15,14,13: Glen Affric circuit

Mam Sodhail, Carn Eighe, Beinn Fhionnlaidh, Tom a'Choinich   (14th Aug 2010)


It had been a productive summer - now down to only 16 Munros still to climb.  We had to return home at the start of August for various meetings, and a visit from Cat and Teun.  With a few days left before the start of the new term, and a good forecast, I headed back up the A9 (but just me this time) to see if I could add the 4 remaining Glen Affric Munros.


Friday 13th, and a slow run north with heavy traffic.  Fish supper at Beauly, e-mails from just outside Cannich campsite (their free wi-fi doesn't stop at the fence!), then on up to the top of the glen.  Parked there at 8.30pm.  We had remarked earlier in the summer how few midges there seemed to be this year - maybe the cold winter had killed them all off.  But no - they had just been biding their time - and now it seemed every midge in Scotland was in Glen Affric! I didn't venture far out of the car!

midge carnage

Next morning was the same!  I set up the stove on the picnic table to boil the kettle - then dived back into the car until it was ready!  See midge carnage (right).  The stove burned up a few thousand, but zillions escaped!  Definitely the worst midges I have seen since SU camps in Glen Etive in the 1970s!


















Anyway, at 8.45am I set off (very!) briskly up the track towards Affric Lodge.  The sky was overcast, but the forecast promised it would lift as the day progressed.

misty morning on Loch Affric

20 minutes walk along the track to Affric Lodge, then sharp right up a good stalkers' path - midges still following!   The path then turned sharp left to slant up a steeper section, then sharp right again up on to the moorland.  Here I overtook a strangely clad motley group of walkers, then struck off left across the moor towards the foot of Sgurr na Lapaich.  A very rudimentary (or should that be vestigial?) path wound its way across the (fairly dry) bog, with intermittent marker posts to show the way.   The path petered out at the Allt na Faing ("sheepfold burn") so I headed up the heathery slopes on the left, and thence to the small notch at the foot of Sgurr na Lapaich's ("peak of the bog") south ridge.  

summit cairn, Sgurr na Lapaich

Here the path reappeared, and would its way up between rocky outcrops to the misty summit, with its large and prominent cairn (left). 


Once again, a repeated name - with the Mullardoch Munro, Sgurr na Lapaich, not far away to the north.  I guess a lot of Munro's could be well-named as Sgurr na Lapaich!


11.10am.  30 minutes ahead of schedule, so a good start to the day.  Time for a rest!   


... and the sun started to break through - perfect timing - opening up views down to the valley below.


To the west, the broad grassy ridge towards Mam Sodhail looked inviting, although the mist was still hiding the summits of both Mam Sodhail and Carn Eighe (the 14th and 12th highest Munros, and the highest north of the Great Glen).

the ridge west from Sgurr na Lapaich towards Mam Sodhail (completely hidden) and Carn Eighe (just appearing)

A striking feature of the initial part of this ridge is a curious 3m high escarpment running along the ridge, apparently caused by some sort of landslip (seen below, in retrospect from the Mam Sodhail - Carn Eighe bealach).

looking back to Sgurr na Lapaich (with escarpment) and Mullach Cadha Rainich from the Carn Eighe - Mam Sodhail bealach

Leaving Sgurr na Lapaich behind, I made rapid progress along the broad mossy ridge, up and over Mullach Cadha Rainich ("hill of the bracken pass") - craggy on its north side, grassy to the south -  then along a strangely lumpy section, before reaching the narrowing (but grassy) ridge as it swept up to the summit of Mam Sodhail ("hill of the barns") .

the bumpy section between Mullach Cadha Rainich and Mam Sodhail

the grassy ridge leading up to Mam Sodhail - and a tiny bit of blue sky appearing above the bealach

To the right, the long east ridge of Carn Eighe appeared out of the mist, with its unexpected pinnacles, which I hoped to visit later in the day.  Carn Eighe (or Eige) itself still had its head in the clouds!

looking across to Carn Eighe's pinnacles, perched on an otherwise grassy ridge

Carn Eighe's steep SE face above Loch Uaine - certainly green (uaine), but a bit small to be called a "loch"

An hour and a half after leaving Sgurr na Lapaich, Mam Sodhail's summit cairn loomed out of the mist.


This massive cairn (left) is 4-sided and hollow, but with no entrance - apparently built by the Ordnance Survey to house surveying instruments.


Despite the mist, my stomach was saying "lunchtime", so I "cooried doon" in the shelter of the cairn, hoping for the sun to break through - but it didn't - yet!


From the cairn, I followed the path down to the bealach above Loch Uaine, and emerged into sunshine again.  What a difference 100m can make!












The original plan had been to continue up the other side to Carn Eighe (only a kilometre and a drop of 130m separates the 2 Munros), but I could see that it would be easy to contour across the west side of Carn Eighe, and make first for Beinn Fhionnlaidh.  Carn EIghe could wait for later.

heading across the back of Carn Eighe towards Beinn Fhionnlaidh

Once across the back of Carn Eighe, I joined the path leading down from Carn Eighe's summit, making a short detour to the intermediate top, Stob Coire Lochan.   Really nothing more than a bump on the long ridge out to Beinn Fhionnlaidh, but a good viewpoint nonetheless. 

Stob Coire Lochan and Beinn Fhionnlaidh - with An Socach and An Riabhachan (Mullardoch) behind

Here I stopped for 5 minutes to take in the view down to (naturally) Coire Lochan (is that the name of the Coire or the name of the Lochan?!) and its outflow - would you believe it? - Allt Coire Lochan!  


Another short drop to "bealach beag", then a 150m grassy climb to Beinn Fhionnlaidh's short summit ridge.  An hour and a half after leaving Mam Sodhail, I reached the summit cairn, and met my first other human being for 6 hours!  Enjoyed a chat for a while, before he headed off back down towards Iron Lodge.   

happy Munroist on Beinn  Fhionnlaidh

Beinn Fhionnlaidh is a fine peak in its own right, and one of the hardest Munros to get to. The options are either the long walk out and back from Carn Eighe, a long cycle and walk up Glen Elchaig or a trip up Loch Mullardoch by boat, followed by a 750m unrelenting slog to the summit.  Whichever way, it is worth the effort - a fine viewpoint in the middle of nowhere.   


It was now mid-afternoon, the sky was blue, the sun warm, and I could easily have dozed off leaning against the cairn!

view across Loch Mullardoch to (the other) Sgurr na Lapaich, from Beinn Fhionnlaidh

Lovely as it was sitting alone on Beinn Fhionnlaidh, I was aware that I was 15km from base, and had 5 tops and 2 Munros still to visit, so my 25 minute idyll had to come to an end, and at 15.10 I set off back along the ridge towards Carn Eighe.  

Carn Eighe (left) and Mam Sodhail (right) from Beinn Fhionnlaidh

This time by-passing Stob Coire Lochan, it took just over an hour to reach the next Munro, a 350m ascent following the curving ridge around its massive northern coire.   Hard going on tired legs up the steep middle section, but soon I reached its rounded summit plateau, and patted the massive cairn and trig point.

view north from Carn Eighe

I found a nice place to sit, looking north over the very blue lochan towards Beinn Fhionnlaidh and the Mullardochs.  I also discovered that there was a strong mobile signal up there, so was able to speak to Anne back home in Selkirk.  However, the midges - which I thought had been left behind - reappeared, so it was soon time to get moving again.


But what a prospect - a delightful 5km high level walk (never dropping below 960m) over 5 tops to the day's final Munro, Tom a' Choinnich.


First, a gentle stroll down then along a broad grassy ridge to Stob a' Choire Dhomhain ("peak of the deep coire"), passing a couple setting up a tent in a green hollow for an overnight camp.


Once over the gentle crest of this top, the ridge changed direction suddenly, with a row of jagged teeth sitting incongruously on a narrow section.

from S.a'C Dhomhain to the pinnacles, S.C. Dhomhnuill and Sron Garbh

the pinnacles, up close

The pinnacles provided some minor scrambling fun, before continuing to the next top, Stob Choire Dhomhnuill ("peak of Donald's Coire"), scarcely a top, just a bump on the ridge - the Munro committee were clearly in a generous mood hereabouts!  

Carn Eighe to Sa'ChD:  1km, 50m ascent, 20 minutes
Sa'ChD to SChD:  1km, 30 m ascent, 15 minutes
SChD to SG: 1km, 30m ascent, 10 minutes


Only Fafernie on Cairn Bannock is easier than that!


Still, I'm not complaining - it was a lovely stroll along the ridge - broad and green, then pinnacles, then broad and green again - to Sron Garbh ("rough nose").

looking back over the pinnacles to the grassy top of Stob  a'Choire Dhomhain (hardly a "stob" from this angle!)

Sron Garbh effectively marks the eastern end of Carn Eighe - beyond it the ridge drops to 960m, before rising to An Leth-Chreag, the western outlier of Tom a' Choinnich.  An appropriate place, then for a 10 minute rest, slug of coffee, and whatever was left in the lunch box.  It would have been possible to drop down from here to Gleann nam Fiadh, but I was going well, and decided to press on for the net two tops and Munro.


Despite the dip in the ridge, it still only took 25 minutes to the next top, An Leth-chreag ("the half-rock").  Then 10 minutes to Tom a'Choinnich Beag (a lovely little peak), and 15 minutes for the final pull up to Tom a' Choinnich ("hill of the moss") at 6.35pm.


I had last been here back in 1981, when it was my 22nd Munro, with Anne and Marjory, and  got to within a 100m of the top again in 1983 after climbing Toll Creagach, but it was late October and the rocky east ridge was very icy, so I turned back on that occasion.

Toll Creagach from Tom a' Choinnich

looking SE from Tom a' Choinnich towards Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin

 Another 10 minute rest on this last summit of the day.  I had wondered about the route of descent - down the SW ridge? or down the E ridge then down the glen? Viewed form the summit, the SW ridge looked very inviting, so that was the decision.  And it proved to be a good one, with a good path all the way, dropping fairly gently for the first kilometre, then more steeply down Creag na h-Inghinn ("the daughter's crag") into Gleann nam Fiadh ("Glen of the deer"), and still catching the sun, while the glen below was already in shade.


The last 15 minutes of descent brought a lovely surprise - the evening sun shining on the heather was filling the air with the most amazing scent of honey.


An hour after leaving the summit, I was back down to the main stalkers' path down Gleann nam Fiadh - and the midges!!   No time for lingering here!

Tom a' Choinnich (right) and Carn Eighe (left) from Gleann nam Fiadh

So, a quick march down the path, which soon turned into a track, and at 8.45pm I reached the road.  I found the bike I had stashed there the previous evening, and cycled back up to the car park as rapidly as my tired legs would allow.  Boots off quick, and into the car before the midges descended in their zillions!

Summary:

4 Munros + 8 tops

28 km walk + 2 km cycle

1950 m climb

12 hours 

Log:

left car	08:45
Sgurr na Lapaich (T)	11:10 - 11:25
Mullach Cadha Rainich (T)
Mam Sodhail (M)	12:55 - 13:10
Stob Coire Lochan (T)	14:00 - 14:05
Beinn Fhionnlaidh (M)	14:45 - 15:10
Carn Eighe (M)	16:20 - 16:45
Stob a'Choire Dhomhain (T)	17:05
Stob Choire Dhomhnuill (T)	17:20
Sron Garbh (T)	17:30 - 17:40
An Leth-chreag (T)	18:05 - 18:10
Tom a' Choinnich Beag (T)	18:20
Tom a' Choinnich (M)	18:35 - 18:45
Gleann na Fiadh path	19:45
back to bike at road	20:45
car park	20:55

written 22/04/11