Aonach Meadhoin

A weekend in October 2012 served as Frank’s and my getaway from work in Germany. But unfortunately the three days in the area north of Glen Shiel were both somewhat rainy and stricken by the mishap of a broken-down car. The malfunctioning of the Ford Focus necessitated a trip to Inverness to pick up a replacement car and meant one day less of hillwalking. What can you do?

So our second and last day in the hills was to be the tour of the eastern three Munros of the North Glen Shiel ridge: Saileag, Sgurr a´’Bhealaich Dheirg and Aonach Mheadhoin. As seven years before when we had done the Five Sisters of Kintail we left our car at the parking where the steep path up to the Bealach an Lapain starts. The path had not changed much since 2005: Well-defined, zigzaggy and steep through grass on the lower slopes. More rocky and eroded further up. But nonetheless a good and straight-forward way to cover the 500m or so to the ridge. We got there after about one hour and turned due east, climbed the grassy ridge to Saileag and touched the cairn.

Clouds clung to the craggy ridges and flanks of Sgurr nan Spainteach and the closest three of the Five Sisters. Rain kept coming and going all the time. A somewhat wild feeling of being alone on this remarkable mountain range. I was satisfied with having completed the North Glen Shiel ridge by bagging Saileag. I was also sick that weekend and decided to return to the glen and the car right away by way of the ascent taken. Not very romantic but probably the best solution for me.

Frank, however, still had Sgurr a’Bhealaich Dheirg and Aonach Mheadhoin to bag. So we split up our little party of two at Saileag’s summit. I was back at the car 2 hour and 45 minutes after the start of our walk. Frank carried on to the east over the two other Munros. On Sgurr a’Bhealaich Dheirg he was disoriented in the mist and … [Read More]

2021-05-13T09:11:20+02:00October 2nd, 2012|1997, 2012, 2019 - 2010, Glen Affric and Kintail|

Sgurr a’Bhealaich Dheirg

A weekend in October 2012 served as Frank’s and my getaway from work in Germany. But unfortunately the three days in the area north of Glen Shiel were both somewhat rainy and stricken by the mishap of a broken-down car. The malfunctioning of the Ford Focus necessitated a trip to Inverness to pick up a replacement car and meant one day less of hillwalking. What can you do?

So our second and last day in the hills was to be the tour of the eastern three Munros of the North Glen Shiel ridge: Saileag, Sgurr a´’Bhealaich Dheirg and Aonach Mheadhoin. As seven years before when we had done the Five Sisters of Kintail we left our car at the parking where the steep path up to the Bealach an Lapain starts. The path had not changed much since 2005: Well-defined, zigzaggy and steep through grass on the lower slopes. More rocky and eroded further up. But nonetheless a good and straight-forward way to cover the 500m or so to the ridge. We got there after about one hour and turned due east, climbed the grassy ridge to Saileag and touched the cairn.

Clouds clung to the craggy ridges and flanks of Sgurr nan Spainteach and the closest three of the Five Sisters. Rain kept coming and going all the time. A somewhat wild feeling of being alone on this remarkable mountain range. I was satisfied with having completed the North Glen Shiel ridge by bagging Saileag. I was also sick that weekend and decided to return to the glen and the car right away by way of the ascent taken. Not very romantic but probably the best solution for me.

Frank, however, still had Sgurr a’Bhealaich Dheirg and Aonach Mheadhoin to bag. So we split up our little party of two at Saileag’s summit. I was back at the car 2 hour and 45 minutes after the start of our walk. Frank carried on to the east over the two other Munros. On Sgurr a’Bhealaich Dheirg he was disoriented in the mist and … [Read More]

2017-09-19T14:15:04+02:00October 2nd, 2012|1997, 2012, 2019 - 2010, Glen Affric and Kintail|

Gleouraich

2005 Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach had been high on my list of mountains I wanted to do ever since Frank had told me about his winter walk on Gleouraich. But then, such additional motivation would not really have been necessary given the beautiful scenery these two hills are set in. I had once been to Glen Quoich when we walked Ladhar Beinn from Kinloch Hourn. Now, on a windy morning in May, we returned to walk Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach. We started our tour of the two hills’ corries at the small parking close to the Allt Coire Peitireach. We took the stalkers path which for a few dozens of metres stays close to the burn and then turns west to climb the ridge of Sròn a’Chuilinn. The path zig-zags very nicely and after some intermediate steps in the ridge reaches a level section where the ridge’s western flank drops off very steeply right down to the northern arm of Loch Quoich. The wind was quite strong here and the wind chill made my face hurt. At the end of this south-north ridge at a point where it turns west to join the main ridge of Gleouraich we paused and had some sandwiches. We waited – sheltered by some rocks that had a memorial plaque fixed to them – until the snow shower subsided and we could continue up the final rise of about 200m in the ridge leading to the summit of Gleouraich. Before the path starts to climb it passes a well constructed hunters’ shelter. After another 20 minutes we reached the summit of Munro No. 1. The relative calm at Geouraich’s summit contrasted starkly with the very windy conditions encountererd on the lower slopes. Pausing at the summit cairn some photo opportunities arose while we had a few cups of tea and checked out the south Glen Shiel ridge with its seven munros strung out from east to west. Then, on we went to the second summit (1006 metres) accompanied by the occasional flurry of fresh snow … [Read More]

2017-09-19T14:17:53+02:00May 6th, 2005|1997, 2005, 2009 - 2000, Loch Eil to Glen Shiel|
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