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