Beinn Mhanach at the head of the Allt Kinglas |
Friday 5 August 2011,
1160 metres of ascent, 20 kilometres, 5 hrs 55 mins
t Beinn a' Chuirn 923m 2hrs 26mins
m Beinn Mhanach 953m 2hrs 58mins
c Beinn nam Fuaran 806m 4hrs 41mins
Beinn Mhanach is one of those isolated hills which is a long way from the roads but sits at the focus of 10 munros all within 10km of its summit. I have usually climbed it along with the Beinn Dorain four munros which makes for quite a long day but I gave Beinn Mhanach a miss when I did these four hills last September. I also had a nearby Corbett, Beinn nam Fuaran, to climb and felt that combining the two would be a good walk in itself. I started at 10 am, parking on the A82, walking down the road to Auch, crossing the West Highland Way that was busy with a dozen or so walkers and then underneath the massive viaduct over the Allt Kinglas.
There was a major piece of engineering taking place constructing a new hydro electric plant. Walking along the long track in I was overtaken by a hunting party in a four wheel drive. They were very friendly but explained they were going to find a stag and if I heard rifle fire in the near future it was merely target practice. About 5 minutes later a loud explosion was followed by the zipping sound of a high velocity bullet and I upped my pace in case I was the target. Towards the end of the track there is an old shieling and some sheep pens and beyond the steep wall of Beinn a' Chuirn, a top linked to Beinn Mhanach.
Cloud spills over from Beinn Achaladair |
Summit of Benn Mhanach
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Beinn nam Fuaran from Beinn Mhanach
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Although the descent was steep, it was easy going over the grass and lichens. I reached the col at the top of a track and crossed to the other side through some boggy ground. I had identified a route up Beinn nam Fuaran during there descent and I always enjoy the freedom of approaching a hill which has no path or way to the summit. It was via a sharp ridge to the left which was adjacent to a ravine. I then emerged on a higher ridge that took me to the gentler convex summit the Corbett. It was an airy summit with excellent views down Loch Lyon and over to Creag Mhor as well as Beinn an Dothaidh and Beinn Mhanach.
Beinn an Dothaidh from Beinn nam Fuaran |
Loch Lyon |
Beinn a' Chuirn and Beinn Mhanach - Beinn a' Chreachan visible through the cleavage |
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