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| Start of the Coire Lair path |
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| Sgorr Ruadh and Beinn Liath Mhor from Coire Lair |
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| Beinn Liath Mhor summit |
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| Liathach and Beinn Eighe from Beinn Liath Mhor |
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| Liathach |
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| Emili Sande rock sculpture - she's everywhere |
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| Sgorr Ruadh - the final ascent |
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| Torridon skyline from Sgorr Ruadh |
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| Sgorr Ruadh summit with Chris |
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| Beinn Damph and Maol Chean-dearg from Sgorr Ruadh |
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| The walkout - River Lair |
Ascent: 1345metres
Distance: 18 kilometres
Time: 7 hours 25 mins
m Beinn Liath Mhor 926m 2hrs 42mins
m Sgorr Ruadh 962m 4hrs 58mins
Some rare days just take your breath away and this was one. I had drooled over the forecast for the northwest and drove up on Wednesday afternoon. A deep frost overnight had brought with it the perfect day - cold clear air, pure blue skies and a whisper of wind to prevent overheating on the climb. It took half an hour from the cottage near Plockton to reach the start of the walk at Achnashellach station and the temperature was -3°C. There was parking for ten cars and just one other walker was getting ready. Chris was a climber from Sheffield, we started out at the same time and agreed to walk together.
We crossed the railway and entered the magical forest trail that follows the river which is an example of the fine path engineering that is typical in these parts. We split up at the junction with Chris going up the direct route to Beinn Liath Mhor and myself following the path into Coire Lair, I had done the direct route on three previous occasions and the gentler ascent into the Coire was more appealing and would give views from the Coire of the rock girt architecture that was decorated by bands of snow and ice.
It was perfect walking in the warm sun, I dispensed with my jacket and gloves and enjoyed the solitude of this majestic corner of Torridon. Only the occasional section of sheet ice on the paths disturbed progress. Before reaching the bealach at 670 metres I turned off to the right and cut under the cliffs that protect the route to Beinn Liath Mhor. I threaded my way through the rock, ice, snow and grass to reach the slight drop before the steep section. I found a gully to climb this and then climbed the last 75 metres of broken quartz to the summit.
The views were simply stunning with the Torridon giants of Beinn Alligin, Liathach and Beinn Eighe revealed in their scanty clothing of snow. I had expected to meet Chris at the summit and I waited awhile whilst feasting on the views, drinking some coffee and demolishing a roll. I sent some pictures to former colleagues penned in offices and gave my apologies for being so cruel, they retorted with a mixture of anger and envy about the sins of retirement. I was leaving the summit cairn as Chris arrived so we descended together and at about 750 metres we stopped at a rock platform for some lunch, it was a veritable sun trap. We were joined by a walker from Mull who was on his ascent and the three of us whiled away 45 minutes or so just soaking up the midday sun and sharing conversations about walks, places and life. I cannot recall what was said but it was a genuine interlude of comradeship.
We dropped to the bealach feeling lazy after our lunchtime break and then began the steep climb up snow-covered slopes to the ridge leading to Sgorr Ruadh. We were taking our time and absorbing the day with all our senses. Despite the hard-packed snow and ice we decided against crampons and followed rock blocks to the summit. There were great views of Maol Chean-dearg and Beinn Damph as well as across to the crenulated peaks of Skye. At the summit, I took more photos before we put on our crampons for the descent and just chilled although it was quite warm.
We were reluctant to set off down, days like this are for keeps and every minute was a reward for all those damp, cold, cloudy, windy expeditions that are the majority of outings on any Munro round. We found a long ramp of hard snow to speed the descent and, whilst we briefly considered climbing Fuar Tholl, once we found the path down to Coire Lair it seemed greedy to repeat a Corbett. Crossing the river was easier than usual and then there was just the last 400 metres of descent to Achnashellach down the staircase of rocks with the rippling burn providing the final sensation of the day. This had been a perfect day taking in the skyline of one of Scotland's finest corries, I used to rate all walks with a score out of ten during my first couple of rounds, there were only 3 or 4 times that 10 was given. Today would have been a definite 10.
m Sgorr Ruadh 962m 4hrs 58mins
Some rare days just take your breath away and this was one. I had drooled over the forecast for the northwest and drove up on Wednesday afternoon. A deep frost overnight had brought with it the perfect day - cold clear air, pure blue skies and a whisper of wind to prevent overheating on the climb. It took half an hour from the cottage near Plockton to reach the start of the walk at Achnashellach station and the temperature was -3°C. There was parking for ten cars and just one other walker was getting ready. Chris was a climber from Sheffield, we started out at the same time and agreed to walk together.
We crossed the railway and entered the magical forest trail that follows the river which is an example of the fine path engineering that is typical in these parts. We split up at the junction with Chris going up the direct route to Beinn Liath Mhor and myself following the path into Coire Lair, I had done the direct route on three previous occasions and the gentler ascent into the Coire was more appealing and would give views from the Coire of the rock girt architecture that was decorated by bands of snow and ice.
It was perfect walking in the warm sun, I dispensed with my jacket and gloves and enjoyed the solitude of this majestic corner of Torridon. Only the occasional section of sheet ice on the paths disturbed progress. Before reaching the bealach at 670 metres I turned off to the right and cut under the cliffs that protect the route to Beinn Liath Mhor. I threaded my way through the rock, ice, snow and grass to reach the slight drop before the steep section. I found a gully to climb this and then climbed the last 75 metres of broken quartz to the summit.
The views were simply stunning with the Torridon giants of Beinn Alligin, Liathach and Beinn Eighe revealed in their scanty clothing of snow. I had expected to meet Chris at the summit and I waited awhile whilst feasting on the views, drinking some coffee and demolishing a roll. I sent some pictures to former colleagues penned in offices and gave my apologies for being so cruel, they retorted with a mixture of anger and envy about the sins of retirement. I was leaving the summit cairn as Chris arrived so we descended together and at about 750 metres we stopped at a rock platform for some lunch, it was a veritable sun trap. We were joined by a walker from Mull who was on his ascent and the three of us whiled away 45 minutes or so just soaking up the midday sun and sharing conversations about walks, places and life. I cannot recall what was said but it was a genuine interlude of comradeship.
We dropped to the bealach feeling lazy after our lunchtime break and then began the steep climb up snow-covered slopes to the ridge leading to Sgorr Ruadh. We were taking our time and absorbing the day with all our senses. Despite the hard-packed snow and ice we decided against crampons and followed rock blocks to the summit. There were great views of Maol Chean-dearg and Beinn Damph as well as across to the crenulated peaks of Skye. At the summit, I took more photos before we put on our crampons for the descent and just chilled although it was quite warm.
We were reluctant to set off down, days like this are for keeps and every minute was a reward for all those damp, cold, cloudy, windy expeditions that are the majority of outings on any Munro round. We found a long ramp of hard snow to speed the descent and, whilst we briefly considered climbing Fuar Tholl, once we found the path down to Coire Lair it seemed greedy to repeat a Corbett. Crossing the river was easier than usual and then there was just the last 400 metres of descent to Achnashellach down the staircase of rocks with the rippling burn providing the final sensation of the day. This had been a perfect day taking in the skyline of one of Scotland's finest corries, I used to rate all walks with a score out of ten during my first couple of rounds, there were only 3 or 4 times that 10 was given. Today would have been a definite 10.
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