A' Chrailaig and Mullach Fraoch-choire

Glen Shiel and South Cluanie ridge from A' Chrailaig

Wednesday, 4 September 2024

Ascent:       1182 metres
Distance:    18 kilometres
Time:          6 hours 37 minutes

Mullach Fraoch-choire      1102m.    3hrs 31mins
Stob Coire na Craileig.      1008m.    4hrs 12mins
A' Chrailaig.                       1120m.    4hrs 56mins

Before leaving London on Monday, I had a message saying that there could be a good weather window from Wednesday and could I manage a few days helping John as he neared the completion of his fourth round of Munros. I contacted my brother to see if we could use his cottage near Strathcarron for a few days, and the answer was yes, it was game on. John and Keith came to stay at my house on Tuesday evening so we could make an early start, it would save John a couple of hours. We agreed that the two Munros above the Cluanie Inn would be the sensible choice on the way up, it would take over three hours to drive there and would only take an hour from there to the cottage.

It was after 12 noon before we began the walk from the layby before the Cluanie Inn. The cloud was down to about 700 metres and it was a coolish grey day. The first couple of kilometres are on a reasonable track but it becomes a wet tramp thereafter and the recent heavy rains made the going a reprise of bogtrotting days with my trainers acting like blotting paper. There were several fords marked on the OS map but it was really a focus of fords. 

We continued for another 2 kilometres where a small cairn indicated the route up to Coire Odhar. We made slow progress and we had to don waterproofs as the rains began when we were in the corrie. Three walkers were on their descents having ascended by the A' Chrailaig path, they had obviously decided not to return by that route, we were to learn why later in the day. There is a final 100 metres of ascent from the core to the bealach at 949 metres. It is about a kilometre along a pleasing rocky ridge with some easy scrambling to the summit of Mullach Fraoch-choire. It was a late lunch at 3pm before we retraced our route along the ridge and climbed the top of Stob Coire an Craileig.

On the next leg to A' Chrailaig, the clouds began to disperse and we saw occasional glimpses of nearby hills. The massive cairn of A' Chrailaig prompted another stop to clear our rucksacks of any food before we began what at first was a delightful descent down a grassy ridge. Blue skies appeared as did some moody views of the South Cluanie ridge and the nearby distinctive profile of Ciste Dubh. The final 500 metres of descent were a rude awakening, a steep twisting path that knifed its way through wet boggy ground with rocks that hindered every step. And the midges had arrived with the sun. It made me realise that most of my previous jaunts on this hill had been far more enjoyable because I had climbed the five munros together and there was no need to use this path. It was 7pm before we reached the car and checked the forecast for the next day, it sounded more promising and that proved to be an understatement.

On the Mullach Fraoch-choire ridge

A'Chrailaig Cairn

Moody Glen Shiel Munros

First part of descent from A' Chrailaig

 

Ciste Dubh from A'Chrailaig