The good weather continues here in Ardnamurchan so we planned a bigger, hillier day in Kingairloch, a place that neither of us have visited before. I was immediately struck by the stunning beauty of this area. The deep blue of the sea and of Loch a Choire contrasted with the snow capped mountains around them. We parked at the start of Glen Galmadale and James set off on a massive six hour circuit to climb two Corbetts. I headed up the opposite side of the valley, to the ridge that leads up a series of smaller hills. The first obstacle for me was getting up to the ridge. It was very steep and, as I paused frequently, I could see James, easy to spot due to his blue jacket, ascending the much steeper hill opposite at an impressive rate. After a while he got too far away and I couldn’t see him any more. Things improved once I got to the ridge and I took my time ascending, taking in the amazing valley and sea views of either side of me. I had lunch on a sheltered slope of Druim na Maodalaich, facing out to sea. It was really warm in the sunshine.
I then pressed on up and along the ridge, which gradually rose in a series of little hills and plateaux. It was rough and steep in places and as I climbed higher there appeared increasingly large patches of snow which were slippery to walk on. I stopped for a rest on a rock which was 535 metres according to my Ordnance Survey App on my phone, and then started to retrace my route, which took ages because my right knee was getting sore. Meanwhile James was having his own adventures. He made good speed to his first Corbett, Fuar Bheinn, but had to contend with deep snow on the south facing sides of the hills. Also in the north facing slopes he found hard frozen snow which meant that he had to put his crampons on twice. After reaching the top of his second Corbett, Criach Bheinn he descended from the head of the valley and followed the stalkers’ path back to the car, where I had not long arrived. It was a great walking day which suited us both.
No comments:
Post a Comment