Glencoe Midge Massacre - Photos of Beinn Fionnlaidh, Photos of Aonach Eagach

This was a weekend that I had been looking forward to for a long time, it saw me staying in the Glencoe Youth Hostel with my fellow Linlithgow Ramblers; the warm sunny weather seemed to bring out the worst of the midges and somebody let them into the hostel. On Saturday morning we drove up Glen Etive, a lovely valley at the worst of times but the good weather gave us excellent views of its spectacular hills. We found a place to park near Invercharnan; even with all of that open land and we ended up starting the walk by going through somebody's back yard.

Once we got past the buildings we got on to a track going through the Glenetive Forest, there was not much to see with the trees being so tall. After walking for a mile or so, the track made a hairpin bend we followed a muddy path straight ahead, there was light at the end of the tunnel of trees. As we came out of the forest into open ground, Beinn Fhionnlaidh was the nearest large hill to us; it didn't look so big from there, but experience told me it wasn't going to be as easy as it looked. By that time, under a clear blue sky, it had become very warm and much Factor 15 was applied over the midge repellent; hopefully it would deter any other flying carnivores.

We went through a gate and headed towards the col between Meall nan Gobhar and the much larger Beinn Fhionnlaidh. Before we started to climb there was a stream to cross; fortunately it was easy to walk across, without having to use the deadly-looking footbridge that had half of its corrugated iron sheets missing. We walked steeply up the grassy slopes by the side of an almost dry stream until we reached the col; the the bulk of Beinn Fhionnlaidh was just beginning to become apparent as we stopped to enjoy a rest in the warm sunshine. We walked diagonally up towards the bulk of the hill, without bothering to climb the subsidiary summit whose slopes we were traversing; there splendid views of magnificent hills in excellent visibility.

As we walked on, there was less traversing and more climbing directly up the steep green slope, it was hard work on a very warm day. Eventually the grass gave way to stonier ground and as we got to the ridge we could see the bulky summit ahead. The prospect of more hard work was tempered by the fact that the views on the other side of the ridge, especially of Ben Nevis, were just as good as those we had enjoyed all day. In order to reach the summit, there was some mild scrambling to be done; it always seems easier to me when you gain height quickly using hands as well as feet to clamber up the rocky parts of a mountain.

The hard work and sweat of the ascent was well rewarded at the summit; there were views all around of hills, lochs and islands. After clambering back down off the summit to the broad ridge, we followed the remains of a metal fence, eastwards, to the subsidiary summit that we had avoided earlier. From the summit we had to find our way down steep, green slopes; the ground was exceptionally dry, I didn't have to cope with the usual forty-five degree swamps that I expect when I come to Scotland. Having got back down to the col, it seemed to take a long time to get back to the car, it was definitely a bigger hill than it looked.

That evening was spent dodging in and out of the Clachaig Inn, there was no room to sit inside but the midges outside were murderous and I couldn't cope with them for very long. The refurbished Glencoe Hostel had been left without midge-screens on the window, and it was a long night, being bitten to pieces by the little blighters.

Sunday morning was fine and sunny and the air outside was thick with midges; there was a real sense of urgency as we packed up the cars on checking out of the hostel, we were being massacred. We left a couple of cars in a lay-by near the Clachaig Road, close to where we planned to descend, in order to avoid having to walk up to the Pass of Glencoe where we started our ascent. There is no walk-in on the way to the Aonach Eagach, from the car park at the side of the road you start to climb steeply, immediately.

The steep, rugged climbing is a much much more satisfying way to get uphill than the lumbering up huge grassy lumps. The view, too, matched the anticipation, the Three Sisters look absolutely marvellous; the sun shows their magnificent ruggedness and the snow clinging on in the higher gullies. I enjoyed the climb to the summit of Am Bodach, although it gave no clues to the nature of what lay ahead; as soon as we reached the ridge there was a startlingly steep gully from which you could see the road below.

From the summit of Am Bodach we could see the ridge ahead, it looked interesting but you couldn't really see any details, I was beginning to wonder if the Aonach Eagach was really as daunting as I had heard. Almost immediately after leaving the summit we had a short clamber down rocks and after a short walk on a path we came to the first serious obstacle. The steep descent through the crags was straightforward enough, it was fairly strenuous and you had to concentrate but it wasn't until I looked back that I realised just how steep it was. There was some more clambering downwards to be done, slightly awkward but much much less steep; the views again were unbeatable, Bidean nam Bian on one side and a host of memorable hills on the other, dominated by the unmistakeable shape and size of Ben Nevis.

It was a fine airy ridge on a brilliant day and the rugged ascent to the summit of Meall Dearg was much more interesting than the average walk; the view of the way ahead from the summit was a good deal more intriguing and thought-provoking than your average ridge. The descent from the summit was straightforward enough but there didn't seem to be any way around the large rock outcrop that loomed up ahead. The was no way around, but there was a way up, straight up in fact; climbing up the rock chimney was interesting and good fun, there were plenty of good hand-holds and no desperate moments.

That set the tone for the rest of the ridge, a lot of it was just rugged, there was plenty of rock to scramble up and down and it was very enjoyable. The exhilaration had only just begun; there was a awkward rock outcrop to get around followed by another rugged descent, use of the fifth point of contact is a valid technique for hill walkers. The steepness of the ascents and descents increased dramatically and I was starting to become aware of how steeply the ground fell away and how close to the edge it was all getting.

I remember looking downwards and feeling slightly uneasy about the exposure and then I saw the rocks that had to be climbed ahead; a plain rounded boulder with no obvious way over it, it was only when I got to it that I could I feel the handholds and see the footholds. The adrenaline kicked in at that stage and I was up, over the boulder before I knew it; only to find that was just the start of a precarious scramble, hanging on for dear life and desperately trying not to look down. I had intended to keep taking photographs as I walked along the ridge but for a short while I completely forgot about my camera, not that I would have dared to let go with either hand.

Some more reasonable ridge walking was followed by a steep, rocky descent, still facing forward using the fifth point of contact until we came across a couple of real climbers practising with ropes. The final few feet of descent at that point was so steep that I had to turn in to face the rock and feel for footholds as I held on. If I had been two feet off the ground it would have been no trouble at all, but I had a two-foot wide ledge to aim for; no stumbling allowed above two thousand feet of vertical descent. After that, there was more downward scrambling, before we came across the next exposed clamber up to the top of a rocky pinnacle; followed by another equally exposed downward scramble, if sliding down on your backside can be called scrambling.

It still wasn't over, the next next pinnacle was higher, steeper and more exposed than ever; there was actually a way around to the left that avoided the most exposed climbing but it wouldn't have felt right to miss this one out. The anticipation as it got nearer had me wavering, but when I started to climb and felt the secure handholds I was glad I didn't go round the side. The next section was the narrowest part of the ridge, only three feet wide with an awkward rock step to negotiate with the steepest and most obvious exposure on both sides. There was one more rocky scramble to get to the summit of Stob Coire Leith and one more awkward descent to leave us with the little matter of a Munro to climb; the ascent of Sgorr nam Fiannaidh seemed almost easy.

Somewhere along the ridge the sun had gone in and it had become quite cloudy, it wasn't until we reached the summit of Sgorr nam Fiannaidh that I noticed. The views were still excellent; Bidean was a little bit further away, Ben Nevis was a little bit closer and now we could see lochs, hills and islands away to the west. All we had to do now was get down; the path leading to the Pap of Glencoe and Glencoe village was the most reasonable but that was a long way from where we wanted to be, the alternative was straight down to where we had left the cars.

There was a path at first going down the steep grassy slope, but it disappeared in an untidy mess of steep, eroded scree. The eroded, slippery surface was very awkward and potentially dangerous if you dislodged a boulder whilst there was someone below you. After a very unpleasant section of the descent we reached grass again, just as it started to rain. The descent was steep and strenuous but we lost height relatively quickly, I always find that the quicker you descend from three thousand feet the more painful it will be. Eventually we reached the road and it stopped raining , it was only about half a mile to walk to where the cars had been left; after two thousand feet of descent on steep, eroded scree and grass I was relieved that my knee was fully healed.

We drove back to the car park where we had started the walk and the midges were waiting for us, I got changed a lot more quickly than usual and left my car windows open as I drove off to try and get rid of the little visitors.

In spite of the midges it had been a fantastic weekend and Aonach Eagach is now one of my favourite places, I will have to go back again but I'm glad it didn't start raining whilst I was on the ridge.

© Andy Wallace 31st May & 1st Jun 2008