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Braigh Riabhach
Michael Kerrigan invited me on this trip. He
was doing it as a day-walk, Glasgow and home in a day. It called for
an early start. Braeriach is a big hill and the approach is long. The
car park is at 450m, but the total ascent is mean for a single Munro.
Michaels work colleague came along, as did Pete Swales. We met in the
car park, where the midges were having a feast on the humans unfortunate
enough to be standing out in the open. And thus we got going as soon as
possible, walking through the pines by the Sugar Bowl car park.
The track opens up onto open hillside, and we saw across to Coire an t-Sneachda and Coire an
Lochain. Both looked unassuming today, defying their reputations as
severe winter climbing venues. Ahead, we had to Chalamain gap to pass
through, a slot of jumbled boulders. The Gap is like a window into
another place - you suddenly leave the hustle of Aviemore and the Ski
Centre behind. On the far side, a wild landscape awaits. But I'm of the
opinion that the Sugar Bowl car park as a starting point isn't as useful
as it seems to be: you descend 100m on the other side
and regain that height on the way out - adding 200m ascent all in. I
thought it would have been nicer to come in from Balvattan, through the
pines, leaving the ski centre well alone.
Anyhow, we started the long plod to Sron na Lairige, and I hadn't
realised how long it would be. I was also very tired, and hadn't slept
much the night before. It's a climb of 600 vertical metres to Sron na
Lairige but things seemed to get better the higher we got. I thought it
was a shame to see the Cairngorms as so underwhelming, but the Lairig Ghru wasn't what I'd expected.
It was smaller than I'd imagined and a bit dank in the weather.
Claustrophobic. I imagine the Sinclair
hut might not have been a very nice place to stay either. But the weather had
much to do with this, it wasn't the sunniest of days.
But Braeriach really came into it's own higher up. Michael and I went to
the top of Sron na Lairige first then we all set off up Braeriach which
has a very eroded path climbing it's flank - a sad sight. There was some
aircraft wreckage strewn about, and then we hit the ridge. The reality
of how high we'd climbed kicked in when we found ourselves atop the
great cliffs of Garbh Choire, the Lairig Ghru and the hanging valley
which cradles Lochain Uaine across the valley. It was a huge scene, we
were at 1200m. My day was made to this sight!
Why Braeriach is a great hill:
The summit followed shortly afterward. Until we joined the summit ridge, I
couldn't understand why a friend had said they'd loved Braeriach for it's
airiness. To add to my growing joy, I began to work out what all
the little mountains on the horizon were. Most prominent were the Ben
Alder/Geal-charn massif and all the Nevis Range. These two regions
dwarfed all other mountains in size. I saw the distinctive paps of Ben
More and Stob Binnein and my jaw dropped. Ben Lawers clicked into place,
as did Beinn Achaladair (The Wall of Rannoch), distinctive for it's
steep north face. I looked north and sitting on the horizon,
unmistakably and undeniably was the steep pyramid of Knoydart's very own
Sgurr na Ciche. I realised, with no small sense of awe, I could see from
one end of Scotland to the other.
I saw essentially a cross section of Scotland, looking through the
ripples of the western mountains - everything from Crianlarich to Monar.
That's a hell of a distance. It doesn't matter how many times this sort
of thing happens, I love it every time. The air must have been
remarkably clear, especially for a summers day. The air was so
still that we swatted midges on the summit. Midges at nearly 1300m - that mustn't happen very
often.
We descended the way we came. Pete went off to climb MacDui and the rest
of us went back to the Chalamain gap. The weather closed in a bit - it
rained at bit on the way down Sron na Lairige, but it had turned off by
the time I dropped my pack and knocked off Creag a' Chalamain.
We'd done well for the weather - we arrived back at the car dry and
Michael and I headed home to Glasgow. By the time we arrived at
Drumochter, the rain was coming down in sheets and a cold wind swept up
the valley. The driving was a little long and Michael must be
thanked for giving me a lift back to my front door. If it were me, I'd
prefer to stay the night up in Aviemore, but it was also fun to try the
one-day strike. To add to that, Braeriach was my last Munro of that
west/central group of six. The previous five were knocked off in one
swoop with Pete a year previously.
Panoramas
360° Braeriach
140°
Braeriach - Detail: Loch Earn + Tay, Atholl, Crianlarich, Breadalbane,
Etive, Glen Coe, Ossian, Nevis, Monadhliath, Knoydart, Shiel, Affric, Monar
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