Weekend in Fort William March 2004 - Photo Gallery

It all started so well, I had planned to spend the weekend in Fort William so I decided to make a day out of travelling up to Scotland and spend it taking photos for www.thecumbriadirectory.com After taking some photos and getting half way across Cumbria the rain and wind stopped and the sun came out. As I finally found the remains of the Roman Fort called Voreda the last thing I expected was for my camera to die but things always let you down when you least want them to.

So I set off for Scotland a bit earlier than I had planned, the further north I got the better the weather seemed to be. Driving along the shore of Loch Lomond the hills across the loch were capped by snow and illuminated by the setting sun, maybe I was going to miss my camera.

By the time I reached Glen Coe the weather had changed, it was very overcast to the north, the hills were covered by snow and it was raining at road level. The beauty of Glen Coe can not be over stated, even in horrible weather it is wonderful place, the hills start at the roadside and they are fine, high and rugged.

It was raining at 8pm when I got to Fort William and it was still raining at 8am the following morning as the Linlithgow ramblers and friend set off for the hills. We parked the cars at Torbane, the junction of A830 and A861 and made the long walk in along Gleann Fionnlighe, nice and easy walking but lots of water on the path.

The puddles were full of frog spawn, maybe the frogs know that the puddles are going to be there for a while longer. There were many wooden bridges made from roofing grade timbers, very strong and robust but slippery in the wet conditions, guess who was the one to end up sitting on one of those bridges.

After an hour and forty minutes we reached the parting of the ways, the choice being a Corbett or a Munro. Two of us went for the Munro Gulvain, the other six going for the Corbett. It was still raining as we carried on up the valley until we picked a route up the hill, an everlasting green slope at first. The herd of deer and even a couple of stags watched us as we laboured up the steep, wet grass.

The higher we got the wetter the grass became until it became covered in snow, the more snow there was the more slippery the slope became until I had to use my ice axe to help me get up the hill. Eventually the grass disappeared under snow and rocks, the rain eased off for a while until we reached the plateau.

Then the wind hit us, throwing snow and hail into our faces at ever increasing intensity until we reached the cairn at 961 metres. By now the mist was dense, the snow was white and the wind was biting, with an hours walk and a steep sided ridge ahead we decided it was time to turn back.

We literally retraced our steps, it was fortunate that we had left our footprints in the snow to find our way back down again. The slope was wetter than ever on the way down, the only surprise is that I only slipped onto my backside once. Eventually back down to the valley and for a short time the rain stopped and we had a tantalising view of Gulvain, could we have got to the summit?

The path along the valley as we walked out was wetter than before and we saw many frogs, obviously it is warm enough for them. The steams that could be stepped over earlier were now much wider and one especially caused a problem getting across, it would not have been good to fill my boots with water on the way in.

I took special care across the bridge where I had slipped but sure enough I managed to repeat myself. It was of course raining again by the time we got back to the car and it was still raining at 8 o’clock the following morning.

Of the eight of us who set on Saturday only four had the enthusiasm to walk again on Sunday and it was only because my clothing had dried out completely that I went along to climb the exquisitely named wee Corbett, Sgurr an Utha. We drove west along the A830 a mile or so past the village of Glenfinnan to a small parking area at the side of the road.

Walking back towards Glenfinnan there is a track rising upwards on the left hand side and almost immediately we had to climb through one of the tall (presumably) deer proof gates that are common in these hills. We followed a good estate track for half a mile until it turned right quite sharply and there was some discussion about the route.

It is quite easy to make the way you choose fit the map and route guide but in the absence of path or landmarks it isn't long before you wonder if you are really going the right way. At least it had stopped raining and as we gained height quickly we were treated to views of snow covered hills behind us and the visibility was finally good enough to take photographs.

We walked, if that is the right word, up the steep sided Allt an Utha, the burn wasn't too steep it just had steep waterfalls at regular intervals as did the tributary streams that had to be crossed. At yet another Y-junction of streams we picked a route that would best be described as direct. By now however, in spite of some snow on the ground it had become warm enough to take our jackets off.

As we gained height quickly up the steep grassy slope the amount of snow on the ground got deeper, past the slippery section where the snow was becoming wet and my ice axe was needed again upto the rockier final climb. By the time we reached the summit of Sgurr an Utha the conditions were excellent, good snow and warm sunshine. Well, except that the bad weather on the other side of the mountain sprinkled some snow on us, not much but enough to tell us we should not hang around for too long.

We started to descend generally westwards towards, but not intending to climb, the slightly lower summit of Fraoch-bheinn. Walking through shin deep snow we made our way steeply downwards towards the col between the two summits. From the col we followed a stream along its very wet valley and then contouring around Druim na Brein-choille until we reached the estate track again.

Easy walking then back to the car and a six hour drive home.

Andy Wallace 19th to 21st March 2004