KYQ4: Beinn a' Chochuill and Beinn Eunaich

Beinn a' Chochuill and Beinn Eunaich

Wednesday, 9 August 2023

Ascent: 1203 metres

Distance: 16 kilometres

Time: 4 hours 20 minutes

Beinn a' Chochuill 980m. 1hr 58mins

Beinn Eunaich 989m. 2hrs 59mins

After a wet July, an early August frequented by showers and a couple of trips away from home I needed some Mountain respite. Wednesday seemed the best option but the earlier promise of sunshine has been downgraded by the Met Office to a dry cloudy day. I switched my plan to climb the 4 Munros in the Ben Lui group to a shorter day on Beinn a' Chochuill and Beinn Eunaich, two hidden Munros east of Ben Cruachan.

I was away by 7:30am and held in a convoy of vehicles on the A84 beyond Callander by a large articulated lorry that was fully loaded. I hustled my way past on the ascent of Glen Ogle and drove on to Dalmally after a fuel stop at Tyndrum and parked by Castles Farm on the B8077. There was one other car there, a couple from Munich climbing the Munros. I explained the route and suggested that they climb Beinn a' Chochuill first as the initial climb from the track to Beinn Eunaich is tortuous. They set off a few minutes after me as I began the 3-kilometre climb up a good track that eventually crosses a burn that descends from the bealach between the two hills. The track doubles back and a small cairn marks the start of a steep path that follows the apex of the south-east ridge of Beinn a' Chochuill. It was muddy in parts but a good direct route which was relentless. I made reasonable time to the ridge and there is then another mile with 180 metres of ascent over a pleasant ridge. I just managed to break the 2 hours that I had set as a schedule.

The weather had held with patchy cloud cover on Ben Cruachan. Some shepherds with a posse of sheepdogs and lots of shouting and whistling were collecting sheep further along the ridge. I had a short break and some food before returning eastwards along the ridge. The couple from Munich had stopped for a rest at the top of the steep path, they waved but were probably cursing me for suggesting the route. I decided not to drop down to speak to them and charged on, it is a 250-metre descent to the bealach. The consequence is a 250-metre climb up a shorter but steeper slope to the summit of Beinn Eunaich. I recalled meeting Gerry McPartlin here in 2010. This prompted me to think about the previous six ascents of these hills, something I often try to recall as I make what will probably be my last ascent of these hills. I have climbed them three times in each direction. The highlights were breaking 2 hours for the round in 1991 (1hr 55mins) on a training run with Keith Adams, my hill running partner. On another occasion, John, Mark and I did the two hills in 2005 along with the two Ben Cruachan Munros after bivvying above the dam the night before. We started very early the next morning and made it home for lunch

Wispy clouds had gathered on Beinn Eunaich where I finished any food in the rucksack before taking a leak and saying farewell to the hill. I then remembered I had said goodbye in the very same place on my last visit in 2018. I was with Alex and John and we had climbed the hills in the opposite direction on a late winter's day when there was still snow on the hills. I don't anticipate any further farewells, 7 visits to these hills seem more than enough.

The descent of Beinn Eunaich is an easy walk down grassy slopes for the first couple of kilometres before a steep twisting muddy path back to the track. This was why I told the couple from Munich to go the other way. It was probably worse descending than climbing this part of the path. I felt justified in my advice and hoped the couple felt the same. My feet had not enjoyed this part of the descent but reaching the track meant a couple of kilometres of easy walking back to the car. I was home by 3:30pm and out of curiosity checked my previous times. Almost exactly the same (4hrs 21mins) in 2010 when the conditions were similar and 5 hours 49 minutes in 2018 in wintry conditions. Perhaps I should be less pessimistic about the prospect of more years of hill walking than I have been contemplating recently.