M78 |
1053 m. |
3455 ft.
Pronunciation skoor a choerachan
Translation Peak of the little field of the berries
OS 25 | Gridref NH 087447
Cord, Frank enjoyed it
Ah Skye, you beautiful island. And Cuillin, you great range of towering spires. But the weather sucked. Very much so. So we decided to let island be island and Cuillin be Cuillin. Instead we headed for Glen Carron where some more or less remote munros waited for us.
As recommended by the books we parked our car at Craig, enjoyed the only rainfall of the day (lucky us – the clouds lifted the longer the day wore on), crossed the railway line and the river and followed the landrover track high above the Allt a’Chonais. After an hour or so we reached the plain stretch of valley where the Allt a’Chonais meanders through the grass and Sgurr nan Ceannaichean’s craggy west face rises on the right side of the track.
At the point where the track veers to the left we crossed the Allt, by the wire bridge (Frank) and by wading the rivulet (me), and then hit the well-engineered path leading up to the Beallach Bhearnais. This was a pleasant climb. Below the col we felt the effect of the wind which was really quite strong, coming from south-westerly directions. We donned all the gear we had to protect us from the wind chill. From the Beallach Bhearnais we plodded and scrambled up the west ridge of Frank’s last two-digit munro – his 99th – Sgurr Choinnch.
On the climb we paused and took in the views of Cheesecake and Lurgh Mhor: two hills requiring considerably more effort than the present tour. They looked nice though. We’ll be back (Austrian accent 
). At the summit we ate our lunch sitting on some grassy ledges on the north side of the hill which provided some respite from the wind. Photos, tea, sandwiches. And on to Sgurr a’Chaorachain we headed, half pushed forward and half blown over by the wind. Alas, ’twas a short distance only and then we reached the summit of M78.
We paused for a quick biscuit and the obligatory photograph of the man of the day: Frank on his 100th Munro! Hurray! (Some photographs are a bit out of the ordinary due to the wind!) From this memorable hill top we headed down the broad north ridge of Sgurr a’Chaorachain, veered left and stumbled, ran and walked down very steep grassy slopes to Pollan Buidhe where again we crossed the Allt a’Chonais. Exhausted and with slightly wobbly legs we reached the track. There we took off the protective shells of gear and headed back to Craig on the way of ascent.
Great tour. We met no soul on the hills. Solitude, mountains, great views, good walking. A very good day.
Description
These two mountains are about six kilometres from Glen Carron on its south-east side, and overlook the head of Loch Monar. Together with Bidean an Eoin Deirg, which is the east top of Sgurr a' Chaorachain, they form an east-west ridge on the north side of Loch Monar. Of the three peaks, Bidean an Eoin Deirg is the most prominent in distant views because of its sharp-pointed summit which drops steeply to the north.Approach from Craig in Glen Carron up the private road (which is a right of way) beside the Allt a' Chonais as far as Pollan Buidhe. Cross the river and follow the path south-west to the Bealach Bhearnais. From there climb the west ridge of Sgurr Choinnich. Go south-east along the level summit ridge for 200 metres and turn left down a steep ridge to reach the col below Sgurr a' Chaorachain. Climb the broad ridge to the level stony summit of that peak. A short diversion eastwards leads out to Bidean an Eoin Deirg and back again. Descend the north ridge of Sgurr a' Chaorachain and where it turns north-east go north-west down steep grassy slopes to return to the Allt a' Chonais.