I'll try and be brief I have about 300 pictures to check and
process...
Sunday
Drove up from Sheffield, where I had spent a few days, under cloudy
skies and it was mighty cold. looking left as I passed through Glen
Coe revealled a fair amount of snow on Bidiean and my points were at
home. :-(
Monday
Got up pretty early and managed to be out walking by 8.30. Snow
showers blowing through and a very steep start to the weeks walking
attacking Faochag to do Sgurr na Sgine and intending to go on to the
Western half of the South Glen Shiel ridge as far as Sgurr an Doire
Leathain. In the end I made it as far as Sgurr Beag before lack of
fitness causing me to take ages led me to bail out down the pleasantly
narrow grassy north ridge, which was covered in snow, back to the
road. Snow not a problem other than sapping energy. Indeed it made
getting off Sgurr na Sgine by dropping into Core Toiteil rather easier
than it would have been on bare rock.
100th Munro: Creag nan Damh.
Tuesday
Over to the North Side. A circuit of Coire Lair taking in Carn
Ghluasaid Sail Chaorain and Sgurr nan Conbhairean. A nice stalkers
path lifting me relatively painlessly to the first. A pleasantly sunny
day but still very cold in the wind. As I started my descent from
Drochaid an Toll easaich late in the afternoon (about 7.30 pm - with
sunset well after ten I reckon you can't really call it evening until
about 9) I looked over toward Glas Bealach and something big flapped
into view; a golden eagle, definately not a raven or a buzzard, It
made a few circuits and flapped off into Coire Sgreumh. A little
further dow I came across a few dotterel.
Wednesday
Two more on the North Side. A Chralaig and then the excitement of the
scramble to Mullach Fraoch Coire. There was a party of three roped
together and a couple of lads with ice axes up there at the same time
as me but we managed not to get in each other's way. Then back to the
road by the bog^H^H^H path through An Caorann Mor. A large herd of
deer on the loweer slopes of A Chralaig seemed to be a mixed group of
hinds and some stags in velvet.
Thursday
What a scorcher! The snow was melting fast in the blistering sunshine.
So I decided to tackle The Saddle via The Forcan Ridge. As Martin said
once, more like the F******* Ridge. I managed to stick mostly to the
crest but the bad step down from Sgurr Nan Forcan defeated me, I could
see the next foothold just down from me but couldn't manage to make
the stretch to it no matter how I tried so I climbed back up and took
the easy option down the gully to the left. Great views out to sea
from the top.
Friday
Still boiling hot, so I decided have an easier day than the Five
Sisters I had planned to knock off the two Munros I missed on day one.
Of course I now regret having gone up via the North Ridge of Sgurr an
Doire Leathain rather than Druim Coire nan Eirechanach to Maol
Chinn-dearg as I now have a short 2 km section of the South Glen Shiel
ridge that hasn't passed under the soles of my boots. :-(
Cuckoos galore calling in the woods in Glen Shiel: "A Swiss alarm
clock set to 4 am"
108/284
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Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"