Liathach
8 June 2007
The request for this walk started in December 2006 when I was
contacted by a lady who was looking for a guide to take her brother up
Liathach for his 50th birthday. After several e-mails everything was
agreed and her brother James started on a training regime.
I met James outside the Kinlochewe Hotel where he was staying. The
Hotel had recently changed hands and it would appear to have improved
compared to the way it was run previously. We drove towards Torridon
where James left his vehicle at the foot of Mullach an Rathain and we
returned up the Glen to the car park below Toll a'Meitheach.
Quoted message said:From this car park we walked the few yards along the road to small
cairn which marked the start of the path to the Toll a'Mheitheach.
The path soon crossed to the east bank of the Allt an Doire Ghairbh
and was in a reasonable condition until higher up where it was very
eroded. By this time I had learned from James that it had been an
ambition of his for over 25 years to climb Liathach. In his training
regime for this walk he had lost over a stone and a half.
Fortunately the weather was fine as the early morning cloud cleared
the summit tops. On the ascent James was awestruck with the views
down into Glen Torridon and across to the mountains on the south side
of the Glen.
Eventually we reached the narrow ridge west of Stuc a'Choire Dhuibh
Bhig. Despite the sun there was a cool breeze but the views made up
for any slight inconvenience. James was overjoyed with the views and
all along the ridge and even on the descent kept repeating this fact.
We walked along the ridge over the Munro Top, Stob a'Choire Liath Mhor
and ascended the Munro Spidean a'Choire Leith where we had a short
break and discussed the next section of the ridge which is the hardest
part of the walk as it gives the most exposure.
The descent from Spidean a'Choire Leith was over boulders and various
scree paths which needed care and this took us to the bealach east of
the pinnacles. It had been decided that we would take the narrow
path to the south of the pinnacles but even here there were sections
that were wet and eroded and any slip would have severe
consequences. James was relieved once we were beyond the pinnacles
and he could return to enjoying the views instead on concentrating on
every step he took.
On a grassy area we had lunch enjoying the surrounding scenery before
continuing the ascent of Mullach an Rathain. On reaching this summit
we viewed its severely eroded north-west ridge which led to the
Northern Pinnacles. The Munro Top, Meall Dearg, is on this ridge and
a few years ago it took me three visits before I managed to reach its
summit cairn with an approach from the north by Coire na Caime.
The descent from Mullach an Rathain was along the ridge for a few
metres before going down its south ridge where we had views of Upper
Loch Torridon and its various blue colours. The descent continued
into Toll Ban but the path was more awkward than on my previous visits
due to more erosion and over use by walkers. Below Toll Ban the path
was fine and in the lower stretches it had been upgraded.
James was pleased with the walk but the weather had made the
difference so all that was left was the memories of a fine day on
Liathach and his long drive home to South Yorkshire the next morning.
Time taken - 6.5 hours.
Distance - 8 kilometres.
Height climbed - 1240 metres.
Photos taken on walk can be seen here:
http://www.caledoniahilltreks.com/gallery07/liathach_june__07/index.htm
Lindsay
www.caledoniahilltreks.com