Four and a half days in Glen Shiel

We'd planned this trip for a while and were intending to walk the North and South sides of Glen Shiel taking in 20 munros over 5 days. What we hadn't allowed for was sweltering hot weather and the extra exertion of successive days walking. None of these routes are particularly hard but in succession, over the four and a half days we managed 17, not bad but no cigar.

A Ghlas-bheinn

We left Glasgow at 11:30 ish and arrived in Glen Shiel around 3:30 ish. A quick inspection of the choice of two campsites at the end of the glen revealled Morvich to be the less sodden of the two and even though it was slightly more expensive we pitched up there preferring not to sleep in a marsh. A quick bite to eat, geared up and off for our "warm up Munro" A Ghlas-bheinn. Setting off at 4:30 meant we had great views from the summit of the setting sun over Skye to the West. By the time we got back it was getting pretty dark and after a quick wash we cooked pasta and midges by torchlight then retired for the night.

Day 2

The South Glen Shiel Ridge
















































This was our "big day" and I'm glad we were sensible enough to tackle it early on in the week. We tackled the the seven Munros that make up the 14km broad and grassy ridge East to West starting at the Clunie Inn and heading for the car we'd left half way down the glen. The strange thing about the traverse is that the first two Munros are actually further East than the Inn, so the first few hours of the day are spent acttually walking away from the car (which was already a considerable distance away). We attacked the first summit up a more direct off path route to gain height quickly and bagge dthe first two summits, Creag a Mhaim and Druim Shionnach, easily. Aonach air Chirth, Maol Chinn-dearg and Sgurr an Doire Leathain followed, number 5 feeling the hardest push yet. Finally the last two Sgurr an Lochain and Creag nan Damh were summited and we congratulated ourselves on an excellent day in sunshine and stunning views for the entire walk. Earlier on we had me a couple also walking the ridge and offered them a lift back to their car and we now felt compelled to wait for them despite the woman now moving at continental drift speed. Hours ticked by, the light faded and even our deliberate slow pace in descent left us watching the poor knackered woman and her frustrated husband through binoculars from the bottom as she inched painfully down the final slopes. By the time we had shuttled the couple and got back to the campsite it was dark again and the thought of headtorch cooking didn't seem appealing so we stuffed some rolls, cheese and crisps in our faces before collapsing for the night.

Day 3

The Forcan Ridge

















































































































This was the one I was most looking forward to, a grade 2 scramble up one of the most famous ridges in Scotland to the summit of The Saddle as a main course following on to Sgurr na Sgine for pudding. The path up was relatively kind and the Bealach Coire Mhalagain is a great resting point while you whet your appetite peering up at the ridge ahead. As soon as you get the first taste of hands on rock you know this is going to be great. Airy, scary scrambling begins and thousand foot drops open up on each side. It was a bit dissapointing to see well trodden paths bypassing the best of the scrambling making us wonder why anyone would come to such an amazing place and miss out the very essence of being there. Anyway, ignoring the paths we scrambled on and eventually arrived grinning like idiots at the the summit of The Saddle, 1010 meters. Onwards to Sgurr na Sgine looking back every once in a while to gawp at the amazing razor sharp ridge towering overhead again. We decided to descend from Sgurr na Sgine over the minor top of Faochag instead of retracing our steps and were rewarded by watching the glen fill up with an amazing cloud inversion. We sensed the posibility of seeing a Broken Spectre with the sun behind us and the cloud below and raced down the hill literally chasing our shadows eventually managing to see this rare spectacle. Unfortunately it's extremely difficult to photograph but if you look closely, the 5th picture down you can just make out my shadow on the cloud and the halo effect. Probably my best day on the hills yet.

Here's an example of the graceful balance and poise required for efficient scrambling.

Day 4

The Five Sisters of Kintail

After "completing" the South side of the Glen we turned our attentions to the other side of the A87. These 5 mountains (which 3 are Munros) sit at the West end of Glen Shiel and we decided to take in the full walk rather than just bagging the Munro's which are essentially the first 3 mountains on the normal route. A bloke at the campsite offered to drop us off halfway down the glen at our starting point which was great and meant we could walk right back to the campsite over the 5 sisters. The whole day was baking hot with clear blue skies, John got burnt and at the end of the day looked like someone had punched him in the face wearing a flaming petrol soaked boxing glove. The North side of the glen is much more craggy than the South with shattered summits and modest scrambling here and there. The Munro summits of Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, Sgurr na Carnach and Sgurr Fhuaran were bagged and we headed off over Sgurr nan Saighead and Beinn Bhuidhe which was a superb viewpoint. It's a shame to think that many Munro baggers will miss these tops out choosing to bail back down the flanks on the glen to the cars well before this point. We dropped down North at Sgurr na Moraich to Glenn Lichd and walked out of the Glen back to the campsite along the River Croe.

After eating and washing we took a short drive up to Eilean Donan Castle in the evening.

Day 5

The East end of the North Ridge

















































The final day was a big claggy and visibility came and went as the cloud base shifted and swirled not really making up its mind at all. The day was still warm which meant hot and damp walking conditions but feeling much more like Scotland than the previous 4 days. Our intention was 4 Munros starting with the outlying Ciste Dhubh which isn't really part of the North Ridge then doubling back and climbing Aonach Meadhoin, Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg and Saileag before dropping back down to the same point we had walked West from the previous day, therefore completing the North Ridge. After Ciste Dhubh John was starting to make excuses about climbing in low visibility and hinting at bailing out so we stopped for a break. After a hot chocolate and a chat about how we were already almost half way up and the 4 hour drive to come back etc. etc. we ploughed on. Up on the ridge we saw a herd of what I assume to be wild goats just before the amazing sumit of Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg which marked my 25% of completing the Munros. An ankle bursting steep descent off path after the blip of a summit that is Saileag and back through a forresty plantation saw us back at the car and looking forward to a slap up meal and a few pints at the Clunie Inn that evening as celebration of a fantastic few days.

Carn Aosda, Carn a Gheoidh & The Cairnwell

3 Munro's in under 3 hours.
Setting off from the car park at the Glen Shee ski center I managed "car to cairn" in 18 minutes. I was pushing it a bit just to see how quickly Carn Aosda could be done. I reckon without a rucksack and running it could be bagged in under 10 minutes. The development ski facilities makes this and the Cairnwell very ugly mountains. Carn a Gheoidh is a very different story. Once the ski scarred hillside has dropped behind the rim of Creag a Choire Dhirich you find yourself in a stunning high moor peppered with lochans and superb views all around. The terrain feels very much like that of the East Mounth sitting East just over the A93.

Buchachaille Etive Mor via Curved Ridge

My Camera batteries Died so apologies for the lack of photos

I have been really looking forward to this route since the Anoach Eagach. Curved ridge is one step up in technically from the infamous ridge walk and borders between a Grade 3 scramble and a "Moderate" grade rock climb. We packed a rope, some slings and a couple of quickdraws and headed off. The route itself is fantastic offering longer and more exposed sections of climbing than Aonoch Eagach feeling much more of a climb but not so much as to require taking the gear out of the sacks. The sight of the immense Rannoch Wall is breathtaking as we stopped in the middle section of the ridge for a quick breather. Onwards and upwards we summited Crowberry Tower near the summit ( a huge stack of rock separated from Stob Dearg itself) and then popped out right next to the summit cairn. It must be odd for those who've slogged up the scree slopes of the tourist track to suddenly see people popping up from behind rocks from the unlikely side of the mountain. An hour and a half of up and down over to Stob na Broige is no easy "add on" but a leg wobbling up and down over 2 minor summits (both 3000ft) before the actual Munro summit is reached. We then dropped down into the Lairig Gartain and walked back along the river enjoying the setting sun on the firey red rocks of the ridge high above to our right.

Cairn Gorm