A Bugger of a Bagger!

A solid forecast for a sunny weekend saw Ann & John brave the 4 hour drive to Kintail despite the Grade 5 midge forecast. The objective was a bagging trip of the grand day out that is the horseshoe of peaks centred on Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan. We camped at Morvich on a very pleasant evening, quite different from the semi-blizzard conditions last time we were there on the Hogmanay meet. And the midges were no worse than a 2.

Next morning an early breakfast got us to the car park at Killilan by 8am, cycled-up for the 11 km approach to Carnach. The first part of the walk was a bit wobbly after getting off the bikes but we soon got stuck in to the steep and trackless ascent of Mullach Sithidh. 

View down Glen Elchaig from above Iron Lodge

The Mighty Stob Fraoch Choire (R)

This was heavy going in the warm temperatures and was made worse but having to veer into the boggy corrie to fill up with water. Once higher on the ridge, in the breeze and with the going improved, we picked up the pace and were soon on the first bag of the day, the Munro of Mullach na Dheiragain. After a well-earned first lunch we wandered along the undulating ridge to begin the 300 m ascent of Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan and met our first other people of the day. That started a trend, with about 15 in the next ½ hour. The ascent was a bit of a grind but worth it to get back to one of my favourite summits. A short but interesting traverse got us to the lower western top for a better view and second lunch.

Mullach na Dheiragain from Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan (try saying that after a pint!)

Summit of Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan

Then we descended the North Ridge, which is a great outing over two decent Tops in a fine setting. This got us to the second bag of the day, the Murdo of Stob Fraoch Choire. For those of you who don’t know about Murdos, see the blurb below. They are named after the character Murdo Munro – he’s a bugger of a bagger, from the sadly-missed The Angry Corrie. This was my final Murdo and a source of some frustration, having passed within a couple of hundred metres of it a few years ago whilst Top-bagging and not been bothered to climb it. It is one of the mythical Seven Summits, peaks of sufficient prominence to be Murdos but neither a Munro Summit nor Top.

A bugger of a bagger....

Mountain anorak status assured (I don’t know of any other Murdoists, although there must be some around) we began the hot and sweaty descent through the increasingly rough bog to Carnach and an easy bike ride/roll back to the car.

Our 11 hour day had taken it out of us so the next day we just headed up to the Plockton area for a relaxing swim in the sea. Nothing too exciting but all very pleasant….

Snorkelling with Skye in the background

Crab-tastic!

Fishy goings-on

Extract from: http://bubl.ac.uk/org/tacit/tables/murdos/index.html

“In recent years the word Munro has become synonymous with Scottish mountains over 3000 feet, yet anyone who has climbed all 277 Munros will be aware that numerous 3000-foot summits are not counted as Munros. The list of 517 Munro Tops might therefore be regarded as a natural progression, but few of the 1300+ Munroists have gone on to climb all of these. Perhaps most of them have simply had enough, but those with an appetite for more will discover the Munro Tops to be an unsatisfying assortment of major mountain summits and minor bumps. Many Tops are awkwardly distributed for a natural walking route yet are not distinctive enough to warrant a special trip. The list of Murdos provides a much more rational and appealing extension to the Munros.

A Murdo is a Scottish peak over 914.4 metres high (3000 feet) with a drop of at least 30 metres (98 feet) all round. The 444 Murdos comprise all 277 Munros, 160 of the most significant Munro Tops and seven additional summits. The list of Murdos shows the drop from each summit and so makes it easy for hillwalkers to collect the most rewarding 3000-foot summits without having to bother with the less significant tops.”

Diamond Jubilee Meet - Glencoe

Last weekend a reduced but enthusiastic bunch gathered in the excellent Lagangarbh hut in Glencoe to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee in style with big days on the hill.

The fine weather on Saturday saw most people tackle Bidean and there are some photos on the club’s Facebook site. Meanwhile Ann & John did a bit of bagging in Appin with a traverse of Beinns Fionnlaidh and Sgulaird.

Beinn Sgulaird and Loch Creran

Panorama from Beinn Fionnlaidh north to Ben Nevis, Glencoe and Glen Etive

On Sunday I have no idea what went on as I was busy delivering a boat to Oban, then driving west to the midge-infested delights of the Resipole campsite to take advantage of the long weekend. On Monday we did the traverse of the Rois Bheinn range in Moidart. This must rank as one of the best outings on the west coast and the views are stunning. It would be mobbed if the three Corbetts were Munros. 

Summit of Rois Bheinn from An Stac

Loch Ailort, Muck, Eigg and Rum

A grand day out was finished in fine style by the first foray of the season for the wild swimming section in the refreshing waters of Loch Ceann Traigh. No seals came to play, but there were plenty of sand eels around.

Club Meet to Scourie

As often the case for a club meet on the July holiday weekend the venue was the Far North, in this case the village of Scourie and its fine campsite. Despite the 5h drive, most people made it in time to enjoy at least some of the warm evening and an excellent sunset over the island of Handa. The prospects were good.

Friday night's sunset

On Saturday the early team of Ed, Stu, Juliette, Mikey, Ann and John set off for the full N-S traverse of Foinaven, taking advantage of the ability to position transport at each end. Early sea fog was no deterrent as there were patches of sun and only a thin cap of cloud on the summit. The squelch through the bog was very muggy and as we carried on up the lower-level cloud seemed to be merging with the higher level, and there was not a view to be had. A couple of hours saw us on the first top and a slightly early elevenses.

Then off to the summit, making sure we took in each end of the short ridge as our collection of maps of various vintages were somewhat contradictory. This was the scene of some is it/isn’t it a Munro shenanigans a few years ago, which settled the height at 911m. Undeterred, Big Mikey saw fit to elevate the top of the cairn to the magic 3000ft level at least temporarily.



Mikey Munrohand

Harry Potter even put in an appearance

First lunch consumed, the traverse of the rest of the hill was uneventful and reasonably pleasant, but almost totally lacking in views. That was until a short but very sharp shower hit just before a steep descent and turned the quartzite into a slippery nightmare.

Easy scrambling section of the Foinaven traverse

The long walk-out was just that, although we did have something to look at as we finally dropped out of the cloud.

Let's hope this was them only part-finished

The tardy party of Denis, Robert, Jillian, Chris, Naomi and Snowy the Dog (14) tackled the nearby pointy peak of Ben Stack. No report or photos of this so far, but they seemed to have a nice time.

Duncan, Kate and Owen went on an enjoyableexploration of the North Coast, possibly as far as Smoo Cave.

Meanwhile, now back at basecamp, Juliette and John got suited up and held the inaugural outing of the AMC Wild Swimming Section in Scourie Bay. To my knowledge this is the first new AMC Section since the heady years of the mid 1990s saw the creation of the Piracy Section (slogan: Avast Behind) and the mercifully short-lived Naked Caving Section (slogan: A Vast Behind).

Aquanauts are go!

As befits a selection of good days out, the evening brought an extensive BBQ that was remarkable for the lack of midges but in keeping with tradition it did get a bit damp later.



Snowy eyeing up his car-bone-ara

Sunday brought more iffy weather and the departure of much of the meet who didn’t have the Holiday Monday. Duncan, Kate and Owen left for the circuit of Stac Polly, while Mikey, Ed and Ann did the Corbett of Glas Bheinn, just E of Quinag. I’m told it was a good outing, if a little damp.

The AMC WSS got even wetter, this time in the much wilder setting of Loch an Obain. A difficult approach was worth it for the flying over a kelp forest on a strong tide, surrounded by inquisitive seals. Stu diverted himself with a visit to a nearby hill lochan, Denis went botanising at Inchnadamph, while Chris, Naomi and Snowy headed north for a coastal walk. Robert and Jillian were last seen enjoying a lazy breakfast.

Sunday's swim site

Sunday evening brought constant heavy rain, followed on Monday by more rain and low cloud. The remainder of the meet packed up soggy tents and headed home, damp around the edges but happy.