Geal Charn and Carn Dearg from the South

After drizzly rain in Loch Lomond on the way up to Kyle, the weather cleared up leaving great sunshine, though we had merely overtaken the band of rain, it was still on my tail. After a feeble attempt to hitchhike to Glen Carron from Kyle, the rain caught up and I resigned myself to waiting four hours for a fifty minute journey.

I got off the train at Achnashellach in heavy rain with one hour of daylight left. My pace was strong for I wanted to get to my camp site quickly before light got really bad for a river crossing I had to do. I had 5km of walking and 600m of ascent, I did it within Naismiths Rule which was good going thanks to the well made paths. I crossed the river in Coire Lair with 15mins of daylight left.

I arrived at campsite beneath Fuar Tholl under torch light, the visibility under those conditions very poor. I camped on a rough piece of rocky grass which gave an uncomfortable night, unknown to me until daybreak, there was an excellent patch of grass just 50m away. The rain stopped half an hour after pitching the tent but alas I was damp.

Looking east from Sgurr Ruadh
to the ridge of Ben Liath Mhor

The day dawned misty but bright, I had a tiny radio with me the size of a 50p piece. I could just get radio 3.."And now the weather forecast:- Dry in the South ,Wet in the North". That didn’t sound promising but the weather held off all day.

The spot I chose gave superb views, the 200m high cliffs of Fuar Tholl gave a super setting. I carried on up to the bealach and then dumped my sack, I was gobsmacked by the views ascross the Coulins, it was magic; certainly a unique part of the highlands. The ascent up the fourth Corbett so far was loose and scrambly but the ridge on top was grassy with spacious views. The fact that a path existed up here suggests that it is quite popular being a Corbett.

Maol Chean Dearg and Ben damph from Sgurr Ruadh

Fuar Tholl as seen from Coire Lair

I made my way down a ‘comfortable’ scree slope and back to the pack. The ascent to the first Munro today was a grind, I felt very tired and it took an hour to do 300m ascent though the cliffs of the other side were even grander than those of Fuar Tholl, a small scramble and a nice walk brought me down to the main bealach beneath the final mountain.

I decided to have lunch, this was a first class place to have lunch and the setting great. A steep path wound its way up lower defences of the final summit before easing off on the wide quartzite slopes above. The cloud was thickening and lowering, it was Midday and I still had a lot of walking to do with my final destination being Allt a’ Chonais.

The walk back to the road was slow compared with yesterday. This time I was successful in hitching up the road, only two cars passed before one offered a lift. I hurried now as I sensed rain was due to arrive, I wanted to be dry tonight. And dry I was, the rain arrived after dinner time and the night was comfy.

Today was damp and windy, I felt like giving up at times and going home but I had more determination than that. The day started with patchy rain and the tent was packed away dry, I had a lighter pack subsequently. The ascent to the first summit was slow going but easy, with no radio reception I couldn’t tell whether the weather would get better or worse.

The wind was moderate on the first pair of summits but accelerated through the day. I returned from the second summit and the rain stopped but I was already very wet under my jacket. It stayed dry for the time it took to get down to the glen. The views were desolate and I wasn’t to see a road or anyone else until Friday. The rain set in as I ascended a side glen, this time the winds were strong and in my face.

The camp site was reached close to the bealach and I dumped my sack to climb the final summit. The winds on the plateau were strong and tiring though not dangerous and navigation was no problem, little snow remained and summer conditions prevailed until Friday. It was a long day in bad weather so I did well to achieve what I did. The wind died down overnight but the clouds were slow to shift.

The day was improving all the time weather wise, this time I had some radio reception. The ascent was chiefly in the mist so the northern crags couldn’t be seen, they couldn’t even be sensed as the mist was down to my campsite. The ridge linking the two summits was pleasantly narrow though and the mist seemed to try to budge.

The mist finally cleared from many summits and the day was bright, rock bands provided interesting route finding on the way down from the second summit but alas on the way up to the fifth Corbett the cloud came back. The summit for next day, Bidean a’ Choire Sheasgaich, had an imposing steep north ridge. Guidebooks recommend a way up through that, I opted not to by walking round to Coire Sheasgaich for my camp. The situation was remote and though the summits west from here were low it still felt a grand place. Radio reception was better with a much wider choice of entertainment for the night.

Beinn Tharsiunn from the bealach between the two Munros climbed today

Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich from Lurg Mhor

The day dawned windy and I felt concern as to how strong the winds were higher up. They came from the east and a wintry rime formed higher up. Thankfully the wind wasn’t so bad and the ridge was very pleasant at the summit, just the right degree of narrowness. Lurg Mhor, the final summit, also a claimant to the most remote Munro, was childs play from here. Neither summit provided views though, lower down the views were far reaching and desolate, this was the heart of remote country.

I dropped down to Loch Calavie and from there continued east heading for the Loch Mullardoch hills. The going was certainly rough across the undulating peat hags and it took six hours to get to my final destination. Here it would take a day to get to any road in good conditions. The day ended in blue sky and cold winds. The radio warned of wintry weather on the way so I decided to be up super early tomorrow.