229, 230. Beinn Alligin (Tom na Gruagaich (268), Sgurr Mhor (162) (P600 46)). 21/06/2021

Having tired ourselves out a little the previous day and with rain forecast for the morning, we chose these hills so that we could start later in the day and make the best of it. They turned out to be a cracker.

Starting at 11.30, the light rain was just finishing and the clouds cleared ahead of us. The initial climb doesn't mess about and we were quickly into the upper reaches of Tom na Gruagaich. The path was of top quality throughout, having had the benefit of a multi-million pound donation in the recent past. In the upper part of the ascent, this follows a stream, which must originate from a spring which produces some of the clearest and most delicious mountain water I have tasted. 

There were dramatic views from the top or the ridge and "horns" to come. The path clung to the northern slopes of this hill as it made its way to the ridge. On our way up to the summit of Sgurr Mhor, we found the famous gash that was very dramatic and cleaves the whole mountain.

From the top the real fun began and we climbed down towards the first of the Horns of Alligin. This was all quite straightforward scrambling, but there was a lot of it and keeping to the crest made for half an hour of continuous interest. Once over the third one, the descent was sharp and straightforward, with steps in many places. This was followed by a gentle walk out. Overall, 12km and 1300m ascent took us 4h45.

The hillside up to TnG

The steep sides of Sgurr Mhor and "the horns" beyond

The gash of the wailing. And Ben

The Horns from above

Back to the shapely summit of Sgurr Mhor from mid-scramble

223-228. A'Chailleach (144), Sgurr Breac (138), Sgurr nan Each (267), Sgurr nan Clach Geala (53), Sgurr Mor (43) (P600 45), Meall a'Chrasgaidh (243). 20/06/2021

Time for a long day. I had 6 hills remaining to be climbed in the Fannaichs and by only adding a small amount to the suggested route, these could all be achieved in a day. 

We set off from the bend in the road south of Braemore Junction at 8.30am, but unfortunately the weather was cloudy and drizzly at first. The drizzle left us as we began the ascent, but the cloud was there for a while. The initial climb was steep, but there was a path of sorts and the shoulder levelled off to be completely flat at about 700m. We lost the path in the mist as we contoured round to try and get to the col below A'Chailleach, meaning we climbed 80m extra of the intermediary top before realising our mistake. The summit of A'Chailleach was quite dramatic, but the views were non-existent today and it was chilly, so we didn't stay long. On the way across to Sgurr Breac, we did manage to contour round the intermediary lump and it wasn't long before we were on another cloudy top, but there were the beginnings of signs that the cloud might be lifting.

There was quite a drop down to the bealach and we didn't find a path for the 300m of ascent to gain the ridge to the east, which made it sapping for the legs, but once we reached the crest it was an easy walk on to the top of Sgurr nan Each. We decided to have lunch here and the extra few minutes of waiting allowed the cloud to catch up with us and we actually had views before leaving the top. Something similar happened by the time we got to Sgurr nan Clach Geala, even though this was nearly 200m higher and from then on we had complete clarity. Sgurr nan Clach Geala was like a smoking volcano crater, having an arc of steep cliffs at the summit.

We now realised that including the extra Sgurr Mor in the itinerary did add a little more ascent than we had anticipated, but we were still feeling relatively fresh, so we did make it up the steep climb to the top. The views were by now spectacular from the top and we could see all the way to Torridon and Skye. By now the legs were getting weary, but the ridge over to Meall a'Chrasgaidh was easy and the descent down grassy slopes was "mercifully" swift and cushioned. What seemed longer was the remaining walk out along a good path back to the car. In all, the 30km route included 2300m of ascent and took 9h25.

The elegant ridge to Sgurr nan Each once it was clear of cloud

The crater-like summit of Sgurr nan Clach Geala

Looking back from the final summit to SM and SnCG

A look across to SB and A'C now that we could see them

That extra bit of ascent to Sgurr Mor

219-222. Sgurr Fhuar-thuill (82), Sgurr a'Choire Ghlas (60) (P600 44), Carn Nan Gobhar (153), Sgurr na Ruaidhe (151). 19/06/2021

Glen Strathfarrar is a strange one. The only road is privately owned and there is a quota of 25 cars allowed in per day. In the summer this is open from 9am-8pm, so we arrived at 8.30am to eat our breakfast in the car. Being a Saturday, we were a little worried it could be busy, but we were about the 4th car there and weren't the only ones eating - one couple were having a fry-up out of their boot! Most people waiting were off to climb the hills, but there were a few others there for the wildlife, which is prevalent in the glen due to the limited human interference.

When we were let through, the strange effect was that we all started climbing the route at the same time, which made it feel like a hill race or something.

Despite mist covering the ridge at the start, this cleared and apart from a little cloud at the top of Carn Nan Gobhar, we had clear views throughout. The walk itself started easily enough along a track before a small path struck off directly for the summit of Sgurr na Ruaidhe. This was a steady pull up, but passed quickly enough and from here it was a pleasant stroll along the ridge with the remaining ascent in small pieces. Carn Nan Gobhar was bouldery at the top and Sgurr a'Choire Ghlas quite steep and the best views were on Sgurr Fhuar-thuill.

The descent followed a clever path into the corrie to the south-west of Sgurr Fhuar-thuill, which was pleasantly soft on the joints and we were down to the road in good time. As we have come to learn, we walk much faster than Steve Kew (of Cicerone guides) on the ascent, similar between tops and he goes faster on the descent. This time we managed the route in 6h compared to his 6h30, but he still did the descent 30mins faster than us, which means he must run the whole way down! Once back at the road, it was 6km and a little over an hour back to the car. Total time 7h5 for 25km with 1650m of ascent.

Looking on to S F-T from the high point of the day

Looking back to Sgurr a'Choire Ghlas

The beginning of the descent

217, 218. An Teallach (Sgurr Fiona (73), Bidean a'Ghlas Thuill (72) (P600 43)). 18/06/2021

With some long June days and good weather, we chose this high-level scramble and it proved a great day out.

The first part of the walk was retracing my steps of 13 years earlier, when staying in Shenavall to climb in the Fisherfields. Just as this path began to descend to Shenavall, another path broke off to the east to climb the slopes of An Teallach. Once above 900m, the scrambling began and the "two 12m pitches" described in the guide books did have a couple of trickier moves and some exposure, but nothing seriously challenging. At one point a helpful climbing guide pointed out the correct line to us, which saved us a bit of thought. We tried to stay to the crest of the ridge where possible, although there were a couple of places where that was a little unnecessary. Towards Lord Berkeley's seat, we poked our heads over the edge to realise the extreme drop on one side, although it was quite straightforward scrambling on the other where we were. It was only after passing this bit that we realised the whole ridge was overhanging the corrie here!

The scrambling section was not particularly long, so we were soon at the top of Sgurr Fiona, from where the walk is straightforward to the second (very close) munro and then an efficient descent into the north-east corrie, from where a path took us back out to the road. Right at the end, we got a little lost in a forest of rhodedendrons, but eventually found a way through and across a river. Overall, the 22km and 1600m of ascent took us 6h30.

Looking forward to the crennelated bit after the initial ascent

Looking back on the first part of the scramble

Ben at the first munro, with Lord Berkeley's Seat in the middle ground and the rest of the ridge beyond

A side view of the whole ridge up to from Bidean