Dawn on Carn nan Cobhar - seen from Loch Mullardoch

Carn nan Cobhar seen from Sgurr na Lapaich

Glen Cannich
Glen Cannich to the north holds the huge Loch Mullardoch and has an impressive backdrop of the Glen Affric summits. There are four big munros up for grabs here and reaching the two most remote summits requires a mammoth walk if you don't have a boat to hand. Before Loch Mullardoch was dammed, a track suitable for horse and cart went right up this glen and over into Glen Elchaig. Now life is much tougher with an undulating rough path going along the north shore and torture along the south shore. It therefore puts the Affric hills largely out of the question.

The eastern escarpment of Sgurr na Lapaich

Sgurr na Lapiach's eastern corrie

Carn nan Cobhar and Sgurr na Lapaich
The two closest summits, Carn nan Cobhar and Sgurr na Lapaich, can be reached in a fairly comfortable walk given good conditions underfoot. Sgurr na Lapaich in particular is a complex mountain with deep corries and a complex series of ridges. It is the highest in the Mullardoch group at 1150m. By contrast Carn nan Cobhar is very rounded - but more stony up top.

Access to Carn nan Cobhar and Sgurr na Lapaich is short taking just 1.5km to gain the bottom slopes of Carn nan Cobhar from the end of the road. The ascent to Carn nan Cobhar is up deep heather slopes to the subsidiary summit of Mullach na Maoile. From here the progress becomes easier and then the final ascent to Carn nan Cobhar is stony and occasionally bouldery. Along the shore of Loch Mullardoch, access to Sgurr na Lapaich takes a further 1.5km. A path leads up the east side of Allt Taige to head north to Bealach na Cloiche Duibhe.

Sgurr na Lapaich and Carn nan Cobhar seen from the south

Desolate camping West of Sgurr na Lapaich

The ridge linking Carn nan Cobhar with Sgurr na Lapaich is quite broad from the saddle up to Carn nan Cobhar but rises up in a series of steep ramps when ascending Sgurr na Lapaich. There is some opportunity to do some scrambling if you stick to the true crest but it's quite unnecessary. Following the path up this route has no exposure or difficulties. The southern corrie of Coire Bhig is also very scenic and affords very pleasant views of the Affric Hills.

The East Ridge of An Riabhachan

The Affric Hills

The desolate area between Loch Mullardoch and Glen Carron

Most people in winter time will return to their cars once they've reached Sgurr na Lapaich. The southern route over Sgurr nan Clachan Geala offers a very scenic descent route with open views out over the Glen Affric summits. In the summertime or for those heading out on a multiday trip, the only way off Sgurr na Lapaich is to head out west to traverse An Riabhachan and An Socath.

Looking west from Strathfarrar summits to the loch monar summits

Sgurr nan Clachan Geala south of Sgurr na Lapaich

An Riabhachan and Am Socath
These mountains further west are also monster hills above 1000m. They consequently hold a lot of snow late into the winter season. The summits are remote and are best climbed along with Sgurr na Lapaich and Carn nan Cobhar.

An Riabhachan seen from Sgurr na Lapaich

An Socath seen from An Riabhachan

An Socath seen from Toll Cregach

The ascent of An Riabhachan's east ridge after coming off Sgurr na Lapaich is mostly broad but gets very narrow before the final summit level. It's not narrow enough for scrambling though. The actual summit ridge is 2km long and is a fantastic "top of the world" walk above wild country. The descent off the western end of this ridge heads north west down to a ridge that becomes very narrow at one point. The continuing descent to the saddle with An Socath continues without complication. The ascent to An Socath is fairly steep, with one small rockstep requiring a little clever footwork to get over. Once on the summit ridge, the ridge narrows for the remaining distance to the summit.

Most people at this point will return to their cars via the north shore of Loch Mullardoch. The route followed is to continue following An Socaths summit ridge south then southeast down to the Allt Coire a' Mhaim before following a rough path back to the dam. Crossing the Allt Coire a' Mhaim may be difficult in Spate conditions. There are however those that want to continue with a round of the Glen Affric summits. In this instance follow the summit ridge southwest to the point where the ridge turns south, then strike out southwest down to Coire Lungard and contour round Meall Shuas to gain the river at the western end of Loch Mullardoch.

Sgurr na Dollaid seen from the road above Cannich

Sgurr na Dollaid seen from the west on the Affric hills

Sgurr na Dollaid
Another summit worth doing if you want a shorter walk is Sgorr na Dollaid. This has quite a rocky summit - a narrow fin of rock rising above the edge of a small plateau. The slopes are quite grassy and not all that steep - fine views of the Strathfarrar hills.

Carngorm - a foothill rising above cannich

Forested slopes rising above Cannich

Glen Strathfarrar and Strath Conon
Glen Strathfarrar has the problem of a locked gate at the bottom of the glen. Opening times are restricted from March until September from 9am until 5pm. It's a 12km drive along the glen to the start of the traverse of the munros below. Access along the Strath Conon road has no such hindrances, and while single track, the road is of a good quality for allowing relatively quick access to the hills.

Sgurr Fhuar-thuil, Sgurr a' Choire Chlais, Carn nan Cobhar and Sgurr na Ruaidhe
These four summits form a short east-west ridge 7km in length. The eastern summits are rounded summits while the western summits possess graceful scooped out northern corries. The westward view from the western half of the round is especially fine looking into the Monar estate.

The Strathfarrar Munros from the south

Looking up Glen Orrin

From Strathfarrar, tt is possible to do these four munros in a day if you're quick (given the road opening times). For wintertime access, you can climb these summits from Strath Conon to the north as a two day outing.

The view west from the most westerly Strathfarrar Munro

Sgurr na Lapaich seen from the Glen Strathfarrar Munros

Looking west from Sgurr a' Choire Ghlais

Access from Strathconon starts at Inverchoran lodge where a landrover track is followed south into Glen Orrin. At the point where the track meets the River Orrin, a suspension footbridge allows for a dry crossing of the river. A stream is then followed south into Glen Odhar (with another bridge crossing for access to a path on the western bank). Once in Glen Odhar, heather slopes can be followed upto the summit of Carn nan Gobhar. From here the principle disadvantage of a northerly approach to these hills becomes evident. You have to make a detour out to the summit of Sgurr na Ruaidhe. This took me 3 hours to do.

Carn nan Cobhar and Sgurr na Ruaidhe seen from Sgurr a' Choire Ghlais

Sgurr a' Choire Ghlais seen from the west

From the saddle between Carn nan Gobhar and Sgurr a' Choire Ghlais, it is possible to find camping high up to the south. The ground, however, does not lend itself well to this activity as it is a bit steep for comfort. Westward progress along the ridge remains easy, with just a few rocky patches. On the subsidiary summit of Creag Ghorn a' Bhealaich, it's northern ridge provides access back down to Glen Orrin to the north. The final summit of Sgurr Fhuar-thuill would thus be a detour for such northern visitors. Southern visitors however will find a descending path further west dropping down into Toll a' Mhuic.

Let's not forget Strath Conon. This is often neglected because of there being no Munros to climb, but there a few peaks that are worthy climbs in desolate terrain including Meallan nan Uan. As the author hasn't been there, he can't comment further on the area.

Some Strath Conon summits
seen from the north