Having just come back from 2 weeks holiday, I couldn,t get out on the
hill on Saturday but we left bright and early Sunday morning and
headed to the "Far North". the intention had been to climb Cul Mor and
Cul Beag on Sunday, stay overnight somewhere and then pick up a single
Corbett on Monday before heading home. However when we got north of
Ullapool the weather was foul to say the least and our big concern was
if doing Cul Mor / Cul Beag as a pair we could struggle with the river
crossings in between the hills. So Plan B, was made up on the spot.
Rather than waste the day we looked for a short Corbett and set off
for Glas Bheinn from the high spot on the A984. The rain was pouring
down as we took to the path towards the hill and we took the steep
ascent up the obvious grassy gully between the crags. A steep pull
soon brought us to the ridge which was well into the low cloud by now.
The going underfoot was good partly on track and partly on rocks.
Several false summits later we found the cairn ok then retraced our
steps. The rain was still heavy and what had been a steep gully coming
up was now a treacherous, greasy, funnel leading downwards. Taking it
slowly we made it ok but much wetter or steeper and it could have been
nasty. We then had lunch in the car and the weather started to
brighten up a bit. Knowing we could not get Cul Mor / Cul Beag as a
pair this trip we decided to take them as singles so headed round
towards Stac Pollaidh and the starting point for the back of Cul Beag.
Heading up over the track the ascent route towards the col on the
skyline was obvious but again very steep and very wet and greasy. the
steepness allows you to gain height quickly and we soon on the col
looking up at what appears in the mist to be a near vertical ascent up
the summit cone. Checking the GPS showed 309 mtrs to go with 259 mtrs
height to go, just under 45 degree slope on average. It was raining
again by now but a path up through the rocks soon led us to the summit
which is really great in the mist. One second you are slogging away
upwards and the next you pop right up onto the small false summit
area with the cairn just a few mtrs away. retracing the steps to the
col there is a prominent pinnacle with a different gully to its left.
We took this as it looked drier at the top. It soon became a cross
between a quagmire and a mudslide but once more we got down ok. What a
day, rain most of it, soaking wet, two very steep ascents and two very
"interesting" descents down greasy gullies. We stayed over at the
hostel in Ullapool, not bad value at £11 with great showers and not
bad facilities. 8am this morning saw us at the start of the path to
Cul Mor. An easy trek along the path right in to the summit cone which
we took as a direct line straight up and over the rocks. the sun
actually came out for a few minutes so the trouser legs came off and
it felt great to be in shorts again. We crossed over to the top next
to the summit and overlooking Cul Beag, but just as we got there the
cloud came down and the rain returned for the day. as the shorts were
now on I just stayed that way and trekked out through the rain in
lightweight jacket and shorts. Three good Corbetts and some good
memories and interesting experiences due to the persistent rain.
--
Cheers
Graham
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