Beinn Liath Mhor and Sgorr Ruadh 2nd May 2011
(note: this blog entry contains one image that some may find disturbing - you have been warned!)
The "big grey hill" and the "red peak". Two contrasting hills - one of quartzite, the other sandstone - standing on opposite sides of Coire Lair, behind Achnashellach Station.
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| Fuar Tholl catches the morning sun above Achnashellach Station |
Despite having covered 36km yesterday, this was too good a day to rest. I had parked overnight in the big layby opposite the Achnashellach station lane, so woke early - a combination of the dawn chorus, and the early morning traffic. However, that suited my purpose - to climb two Munros, then drive home to Selkirk in the evening.
So, at 7.20am, I set off up to the station, crossed the line at the level crossing, and up the forest track towards Coire Lair.
Already, the morning sun was striking the cliffs of Fuar Tholl.
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| Fuar Tholl comes into full view |
1km up the track, a waymark indicated the path leaving the track sharply to the left, then through the deer fence by a gate, and turning to follow the stream uphill through the pines. This was a lovely early morning walk, and soon I was out of the woods, and climbing steadily upwards on a good path, much of it rebuilt.
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| climbing steadily, and Beinn Liath Mhor comes into view for the first time |
At 8.40am, up the last rocky section of the path, the vast trough of Coire Lair appeared: Beinn Liath Mhor forming the right hand wall, and Sgorr Ruadh dominating the left.
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| looking up Coire Lair |
At a cross-road of paths, a choice had to be made: a clockwise circuit, or anti-clockwise? The path leading up towards Sgorr Ruadh looked attractive, but I decided to stick to the original plan, and tackle the steepest slope first, so I turned right and headed towards the foot of Beinn Liath Mhor's south-eastern end. I soon realised that all the small burns were completely dry (I don't suppose that is often the case up here!), so detoured back down to the river to refill my water bottles. It looked like it could be a hot and thirsty day ahead!
At 9am, I began the ascent up a steep path, in short zigzags between rocks, grass and scree. Hard going, but gaining height very rapidly. The views across to Fuar Tholl encouraged frequent stops!
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Fuar Tholl, with the prominent Mainreachan Buttress,
viewed from the path climbing towards Beinn Liath Mhor's southeast top |
At about 650m, the gradient eased a little, then the final 100m or so were up a tedious quartzite boulder field, with a number of deceptive false tops. At 10.20am, the southeast top came into view, and with it a superb view to the north. I sat down gratefully to enjoy the views.
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| southeast top of Beinn Liath Mhor (876m) |
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| looking north over Sgurr nan Lochan Uaine to Liathach's pinnacled ridge |
Smoke was rising from the flanks of Mullach an Rathain, and from the glen behind it; later I discovered that this was a massive forest fire, which devastated large areas of regenerating Caledonian Pine forest. A helicopter was buzzing around - apparently it had been used to rescue walkers, trapped by the fires below, from one of the summits, and was now being used to water bomb parts of the area.
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| the eastern tops of Beinn Eighe behind Beinn Liath Beag (right) and Sgorr Dubh (centre) |
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| the western tops of Beinn Eighe (Sail Mhor, Coinneach Mhor and Ruadh-Stac Mor) |
While sitting there, I was overtaken by a man and dog - both moving pretty quickly - who disappeared on along the ridge ahead.
The 2km ridge walk to Beinn Liath Mhor's main top looked an enjoyable prospect, and so it proved, with fine views to left and right. Firstly, a couple of small ups and downs led to the middle top (887m) in 25 minutes.
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| main summit of Beinn Liath Mhor from the middle top |
I continued on along the ridge for another half hour, views changing all the time, then a short climb to the final narrower shattered summit arete. As I arrived at the summit, the man and dog I had spoken to earlier were just about to leave - the dog had sore paws from the sharp quartzite, so was about to get a carry down the next section!
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| looking back along the summit ridge to the middle top and southeast top |
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| the rocky summit of Beinn Liath Mhor |
Once again, time for a good long rest, something to eat, a cup of coffee, and a chance to look around at the magnificent views.
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to the NW, the view was dominated by the great southern walls of Liathach,
with the Am Fasarinen pinnacles standing out against the blue sky |
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| and, at Liathach's western end, the dramatic fires still burning, sending up a huge pall of smoke |
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| to the north, the eastern tops of Beinn Eighe, with A'Mhaighdean in the distance |
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| dramatic views across Coire Lair to Sgorr Ruadh from Beinn Liath Mhor |
After 20 minutes rest, I set off again. The path dropped down steeply at first through quartzite blocks, then levelled out on the sandstone plateau of Sail Garbh at around 800m.
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| the cairn showing the way down to the first bealach |
The guide books warn of a ring of crags to be negotiated, and the main path seemed to be heading off SW into Coire Lair. I didn't want to lose unnecessary height, so I ignored the path, and continued tentatively directly west towards the bealach.
A small path seemed to be heading directly towards a cliff edge, but a small cairn (left) indicated where a path dropped steeply down to the first bealach at 700m.
I descended carefully down to the lochan, and followed a faint path which contoured round the south side of the small rocky (un-named) hill ahead. (You can see this in profile on the earlier picture looking up Coire Lair)
From this vantage point at the head of Coire Lair, the view of Beinn Liath Mhor's south face was particularly striking.
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| Beinn Liath Mhor seen from the path round the un-named hill at the head of Coire Lair |
This path then dropped down to a second bealach, again with a lochan, at around 650m. I couldn't see any path ascending the grassy slope ahead, so selected what looked the best line, and 10m up the slope found a well-defined path suddenly appeared and followed the exact route I had chosen!
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| looking north through the second bealach towards Liathach and Beinn Eighe |
The path led up on to Sgorr Ruadh's north west ridge, which then ascended in a series of steps, and after 50 minutes of hard slog led out to Sgorr Ruadh's summit, the second Munro of the day.
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| retrospect of Beinn Liath Mhor from about 800m on Sgorr Ruadh's NW ridge |
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| and Sgorr Ruadh's northern cliffs, from the same vantage point |
Sgorr Ruadh proved to be another fine viewpoint, which deserved a 15 minute rest! (No sign of the man and dog - my guess was that he had decided that the dog had suffered enough, and headed back down Coire Lair).
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| Maol Chean-dearg and Beinn Damh from Sgorr Ruadh |
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| Beinn Liath Mhor's middle and southeast tops from Sgorr Ruadh |
It would have been fine to lie there in the sun for longer, but the small matter of a long drive back to Selkirk demanded that I continue my circuit. Sgorr Ruadh's southern side is a boad grassy flank, in sharp contrast to its northern cliffs, so the descent to the hummocky bealach was pretty easy, though the legs were now tiring.
The dramatic cliffs of Fuar Tholl beckoned, but the Corbett would have to wait for another day. Fuar Tholl means "cold hole", probably referring to the deep northern coire that never sees any direct sunlight (below).
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| Fuar Tholl from near the the summit of Sgorr Ruadh |
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| Fuar Tholl, with the forbidding Mainreachan Buttress, from the Bealach Mor |
As I descended to the Bealach Mor, I could see a good stalkers' path leading down into Coire Lair - but between the foot of Sgorr Ruadh and that path lay a maze of lochans (at least 17 on the 1:25000 OS map!) and a moonscape of rocky hillocks. This was a wonderful little landscape, but by now my legs were too tired to appreciate it, and my water bottles were both empty. I wound my way through, found the path, and soon reached running water (for the first time since 9am!)
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| just one of the many lochans on the Bealach Mor between Sgorr Ruadh and Fuar Tholl! |
The path was a welcome sight, but it was rough and stony, and jarring on tired legs as I hurried downhill. An hour and a half after leaving the summit of Sgorr Ruadh, I was back down to the river in Coire Lair.
What a joy to take off the boots, and plunge my hot tired feet into the cold water!
(sorry, I warned you there was a rather disturbing image to come!)
All that was now left was to speed down the excellent path from the mouth of Coire Lair back to Achnashellach and the car.
What a superb day!
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| the lovely shady wooded path on the way down to Achnashellach |
So, 2 bonus days - leaving only 8 more new Munros to climb:
- Beinn a Claidheimh
- Sgurr Ban
- Mullach Choire Mhic Fhearchair
- Beinn Tharsuinn
- Mullach Fraoch-Choire
- A' Chralaig
- Aonach Beag
- Aonach Mor
... and back home to Selkirk at 9pm, via the best pizza ever at Dingwall!
posted DB 16/05/11
Today's summary:
left car | 07:20 |
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Coire Lair | 08:40 - 09:00 |
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BLM south top (876m) | 10:20 - 10:40 |
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BLM middle top (887m) | 11:05 |
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Beinn Liath Mhor (M) | 11:35 - 11:55 |
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1st bealach | 12:20 |
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2nd bealach | 12:40 |
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Sgorr Ruadh (M) | 13:30 - 13:45 |
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river crossing | 15:15 - 15:25 | |
car | 16:10 |
At 9am, I began the ascent up a steep path, in short zigzags between rocks, grass and scree. Hard going, but gaining height very rapidly. The views across to Fuar Tholl encouraged frequent stops!
What a joy to take off the boots, and plunge my hot tired feet into the cold water!
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