Ascent: +1592m
Naismith: 7h 4m
Beinn a' Chreachain (m)
Beinn Achallader (m)
Beinn an Dothaidh (m)
Weather: Hail to start followed by sun and occasional snowflakes
First blog entry for a wee while so I’ll attempt to summarise my winter activity.
Err, half day crap skiing at Glencoe.
Sorry, but that’s about it, poor weather and poorer weather put a stopper to most outdoor activities. Apart from a few quick jaunts round “local” hills there isn’t much to report.
Spring started a new era in hill climbing with halfaseesawJR taking on his first peak. Conic hill fell after a determined and speedy alpine style ascent by the wee fella. We acquired some boots from the Perth clan, slipped them on his feet and he was off, woolly hat and backpack bouncing up and down as he ran, scrambled and jumped his way to the top. I had a pocket full of sweeties to coax, cajole and tempt him to the top but they stayed in my pocket. He made his daddy very proud. Even in the face of a hail shower he did not waiver. In fact, he had to be persuaded to stop and have some juice and a biscuit.
The other day I asked him,
“Would you like to climb another hill sometime?”
“Yes, but can we do a different one daddy?” :-)
I had the pleasure of climbing Bidean nam Bian with AG – his first Munro. Ironically, it was plan B because the forecast sounded bad – it actually turned into a nice day and I managed to find some climbing gear on Stob Coire nan Lochan.
A few weeks later myself, Mrs Halfaseesaw and AG and myself climbed the Beinn a Bheither and enjoyed excellent views due to the cold air, all the way to the Paps of Jura and the inner Hebrides. The Rum Cuillin and Skye Cuillin looked very close.
My most recent walk was an old favourite, Beinn a Creachain, Ben Achallader and for a wee change, Beinn an Dothaidh too.
The day started well, left Kilmarnock in brilliant sunshine. This lasted until halfway up Loch Lomond. The sky grew dark and the clouds gathered. There was the odd spot of rain on the car windscreen going through Glen Falloch. A surprising amount of snow is on the hills considering how poor the winter was. It seems almost reluctant to leave.
No stop at the The Green Welly for coffee and sausage rolls, I pressed on through darkening skies and marvelled at the string of walkers on the WHW. Snow started to fall as I passed Bridge of Orchy and it turned to hail when I turned off the main road for Achallader.
I got out of the car and started sorting stuff and the hail got heavier, this worked in my favour as it reduced faffing time to a minimum.
Booted, packed and good to go, just as a minibus of students arrived. Perfect timing. Taking the track to Gorton, the skies cleared and the sun came out. Bonus.
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| Skull |
There is a signpost at the farm road end declaring a “public footpath to Rannoch”, this is a bit misleading as it’s actually an old drove road. I only recently discovered that a drove road isn’t actually a road. It is only a route that was once followed by the drovers taking cattle and sheep to the markets in Falkirk and Edinburgh to be sold and then taken down south. It seems Scotland has been supplying England with beef for 4 or 5 hundred years. Most of the major roads in the highlands unsurprisingly follow the same routes as the drovers did and there are still a few passes that bear the scars of the cattle traffic a hundred years or so since the last coo wandered past. Achallader was a stopover on the way from Glencoe to Glen Lyon. There is a large flat area where the beasts would have rested overnight and the ground would have benefited from the output of the animals (if you know what I mean). Apparently, land owners would not charge for the overnighting of the animals due to this free fertilising service.
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| Water of Tulla |
The hill path departs from the Gorton track before it crosses the river and then it makes its way up towards the railway. Crossing over the small bridge, you can smell civilisation, the aroma of diesel and grease rising up from the tracks wafting as I paused to look down on a lump that I assumed was a deer at some point. Nice.
The path heads east now, winding along through Crannoch Wood paralleling the railway but keeping a distance. Here and there a large bough or even whole tree blocks the way and the path detours briefly.
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| Beinn Achallader |
A couple of stiles signal the end of the old woodland, and the start of the climb to the first Munro.
I find the walking on the east side of the burn to be easier, I’ve done this route a few times and I’m pretty sure I’m not imagining it. West is boggy. East is firmer. And that’s all I have to say about that.
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| Beinn a' Chreachain |
I like to visit the lochan in the corrie, it is pretty and a good spot for second lunch. It might make more sense to head straight for the top (that isn’t a top) that lies north of a' Chreachain but I’m prepared to sacrifice efficiency for aesthetics occasionally. I sat and scoffed the new Food of the Gods (move over Ambrosia, jumbo chilli peanuts are here) and listened to the thawing ice crashing down the crags. It must have been cold up here, it had been -6C in Ayrshire overnight and the car wireless had been warning of ice on the roads. For the 5th of May it was surprising. I’m half expecting the weatherman to come on the telly, shrug his/her shoulders in Gallic fashion and say “I’ll be honest with you, I’ve no idea what’s going on”.
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| Food of the Gods |
I packed up and started the climb onto the shoulder of the hill. Hordes appeared. I ignored their intrusion on my hill and showed them a dirty pair of heels. So confident was I, that I made a wee detour to the top that is not a top and still made it to the top of the Munro before their advance party arrived, sweaty and puffing, with tales of 6 foot snow and thwarted plans. BooHoo. Sometimes turning back is a hard decision to make but it’s usually the right one.
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| Lochan |
I left the summit before the rest of the sweaty ones arrived. I was greeted by some smiley happy people over the few kilometres and finally summited Achallader in the sun with a light breeze and a few flakes of snow milling around/looking lost. Don’t let the description fool you, it was pleasantly warm.
I made the bold decision that rather than amble back to the car down Coire Achalader, I would add Beiin an Dothaidh to finish the day off. Mrshalfaseesaw and myself had intended to add this peak the last time we were out but time and daylight caught up with us and we had to give it a miss.
Surprisingly there isn’t much of a path up from the col, I had expected a trail of sorts but no. It was almost refreshing to zizag up the grass. By the time I was about 2/3 of the way up, I started to feel the effects of not eating a proper dinner the night before and when I reached the top what took place was what I can only describe as a mini feeding frenzy. The last of my water was finished off followed by almost all my remaining food. numnumnum. I even had one of those Lucozade gel sachet things. Jury is still out on the palatability but it did the job.
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| The cliffs of Beinn an Dothaidh - (I think Taxus is the icefall in the centre) |
Descent was by the west ridge that turns to the north. The trick is to keep far enough away from the coire rim to avoid a couple of big gullies and then stick to the inside rim as the ridge turns to the north. The ridge ends in steepness so a zag back towards the head of the coire to descend to a shallow ramp that leads to a pointy rock. From here just follow the steam down out of the coire. I found that if I stayed high and contoured round the hill rather than descending to the muddy path, the going was good and considerably drier.
Back at the car a mere 8 hours after leaving, slightly sun burnt and happy.
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