KYQ4: Mamores

Early morning start on Mullach nan Coirean

This is the report of an old walk at the start of the fifth round. I had been to Aviemore for a meeting of Scotland's two National Parks and, as it was to finish late on Thursday, I had decided to take a day's leave and walk in the Cairngorms on the next day. As I was leaving the Coylumbridge Hotel, I checked the weather, the conditions were not promising for the Cairngorms so I changed my plans. It was to be better in the west so I drove down to Fort William, stopping at Spean Bridge for an excellent meal in the Station Cafe. I continued to Glen Nevis where I wild camped so that I could get an early start and, hopefully, walk the 10 munros in the Mamores the next day. The midges were out to get me as I pitched the tent and even more so as I packed the next morning for an early start, which I managed by 6:45am.

I had not been exercising with my usual regularity owing to work pressures that meant I seldom had had an evening free of meetings since a change of administration. I had also lost the impetus that completing a Munro round always brings. Although I had twice before climbed all the Mamores in a day, I knew it was going to be a long and tough day.

Friday 8 August 2008

Ascent: 3760 metres
Distance: 37 kilometres
Time: 14 hours 50 minutes

Mullach nan Coirean 939m 1hr 50mins
SouthEast Top 917m 2hrs 36mins
Stob Ban 999m 3hrs 4mins
Sgurr a' Mhaim 1099m 4hrs 30mins
Sgurr an Iubhair 1001m 5hrs 38mins
Am Bodach 1032m 6hrs 13mins
Stob Coire a' Chairn 981m 7hrs 15mins
An Garbhanach 975m 7hrs 44mins
An Gearanach 982m 7hrs 56mins
Na Gruachean 1062m 8hrs 49mins
Binnein Mor 1128m 9hrs 46mins
Sgurr Eilde Mor 999m 11hrs 35mins
Binnein Beag 940m 12 hrs 52mins

I started at 6:45 on a perfect summer morning, only the midges and then the mobbing of insects detracted from the serenity of the day. I drove a couple of miles down the glen and parked at Achriabhach. The forest trails from here zig-zag up to Coire Dearg, probably adding a kilometre but still quicker than making a more direct ascent through the dense forest plantations. I followed the forest trails west of the burn until I reached some the open hillside where I began to climb steeply towards the north-east ridge of Mullach nan Coirean. It was already warm and humid so it was an uncomfortable climb until I reached the wafts of moving air, not quite a breeze, on the ridge.

The anticipation of the day ahead lifted my spirits and I began to pick up a decent pace as I headed along the grassy ridge towards Mullach na Coirean. I stopped for some breakfast before the twisting ridge towards Stob Ban. Conditions were perfect for hillwalking and unlike on previous occasions of attempting the Mamores I felt no compulsion to run, this was the start of a leisurely round of munros that would take me into retirement. Stob Ban has always been one of my favourite peaks of the Mamores with its position allowing a fine panoramic view of the ridge to the east. The descent is ferociously steep with loose rock. I headed to Lochan Coire nam Miseach from where I climbed the 200 metres and then down to Bealach a' Chip before another 200-metre climb to Sgurr a' Mhaim. This is normally the last hill of the western Mamores and usually defined as a good day walk but it had only just turned 11am and I was only a third of the way through the full walk.

The clouds had begun to roll in as I turned and retreated back over the ridge to Sgurr an Iubhair, one of the peaks on the ridge that lost its status as a Munro in the 1994 review. The walk along the ridge to Am Bodach and Stob Coire a' Chairn were straightforward and I stopped for some food and drink on both of them. The route from here is more complex with steepish descents and climbs to An Garbhanach and then on to the outlying Munro of An Gearanach. I was beginning to pick up my pace and to enjoy the challenge ahead. On the return, I cut under Stob Coire a' Chuirn on a path that wound its way back to the ridge that dropped to 783m before the long 250-metre climb to Na Gruagaichean. This is a fine peak and as I began the descent as it approached 4pm I met the first other person of the day, a hill runner about my age from Fort William. He was moving well clad in just shorts and T-shirt for his afternoon hill run. It made me realise that my Mamores in a day effort was not that arduous.

The sun had emerged from the clouds and there was a promise of a benign evening as I headed towards Binnein Mor, the highest peak on the Mamore ridge. I arrived at 4:30pm and had a break for food and photos before returning along the ridge to the bealach and then dropping down to Coire an Lochan. It is a 300-metre climb to Sgurr Eilde Mor but there is a rocky path that twists its way to the red sandstone summit. I was still going reasonably well and began the return down the path after topping up with water. The route to Binnein Beag involves dropping down to 620 metres and then following a path that traverses beow Binnein Mor before reaching a small lochan from where it is a final climb of 250 metres to the shapely summit of Binnein Beag.

The Mamores were complete but it was 10 kilometres back down to the Water of Nevis, past Steall and through the gorge to the car park. I kept a good pace and had hoped to hitch a lift from here but no one else seemed to be about so I jogged much of the last 4 kilometres back to the car at Achriabhach. I was fairly pleased to have managed the walk, it had taken pretty much the same time as it had on the last round in 2005 when I climbed the Mamores from Kinlochleven. Even when running much of the Mamores during the Tranters round in 1994 it had taken 10 hours to reach Binnein Beag, admittedly this was the overnight section. It also meant that I had made a significant start to a possible fifth round of Munros, if I could keep sufficiently fit for what would be a post-retirement round. I was already pretty certain that I would retire in 2009 although that was something that I was keeping quiet about. I would have done almost fifteen years of 60 hour plus weeks without a single day off and I was beginning to feel tired and ready for some time off.