared.

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An Teallach was also doing its best to clear.

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though this would only be temporary.  The weather gods seemed to have had it in for this hill these couple of days.  The eastern Fisherfield hills were also covered – a turn around from the day before.  As we reached A’Mhaighdean’s 948m the clouds were lifting for us.  And the summit was clear by the time were arrived there.  I shouldn’t really broadcast it, but what a brilliant spot this is.  Although some of the views were restricted, I was not complaining!

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John and I spent nearly an hour on the top taking in the views and the atmosphere of the place, raving about both and feeding up for the long walk back to the camp spot and the walk/cycle back to Incheril.

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Here is a shot back to the end of Lochan Fada and our camp spot and Lochs Gleann na Muice and an Sgeireach with murky Beinn nan Ramh behind.

Unfortunately we had to leave.  It was 2pm.  Shortly before we did so a couple arrived with their spaniel having camped the previous night on the col between Beinn a’Chlaidheimh and Sgurr Ban.  The broad slopes down are easy.  A couple of steps are to be negotiated between transitions between Lewissian and Torridonian.  Near the col we met a chap hauling his way up.  He seemed to be there “by accident” having originally decided only to do the eastern part of the round, he was “now committed” to doing the remainder.  He was due to meet others later in the day, but his hoped for timing for getting back to Coire Hallie seemed hopelessly optimistic.  John and I hoped he would be OK.

We followed the path through the peat hags on the col and then took the long haul back to the far end of Lochan Fada.  This became a little tedious until the path was reached.  After then we were soon back at the beach.  We packed up as soon as we got there and walked back to our bikes.

I must say that from there the return back to Incheril was great, the only real effort required being the need to haul the bikes over the stile where the tracked rejoined that to the Heights of Kinlochewe and the only irritant being the faceful of insects occasionally encountered!

It was 4 hours from the summit of A’Mhaighdean to Incheril which I thought was not too bad.  But this and the fact that we had seen so many people led me to think whether we do really have any truly remote places in the UK.  Undoubtedly the Fisherfield area comprises “wild” land, but I am not sure that it can truly be described as remote….. discuss.

[This blog was originally posted on WH at http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35231]

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