Beinn Dorain and the Big Four

Looking South from Beinn Dorain

Stob Ghabhar and Glencoe from Beinn Dorain

Loch Tulla, Beinn Starav and Stob Gabhar

Rannoch Moor to Ben Nevis

Buchaille Etive Mor

Mamores, Ben Nevis and Grey Corries over Rannoch Moor

Glencoe from Beinn a' Chreachain

Beinn nam Fuaran near centre with Ben More and Stobbinnein far centre

Coire an Dothaidh in evening light

Saturday 25 September 2010

2210 metres ascent, 26 kilometres, 8 hours 44 minutes

Beinn Dorain             1076m, 1hr 42mins
Beinn an Dothaidh     1004m, 2hrs 49mins
Achaladair-south top 1002m, 3hrs 50mins
Beinn Achaladair       1038m, 4hrs 11mins
Meall Buidhe               978m,
Beinn a' Chreachain   1081m, 5hrs 29mins


Some days just overwhelm you with the lightness of being and this was one.  A cold northerly wind and the car was frosted up for the first time this year.  I collected my friend Mark from Callander and we headed north and west. High cloud was obscuring the promise of better conditions to come but by 9:00am we were parked at Bridge of Orchy railway station and briefly considered hopping on the night sleeper, which was waiting at the station for the single track ahead to clear.  A quick trip to Corrour would have allowed a round of Loch Ossian munros but we were spoilt for choice and figured that a long hard day walking in high places would be more productive. Beinn Dorain is one of four 1000 metre summits which are linked together, they overlook Rannoch Moor and provide all round panoramic views across most of central Scotland as well.

We started the ascent up Coire an Dothaidh which was boggy as always and already a few other walkers had departed and were dots in the corrie.  A lone runner bounded down as we were halfway to the bealach and by the time we reached it we had passed a number of walkers. We turned south at the bealach for the long and steepish slopes up to Beinn Dorain.  It is an imposing pyramid of a hill from the south and dominates the views from the A82.  The first substantial cairn is not the summit although many walkers get this far and assume it is, I have helpfully told some walkers that they are not at the summit on previous visits but this news is not well received.   No problems today, the visibility was excellent although the bitter wind was not melting the ice on the summit so it was time to dig out gloves and hat as we retraced our steps back to the bealach into the face of the wind.

Beinn an Dothaidh is the least impressive of the four hills mainly because the last 200 metres of climbing are on a steep slope which is a permanent bog until you emerge onto a narrow grassy ridge overlooking the north face.  We turned eastwards and descended 250 metres to the next bealach at the head of Coire Daingean and found a bit of shelter to eat some lunch and take a first break after 3 hours of walking.

The day just got better and better from here, the long uphill section to the south top was augmented by ever expanding views and the lip of Beinn Achaladair provides an airy promenade with superb views across Rannoch Moor to Ben Nevis, the Mamores and Grey Corries in the north west. The skies were shifting from grey/blue to blue/grey and the green of the hills was turning brown as the bracken and heather provided the hues.  The sharp descent down the edge from Achaladair was the only part of the day that required scrambling over slabs of rock but it was dry today. I can remember it being quite tricky in winter conditions and having to spend time showing a friend how to use an ice axe before we started the descent on that occasion.

After the bealach there was another short climb to Meall Buidhe and then a pleasant grassy ridge before the final dropand then 155metres of steep climbing up to the stony summit of Beinn a'Chreachain which we reached at 2:45pm.  We finished our food, admired the panorama that encompasses munros in all directions and chatted to other walkers before setting off to do the return walk.  I took some photos and considered sending them to my friend to see if he could identify the location but his phone does not take e mails and he was sitting next to me anyway so it would not piss him off as it does when he is sitting in an office.

We had considered going over to Beinn Mhanach but it would add another hour and a half and there was stalking in the corrie according to the couple from Edinburgh who had set out to climb Beinn Mhanach.  It was a long walk back with superb views all the way but involved another 400 metres of climbing as we had to re ascend most of Beinn Achaladair and Beinn an Dothaidh to avoid the steep cliffs on their eastern slopes.  We arrived at the bealach below Beinn Dorain at 5:17pm and descended the last 600 metres rapidly in the beautiful evening light making it back to the car just before 6pm. It had been a hard but extremely satisfying day, and I did feel a bit sleepy when collecting a daughter from a wedding in Stirling shortly after midnight.