Hills: Meall an Fhuarain Mhoir, Beinn Fhada and Sgurr a' Dubh Doire
Date: Friday 12th May 2023
Company: Myself and Ann-Marie
Distance: 25km, Ascent: 1230m
Time: 7Hrs 40Mins
On Friday morning, we set out to ascend Beinn Fhada
(Ben Attow) and its two Munro Tops. This was to be Ann-Marie's first ascent
of Beinn Fhada and my third ascent. Despite two previous ascents, I had not
previously ascended its Munro Tops, Meall an Fhuarain Mhoir and Sgurr a'
Dubh Doire.
After parking beside the Morvich Outdoor Centre we set
off along the path used to gain access to a number of hills, including A'
Ghlas-bheinn and Beinn Fhada, and also to visit the Falls of Glomach.
Route:
After a week of fog and haar in North Aberdeenshire, it was fantastic to see
the sun and wall-to-wall blue skies. It was warm from the outset and by
midday the temperature was 19C.
As we progressed through the glen we
heard numerous cuckoos and one flew past.
Gleann Choinneachain footpath:
On reaching the Allt a' Choire waterfall, I recalled my first ascent of
Beinn Fhada when I had been unable to cross the allt which was in spate. On
that occasion, I opted to ascend the flank of the hill to the right of the
waterfall and then crossed the allt in the coire above. On this occasion,
crossing the allt was straight-forward.
Allt a' Choire Chaoil waterfall:
Beyond the waterfall, we continued a few hundred metres along the path until
reaching the path junction from which we took the path zig-zagging up the
hill.
Ascending above Coire an Sgairne:
Coire an Sgairne:
During the ascent we stopped to chat with a couple who were having a short
break in the coire to admire the views. I immediately recognised one as we
were both previously members of the Cairngorm Club back in the 2000s. It was
nice to catch-up.
Sgurr a' Choire Ghairbh:
After another set of path zig-zags, we reached the rim of the coire.
Above the coire:
On following the coire rim towards Plaide Mhor, we took the opportunity to
refill our water bottles from the Allt Coire an Sgairne.
Ascent to
Plaide Mhor:
Looking back:
Looking across to A' Ghlas-bheinn:
On reaching the Plaide Mhor we left our rucksacks for a quick and
easy out and back to the first Munro Top of the day, Meall an Fhuarain
Mhoir.
View from Plaide Mhor towards Meall an Fhuarain Mhoir:
Meall an Fhuarain Mhoir provides great views across to the Five Sisters of
Kintail and out to Loch Duich.
Loch Duich from the summit of Meall an
Fhuarain Mhoir:
View from the summit of Meall an Fhuarain Mhoir:
From Meall an Fhuarain Mhoir we returned to collect our rucksacks and then
continued on to the summit of Beinn Fhada which I have to say was much more
pleasant than on my previous visit.
At the summit of Beinn Fhada:
Less pleasant conditions at the summit of Beinn Fhada (1st January 2013):
From the summit of Beinn Fhada we commenced the c.5km out and back to the
second Munro Top of the day, Sgurr a' Dubh Doire. We again stashed our
rucksacks for the out and back to the Munro Top.
Ridge leading out to Sgurr a' Dubh Doire from Beinn Fhada:
Sgurr a' Dubh Doire:
The summit of Sgurr a' Dubh Doire is a great viewpoint. In my view, both the
Munro Top summits are better viewpoints than the Munro summit.
At the summit of Sgurr a' Dubh Doire:
Loch a' Bhealaich and Sgurr Gaorsaic from the summit of Sgurr a' Dubh Doire:
Distant Loch Affric from the summit of Sgurr a' Dubh Doire:
Looking back to Beinn Fhada from Sgurr a' Dubh Doire:
Beinn Fhada:
On returning to a short distance below Beinn Fhada, we collected our packs
before skirting round the summit and then descending to pick-up the path we
had ascended a few hours previous.
Descent:
View during descent back to waterfall:
The walk out was pleasant albeit very warm.
I am not sure if I will
ever complete the Munro Tops but have been very slowly chipping away at
them. I have 38 Munro Tops remaining to complete the Munro Tops and Full
House i.e. Munros, Munro Tops, Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds including Donald
Tops, and Furth. I seem to have lost focus on any single list as I am also
chipping away at Second Round Munros (7 remaining) and Wainwrights (64
remaining) with the occasional Marilyn thrown in too. Basically now just
ascending what I want to ascend.