Last
weekend saw Ann & John on a rare winter weekend over west to
celebrate John’s birthday. We arrived on Friday night to a frosty
moonlit panorama of the Ben and Grey Corries but a forecast of wind
and rain for the morn. It wasn’t wrong, with cold driving rain for
most of the day that had us seeking refuge in the gear shops of the
Fort.
Sunday’s
forecast was much better but unfortunately was also much less
accurate as we woke to yet more rain. By lunchtime it had dried up a
bit so we headed west to the Marylin of Beinn nan Cabar. A nice easy
approach followed by a short steep climb got us to the summit just
below the snowline with fine views out to Eigg and Ardnamurchan. One
the way down we spotted an interesting-looking ridge which turned out
to be just that and we finished on Druim Fiaclach soon after sunset.
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View from Druim Fiaclach |
Monday
saw us up early and away to get the most out of the promised good
weather. This took a bit of faith as it was thick fog first thing but
as we got further west it cleared to reveal clear blue sky. We
tackled the high Corbett of Streap from Gleann Dubh Lighe and what a
good choice it was. The nearest Scotland gets to Alpine conditions
for most of the day with just the odd patch of vaporous cloud to add
interest. Although the snow started at around 600 m, by the tops it
was deep and hard going on breakable crust. Made it tough going in
places but the views were worth it.
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South from the ridge towards Loch Shiel |
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Scrambly bit to the summit of Streap |
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Descent from the summit |
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SE to the Ben and Mamores |