Archives for September 2017

At breakfast the day after my and Caroline’s great trip to Leum Uilleam, Caroline told me that she had hurt her back and did not feel able to join me.  So I hurriedly adjusted my plans for the day.  Either side of Loch Leven stand two somewhat neglected Corbetts – Garbh Bheinn and Mam nan Gualainn.  They are dominated by the Glen Coe hills to the south and the Mamores to the north.  I had not done either, they would both provide decent climbs and they were not that far from Fort William.  In fact, there would be 1700m of ascent between the two – useful preparation for Antarctica.

I chose Garbh Bheinn, to the south of Loch Leven, as my first target.  There is some space for car parking by the bridge over the Allt Gleann a’Chaolais.  A path starts, rather unpromisingly at first, almost opposite.  It was a bit wet but improved as height was gained and the long west ridge of Garbh Bheinn followed.

The path gained height quickly on to Torran nan Crann, levelled out and then rose sharply again up the slopes of Stob Coire Sgoilte.  There were patches of snow here and the path was covered most of the way up.  So I ended up climbing slippery grass peppered with rocks.

It was another beautiful sunny say.  I was out of the wind most of the way up, but at the top the breeze was brisk and I had to put on another layer when I arrived.

There are two cairns on the top.  The eastern (lower) one has views out over the Blackwater Reservoir, Rannoch Moor and distant Schiehallion.

The western (higher) one looks down to the lower reaches of Loch Leven.

To the north ranged the Mamores.

With Ben Nevis looming over them.

To the south the jaggedy Aonach Eagach ridge loomed nearby with the other Glen Coe hills behind.  It is possible to make a route on to this crinkly crest from Garbh Bheinn.

But perhaps the best view is just below the summit, looking west to the Ballachulish narrows and the Pap of Glencoe.

The low light was just wonderful and the air had that clarity that only colder months can bring.  Down below on Loch Leven a small boat was gliding towards Kinlochleven leaving a wake in its trail.  1hr 50minutes up and 1hr 20minutes down.  Towards the bottom I met a couple, the only people I would meet on the hills this day.  Back at the car I ate some food to refuel before driving around the head of the loch at Kinlochleven and along its north side to just short of Callart House.

Again, there is parking by the side of the road.  Time was running short at this time of short daylight hours.  I was in two minds as to whether to continue up Mam nan Gualainn.  This Corbett forms a 6km long ridge with a lower top, Bainn na Cailleach, almost 3km to the east.  A decent traverse can be made from Kinlochleven, first using the West Highland Way, and descending the way that I was to go up.

There is a path which ends up going around the back of the Corbett that I followed, first through some woodland and then soon up into the open hillside.  The path is occasionally wet and coincided with ATV trails.  As I climbed I had a good view of Garbh Bheinn that looked a bit like an appendage to the Aonach Eagach ridge.

Just before the path crested the col ahead I veered to the right and climbed 200m of steep grassy slopes.  The gradient eased, there was a fence and a bit of a path.  I went through a gate in the fence.  The top was in view and I was soon there.

Again the views, and the light, were outstanding.  The Mamores stood to the north.

And the sun was beginning to set over the Ballachulish Munros.

I waited as long as I dared watching the sun go down.  The Mamores glowed.

I hurried down.  The sun disappeared but the clouds went red; the hills were silhouetted.

It was dark by the time I was back at the car but I had not needed my head torch.  There was enough light in the sky to walk by.  And I did not feel too bad after my 1700m of climbing.  Plus an inversion and Brocken Spectres one day and amazing light and atmospheric clarity the other.  What a weekend.

This walk is from November 2016.  I went north to Spean Bridge to stay with Caroline.  The forecast was looking OK, but not brilliant – cloudy but low wind speeds.  I was wanting to get out again in preparation for my trip to Antarctica.  We agreed that we would go for Leum Uilleum, a Corbett above Corrour station on the West Highland line.

Were it not for the railway, this would be a very inaccessible hill.  From the station, the climb is straightforward.  The main challenge can sometimes be in completing walks in time to catch a train back to “civilisation”.

Leum Uilleum is Gaelic for William’s Leap.  Unfortunately, I do not know who William is nor why or from where he leapt.

We walked from Caroline’s house to Spean Bridge station to catch the first train south and took the 35 minute journey to Corrour.  The last time I had been here had been in May with Ciaran when we had tackled Beinn na Lap.

Early snows had arrived.  The sun was just rising as we reached the station.

Leum Uilleum was just across the way.

Well the forecast seemed to be wrong!

The ground between the slopes is one large bog.  But today they were largely frozen.  There is a path from the station that weaves its way over towards Leum Uilleum’s northern arm.  This is shown on the OS map.  There is also a vehicle track that runs up the northern arm coming in from further north, though we would not see this today because of the snow.

The views back towards the even more remote Ben Alder beyond Loch Ossian were stunning.

We reached the subsidiary top of Beinn a’Bhric from where there was a view along Loch Trieg.

But a bank of cloud came in.  Perhaps the forecast was going to be right after all.  It made for some atmospheric scenes.

And the phenomenon of Brocken Spectres.

Brocken Spectre

It is a little over a kilometre between Beinn a’Bhric and Leum Uilleum.  The cloud was not thick.  Blue patches regularly appeared overhead.  As we approached the summit, we emerged from the cloud.

From then on it was just one of those days that you dream of.  The views were just stunning.  To the west an inversion was forming.  To the east stood iconic mountains such as Schiehallion.

And, again, Ben Alder.

But it was to the west that the eye was constantly drawn, best seen in this panorama showing the Mamores, Ben Nevis, the Aonachs, the Grey Corries and the Easains.

Ben Nevis panorama

Here is a closer view of Ben Nevis and the Aonachs.

And Buachaille Etive Mor.

And Bidean nam Bian, one of my favourite mountains.

The forecast was correct with its anticipated low wind speeds.  So it was quite comfortable staying on the top as we ate, drank and continued watching the cloudscape and the peaks above it.  On a couple of occasions thicker cloud came by and we were swamped by blue-white but it never lasted long.

Eventually, it was necessary to go.  We were not under any particular time pressure, the train was not due for a while.  But our bodies were becoming chilled.

The Spectres were still out!

And then we plunged back down into the cloud along the north east ridge.  There was a path here too, not marked on the map that took us back across the bogs to the station.

During the summer months there is a café/restaurant at the station house.  So unfortunately it was not available to us this day.  But, as we were sitting in the waiting shelter on the platform, the warden of the Loch Ossian youth hostel came by.  She offered us a cup of tea back at the hostel.  We had the time to accept even though it involved a twenty minute each way walk down to the hostel.  I had never been in before and the cup of tea was very welcome!