The Fairy Hill of the Caledonians

My big objective for the weekend was an ascent of the TRAIL 100 summit of Bidean nam Bian.

But with yesterday’s walk up Glencoe’s Pap putting 800 metres of ascent into my legs, the prospect of 1,200 metres of ascent was probably a little ambitious for my lack of hill fitness.  I decided to drive over to Braes of Foss to walk up Schiehallion.  It involved a 150 mile round trip but with only about 800 metres of steady ascent I was happy to make the journey.

I had feared that the car park would be busy on a Saturday with a reasonably good weather forecast but there were plenty of spaces to choose from.

The initial path was well constructed after previous years of much use and erosion.  As we reached the first uphill section path switchbacked, making good progress through the thin covering of snow.  Other groups passed us as we walked up with most of them not burdened by winter boots, ice axes or big winter rucksacks.

As we climbed and had started walking quite late in the morning, a number of parties passed us on their way down.  They told of conditions similar to those currently underfoot with some icy patches to be negotiated.  Schiehallion has a reputation of being rocky underfoot but the snow on the ground filled the gaps between the stones and made it reasonably easy to follow the tracks of those who had gone before us despite the flat light.

There were no views at the summit but identifying the true highpoint was a challenge.  There are a number of blocks as well as the cairn that are candidates so of course I visited them all.

Although we had seen about 20 other walkers on the day, the walk down was quiet.  The snow lower down had turned to slush and we finished in drizzle.  Despite this it was an enjoyable day, even if most of it had been spent in the cloud with its base at about 2,000 feet.

The Pap of Glencoe

Today was never destined to be an early start.

I didn’t start the drive from home to Ballachulish until after 5’o’clock in the previous afternoon and a challenging drive in the dark and rain up the shore of Loch Lomond and over Rannoch Moor left me too alert to think about going straight to bed.  So a leisurely start the following morning was inevitable.

Even though it isn’t on my ticklist the Pap of Glencoe promised a shortish day of walking.  I parked in the large car park at the mountain’s base and started walking along the track parallel to the road.  The footpath to the Pap is well signed low down and as height is gained it is easy to follow although the ground underfoot is very eroded in places, particularly when the ground steepens alongside the Allt a’ Mhuilinn where the path is a deep trench in places.

Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour

The way up then turns left towards the bealach.  I exchanged greetings with a couple of couples who were heading back downhill and then headed straight towards the summit, reaching the flatter ground of the bealach before picking my way through the rockier terrain of the final 500 feet of ascent.  The broken ground of the north-eastern traverse finally gave way to slabbier ground reaching its way to the top.

The summit is a magnificent grandstand for views from the south, past the open seascape towards Ardgour, and around to the east.  The remaining quarter is blocked by the higher ground of Sgorr nam Fionnaidh.  The snow topped summits of the Mamores were a highlight to the north and my first Munro, Sgorr Dhearg, stood sentinel over Loch Leven and its meeting with Loch Linnhe at the Ballachulish bridge.  Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour was unfortunately topped by cloud but its Kinlochleven namesake stood menacingly proud.

the Mamores

Sgorr Dhearg

Garbh Bheinn over Kinlochleven

Loch Linnhe

I took the obligatory photos to record the view before turning tail, retracing my steps and having put on and take off my waterproofs twice to deal with the heavy showers that pulsed in from the Atlantic.

As I descended I realised that the footpath was pretty poor and as the ground was now wet, I had to take some care deciding where to place my feet.  The route was obviously quite well used and the erosion definitely needs to be addressed.

I arrived at the car just as the sun had set and then drove to Ballachulish to choose a suitable beer.