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One week after my
shortened attempt at the five Crianlarich Munros, I headed up to Gleann
Diamh with the Up A Mountain folks. Unlike previous events I'd only be
up for the day, but the plan had been to climb Stuchd an Lochain and
Meall Buidhe. These hills are usually climbed by doing each one
separately, and with a starting elevation of above 400m, climbing each
one in this way isn't unreasonable. I've always thought that a circuit
around Loch an Diamh seemed like a far more interesting way to climb
them and in retrospect, I am glad that this is the way that Dave and I did
it.
Stuchd an Lochain
I travelled up to Glen Lyon with Dave, meeting the other folks and
seeing some new faces too. The weather hadn't been very pleasant on the
way up and was bitter at the Ben Lawers Visitor Centre. I doubt
I've ever sat shivering in the car before, it was vile. By
the time we arrived beneath the Giorra Dam at Gleann Diamh, conditions
had improved, the sun was out and wind had dropped. Six of us set
off, heading for Stuchd an Lochain first. We crossed the bridge, and
headed up the track leading by the side of the dam. A path cut off up
Stuchd an Lochain's initial steep slopes (the turn off marked by a
cairn) and we ascended upwards. As we gained altitude, snow drifts and
ice covered traces of any path, so I headed up, following wherever my
feet took me.
Higher up, views opened up to the Nevis region, Glen Coe and Black
Mount. More locally, down to Glen Lyon and the hills surrounding Loch an
Diamh. It was turning into a beautiful day, and at this height, the gradient of
the slopes eased off. At 750m we crested the east ridge. Having been
on the north side of the mountain, only now did views open out to the
south. Stunning they were too. This was my first visit to the area and
so the mountains around about were almost all new to me. I believe that it was also my
first visit to Glen Lyon, itself a beautiful glen, somewhere I wish to
visit more often.
It was nice to have the other guys around. I was glad to be sharing this
occasion and found happiness in being able to enjoy it with others.
Having taken a break at this point on the ridge, we headed up to the
first top Creag an Fheadain, where we got the first views of Stuchd an
Lochain, a sharp peak and under snow, one with an Alpine 'feel'. The
wind had picked up by this point, and although it wasn't bitter as it
had been in the morning, it was unpleasant to walk through.
From Creag an Fheadain, we headed westwards across to Stuchd an Lochain
via. the Munro Top Sron Chona Choirein. The wind was battering across the ridge from a
northerly direction and this discomfort was combined with the glare and
intensity of light bouncing back off the snow. My eyes felt beaten and
the temptation was to stand still, back to the wind with eyes shut.
However, I'd been keeping some cheap ski goggles in my rucksack that I'd
been given by a friend and they took all the strain off my eyes. To my
mind, I've found them to be like crampons: you'll really need
them when you do need them, otherwise they're extra weight in the rucksack.
From the Munro Top Sron Chona Choirein we headed up the final steeper
slopes to the summit of Stuchd an Lochain where more panoramic views
awaited. The wind persisted but in the shade it was fairly pleasant to
sit and relax. Stuchd an Lochain was my 23rd Munro but at this time I
didn't think Meall Buidhe would be in the question. The other guys
seemed to be inclined to head back which was still fine by me. But,
along came Dave's idea...
I said before that most people climb Meall Buidhe and Stuchd an Lochain
by doing one, descending back to the car then doing the other
independently. In one of Cameron McNeish's guides he says that a circuit
of Loch an Diamh is possible. This adds on a lot more ascent and
distance, but along the way there's also a Corbett (Sron a' Choire
Chnapanich) and more scenery than just popular routes up the two Munros.
Dave suggested this circuit to everybody, as he also hadn't climbed
Meall Buidhe. I guess my ears perked up when the idea first came up
because I wouldn't turn down a longer route if it could be done. But
what to consider? It was a long way still just to get to the head of
Loch an Diamh, including a couple of reascents before we even got there.
Then we'd descend almost to the elevation of the car where we'd be at
the head of the loch. If we couldn't do more walking for whatever reason, whether it be our own
lack of energies or lack of light, then we could make a
quick exit along the loch side. There would be one more large ascent up
to the Meall Buidhe plateau and then we could pass by the tops and make
a beeline for Meall Buidhe.
The other consideration for me was time. We'd arrived at the top of
Stuchd an Lochain at 12.35pm and it would get dark around 7pm. I saw it
possible to reach Meall Buidhe before darkness and so I having given the
prospect some evaluation, I was up for it. It was a big task to take in
but I applied what else I'd learned from my longer routes: as long as we
keep to schedule, go the first bit, then the next little bit and then
the next. And after a few small chunks, the finishing line really isn't
that far away. At 1pm, Dave and I left the others and headed westwards.
Sron a' Choire Chnapanich
We descended Stuchd an Lochain and headed over Meall an Odhar, another
top of Stuchd. We'd considered bypassing Sron a' Choire Chnapanich but
we were following schedule well. To get to it, it was quite a detour to
get onto the southern flank, but we descended to the Bealach a' Mhaim
and then began the long gradual slog up to the summit. We reckoned maybe
40 minutes or so up there, it looked a fair distance up.
I was getting quite warm as the sun was fairly high up. It was a slog so I got into a rhythm, putting one foot in front of the
other, repeating this over. As time progressed, we made some
good progress. The gradient we were climbing eased off towards the top
and we arrived at the summit soon after - 2.15pm. I took another
panorama, took in more views and now we were almost
at the half way point.
Across to the Meall Buidhe plateau
Still, walking the entire circuit still seemed like a huge
prospect. We set ourselves the next task of getting down to the loch
side and if we didn't want to go on, we could return by the loch, or we
could go back up high and walk across to Meall Buidhe. Sron a' Choire
Chnapanich is a steep sided mountain on all but south facing slopes so
we walked southwest from the summit, hoping at some point to cut down to
'Feith Thalain'. This river eventually flows into Loch an Diamh, but we
found a route down and descended steep, tussocky ground.
I pondered over how many people come down here. This place felt remote:
the head of a glen which led out to the head of Gleann Diamh, which
itself is just about as inaccessible. We descended to the river, a quiet
spot. A little exhausted already, I found a flat grassy spot and lay
resting for a couple of minutes, and in sheer delight too. We hadn't
even reached the half way point but I was delighted with our progress
and felt so damn good about myself too. This enclosed glen was such
a place too see, where there's nothing but the wind and the sound of
running water. It was one of those 'moments' that occasionally occur. We then followed the river down to the head of Loch an Diamh,
where there were some sheep, but more notably herds of deer up on the hillsides.
It was a wonderful place, tranquil, quite obviously unfrequented but
full of life. Beautiful and wild life. The place certainly felt nothing like the 'tourist' routes
up these two Munros.
Dave and I both felt good so far, and I certainly felt positive about
going for Meall Buidhe. We both knew that we were almost back at the
elevation of the car, but we didn't voice it much. We were
alright for time, perhaps a little late in the day, and agreed to go
for Meall Buidhe. Looking to the slope ahead, we planned to climb straight
upwards, in as direct line as possible. We'd get high quick and then
work on gaining the horizontal distance to the summit.
The ascent was very tedious and rather unrelenting. I knew that once we
were up, we'd have done the bulk of the ascent, and so we'd better just
get it over and done with now. I was glad that we'd gone on, and was
feeling that as we'd started, we may as well finish the task, hammer the
last nail in, so to speak. But this direct ascent meant we gained height
quickly and meant we got high up fast. On the upper reaches, the terrain
eased off and flattened to the plateau that would eventually lead to
Meall Buidhe. We'd climbed back up the snowline again and over the first
rise, Meall Buidhe came into view, the highest point of undulating
ground. But it was still a long way off and it would take a lot of
effort to get there.
Meall Buidhe
I'd also become aware that the sun was dipping lower in the sky. Both
Dave and I were feeling pretty tired by this point but I still felt that
Meall Buidhe was achievable. Besides, why come this far and not finish
it off? The walk over the plateau didn't appear to take long, and once
we were in a rhythm, we took on each rise bit by bit. We bypassed the
subsidiary tops aiming as directly as possible for Meall Buidhe,
although did climb the 824m west top on the way.
Nearly, there, the final climb to the Meall Buidhe's summit felt like
hell. I was out of steam and was rationing food by this point. (I'm
still learning to bring more food...) The slopes went on and on and
the more I walked, the more frustrated I became while enjoying myself
less. I had to get to that summit though. The sun was lowering
straight behind the Black Mount and Glen Coe and while we climbed, it
eased towards the horizon a little more with each passing minute. It'd
occurred to me that we may reach Meall Buidhe with perfect timing to
witness the sun set and in due course it would turn out just so. Still, I felt
shattered and with one last push, running on empty, I got to the
summit ridge, where it was a 50m walk along to the summit cairn.
And so we'd finally made it! I sprawled myself out beside the cairn,
delighted that we were done and there was only descending left to do. We
spent five minutes at the top, watching the most beautiful of sunsets
unfold behind the Glen Coe mountains. I felt damned lucky to be there,
feeling tired, but also feeling well about myself. I also became aware
that I was very cold, probably a little too much.
Descent
We left the summit in a bid to get down before darkness arrived. My
fingers were numb all over, and I breathed into them
continually to restore at least some feeling. I wrapped up well and made sure
I was warm. But when my fingers had feeling up again, I'd take
another picture and they'd get cold once again. The wind was now nowhere as
fierce as in the morning but a steady, chilling wind blew from the north and kept it me from being
warm.
As we descended the wind died down and Loch an Diamh came into back
view, sitting still and in silence beneath the twilit skies. In growing
darkness, we picked up the track and got back to the car 7.45pm, just as
darkness set in. We drove home via. Ben Lawers Visitor Centre and
back down the A82. I met dad at the BP in Milton and from there
continued home.
What I only realised after the walk was that while I'd attempted a long
route the weekend before in Crianlarich, on this day, I'd done a
substantial walk without really intending. There wouldn't have been a
better winters day to have done it and Dave and I had clocked up some
fairly big mileage. I still intend to go back to Crianlarich and get the
five Munros but this day around Loch an Diamh was my longest yet and the
first time I'd broken the nine hour barrier. Yet another
top-notch day.
Additionally, concerning the cold: I woke up the next morning realising
a few of my fingertips were still numb from the day before. I did a bit
of reading up and put it down to mild frostbite. There was no change of
colour of the skin, just semi-numbness and a slight feeling of toughness
of skin at the tips, so I figured that it wasn't urgent. A week on and
they seem to be getting better. A mixture of bad gloves and photography
contributed to this, but it's something I'll be thinking about more in
future.
Panoramas
360˚ view from Creag an Fheadain
360˚ view from Sron Chona Choirein
360˚ view from Stuchd an Lochain
360˚ view from Sron a' Choire Chnapanich
360˚ view from Meall Buidhe
Written: 2009-03-30
2009-04-04 |
