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Michael and I
had climbed Conival and Ben More Assynt in the morning with Martin, and
decided upon Stac Pollaidh for the second hillwalk of the day. Martin
departed in the afternoon, so Michael and I were left in Ullapool early
evening. We booked ourselves into Ceilidh
Place Hotel for a night instead of camping again and once we'd done so,
we spread the maps across a table and then decided that our last two
days walking would be over the Fisherfield Munros. By the time we'd
decided that, it was 6pm and warm and sunny outside. So we drove north,
heading for Stac Pollaidh on the basis that it shouldn't take too long
to climb, even though I knew the summit ridge could be a little tricky.
When we stepped out of the van at the car park, the first thing to come
to our attention were the midges. They were out searching for blood, and
never in my almost-18 years had I seen midges this bad. The car park was
one swarming mass and I'd walk in circles while packing just to stop
them biting, to stop them from going in my eyes and ears and up my
nostrils. I rarely get bitten so midges don't usually bother me, but the
car park was like a hellhole. Scottish summers would be a lot more
pleasant without midges...
Ascent to summit ridge
We were walking by 6.30pm and travelled with startling pace as we fled
from
the midges below. We followed the path around the right hand side of
Stac Pollaidh which would climb the back and emerge on the summit ridge
above. The sun and warmth of Ullapool had now been replaced by overcast
skies, and we
could see showers moving in from the south. There was no wind either, so the midges were still very much present.
Making good
time, we walked around the back of Stac Pollaidh and then up the final
rise around the back.
Views were nice towards Cul Mor and Suilven, but the rain had moved in.
It added to the atmosphere if anything and even through it was drizzling, there was minimal wind and it was fairly warm.
I was happy in a t-shirt all the way up and down.
We reached the bealach at 7.15pm and the terrain changed from the well
maintained path to a maze of crags, trails and dead ends. I climbed the
east top first which gave me a look west across the ridge to the summit
at the far end. It was all rather confusing but we could work it all
out, and hopefully end up at the cairn. I descended from the east top
and joined Michael at the crags along the ridge.
No summit but nearly...
We started exploring the gullies that came in succession. They all
led to pinnacles nowhere near the summit, but we lost track of our
position on the mountain. We spent a lot of time in three gullies which
led to dead ends, costing valuable time. Ideally, the first two gullies
should be bypassed and the third climbed partially before cutting around
into a fourth. Having spent a long time getting nowhere, Michael headed
down but I wanted to go further before I was prepared to leave. This
fourth gully I'd come across was larger than the others and could be
climbed (unlike the others) without easy rock climbing. From my vantage
point, the summit seemed to be at the top, so I followed the steep scree
and boulders upwards. I was convinced that I was near
the summit of Stac Pollaidh, but I came to the top only to find more
crags ahead of me. The summit of Stac Pollaidh was still a long way off.
Michael was already on his way down and with the top was still some distance
away, it was decision time. I wanted a meal before the Ullapool
restaurants shut, which by going on, I'd miss. Where I stood would be as far as I went.
It was time to turn around.
I've never turned around short of a summit before (technically only
on The Cobbler's summit pinnacle) but I'd had good reason to
this time. Once back on the well built track, I bounded down the
mountainside where I met Michael below. I happy enough with the way the
walk had gone, even though we hadn't got to the final goal. Stac
Pollaidh demands a revisit, and next time, I'll be back with practical
knowledge and more daylight to spend on the summit.
Once we arrived back at the van, Michael and I drove to Ullapool and
entered the Ceilidh Place Hotel's restaurant with five minutes last
orders. We had got back just in time, had a great meal before retreating
to bed for the night. After all, it would be an early start the next
morning to being our last walk over the six
Fisherfield Munros.
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