Stationed in Tulloch July 2005 - Ring of Steall Photo Gallery and Sgurr a'Mhaoraich Photo Gallery
It was late on Friday night when I got to Station Lodge at Tulloch expecting the place to be full but Lindsay was almost the only one there. The only other guest was a young German woman he had invited, or was that persuaded, to walk with us the next day, the rest of the Munro baggers turned up later. We were staying at Tulloch because it is a nice place not necessarily because it is convenient for Glen Nevis, it was a one hour drive before we got to the car park as far up the glen as possible.
Having driven for an hour the last thing we need is for me to remember that I have left my boots at the hostel, for once I will be the one in tee shirt, shorts and trainers.
The walk up the glen to the Water of Nevis is as rugged and beautiful as any place I have seen, there isn't much water in the stream but the weird water shaped rocks show just how much the water can flow at times. Then we got to the day's first obstacle, it would have been possible to wade across the stream but the Ring of Steall has to begin properly with a crossing of an unusual bridge. Not only is the bridge held together by wires it is made of wires; a double steel hauser to walk on and two parallel ones to hold on to.
Once you jump up onto the wires and hold on it isn't too bad, it's just that when you get half way across and above water the wire begins to sway and it looks a long way to the far side. Don't panic and keep going until you get to the other side and clamber up the rock and you can enjoy watching other people as they take their turn. Surprisingly not everybody crosses the bridge, when the water is this low you can easily cross the stream.
Once across the stream a muddy path takes you across wet ground, on a wet day my trainers wouldn't have coped very well and as it was I had to tread carefully. The dramatic waterfall rises above but that isn't a viable ascent, a little way ahead is the start of of the path to An Gearanach. The day is warm enough for me to be wearing shorts but the hardy Scottish walkers are fully clothed, the higher parts of Ben Nevis are fully clothed in mist.
The walk upwards was over good ground, it was strenuous as you would hope for on a big hill; our German guest Silke was being challenged and was clearly delighted to reach the summit of An Gearanach, her first Munro. The conditions were perfect for walking but the mist prevented us seeing just what a fine hill Ben Nevis is. It's an interesting walk along the ridge with a fine rocky scramble to the interesting Munro top of An Gharbhanach, although in the Lake District we wouldn't have bypassed the awkward exposed crest just before the summit.
The interesting descent is enhanced by the view ahead of Stob Coire a'Chairn, a very good looking hill. This is walking at its best, the paths are obvious but not too eroded, the ground is firm but not hard on the feet and the gradient is strenuous but not tedious. At the summit of Stob Coire a'Chairn someone has been playing, building up a tower of stones on the top of the already significant cairn. The descent is straightforward, there is a minor rise to get over before you get to the start of the ascent of Am Bodach.
This is the steepest and most eroded part of the walk, there is a very direct route upwards which is steep, slippery and awkward but no problem for a fell walker, an alternative route is available for first timers who are having a hard time. From the summit of Am Bodach there is a good view of Loch Leven; while we taking a break out of the wind just below the summit the mist came in and views were limited for a while. It might be because my Munro bagging friends take me to the more awkward hills but the good path seems very unusual for Scotland and even with the mist there is no problem with navigation.
The walking is fairly easy, not too far to descend and not too far to climb to Sgurr an Iubhair, regarded as a Munro at one time but now only classified as a "top" despite is 1001 metre height. It is quite a long walk, there is another descent and another climb and another descent before you get to the Devil's Ridge. It's a scary name and it would be quite a challenge to go across the exposed rocky ridge but there are reasonably easy paths either side and no-one does the ridge. The hill then begins to tease, the long ascent to the summit isn't really the summit, there is another long climb before you reach the summit of Sgurr a'Mhaim the highest point of the walk.
The summit is made of quartz and the descent starts with a slippery slide down the whitest scree I have ever seen. Then there is a long walk downwards, there are no shortcuts off a 1000 metre hill and by the time we reached the path at Allt Coire a Mhusgain our German friend was exhausted. She had won the respect of us all for her persistence and good natured struggle.
Sunday morning came and Silke was too exhausted to get out of bed; the Munro baggers had an even longer drive to Loch Quoich to a small parking area past the bridge. The climb started straight away, again an obvious path, a zig-zagging route over good ground up the ridge of Bac nan Canaichean and on to the subsidiary summit of the unpronounceable Sgurr Coire nan Eiricheallach. There is a descent to a col where for a while you follow an interesting, but rare for Scotland, stone wall where in one section the stones are vertical.
The weather is warm and sunny and the views from the summit of Sgurr a'Mhaoraich are spectacular with the islands of Eigg, Rhum and Skye in the distance and big big hills all around. The descent over generally easy ground takes more time than you feel it should but it's another 1000 metre hill and they take some getting down.
This was a real Scottish weekend, good company, good hills and good walking and a monster drive back home.
Andy Wallace 30th & 31st July 2005