Munro Diary: 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.