Date: Thursday 11th August 2016
Company: Just myself
Distance: 6km, Ascent: 435m
Time: 3Hrs 05Mins
After 24 hours of non-stop rain and low-cloud on Skye, I set off this morning clad in my waterproofs for an ascent of another Sub2000ft Marilyn. I decided to head from my base in Glen Brittle to Sligachan for an ascent of Ben Lee. On reaching Sligachan and looking at the terrain towards Ben Lee, it did not look inviting. I reckoned an out and back from Sligachan would be c.10-12km. On looking at the map, I could see an out and back from Peinachorrain would be only 6-7km. I therefore drove round to Peinachorrain hoping that the terrain on the eastern side of Ben Lee would be better than the terrain on its western flanks.
Click here to see a map of the route undertaken
On reaching Peinachorrain, I drove to the road end and then drove a short distance back to start the walk via an ATV track that I spotted heading up the hill.
Start of walk just north of Peinachorrain:
The ATV track didn't last long and I soon found myself walking up fairly pleasant short grass. I definitely made the right choice to ascend Ben Lee from the east.
As I progressed towards Ben Lee, I began to see several steep tiers ahead appearing out of the mist. I would need to negotiate these to get up the hill.
Several tiers to ascend ahead:
Approaching the tiers:
The first couple of tiers were straightforward to ascend directly via heather-covered slopes.
Ascending Ben Lee:
Loch Sligachan:
However, the final tier looked very steep and rocky so I bypassed it on the left.
Ascending Ben Lee:
Beyond the initial tiers, heading for Ben Lee:
Once beyond the tiers it was simply a case of heading up until there was no more up.
On reaching the summit of Ben Lee, I didn't hang around. I returned back via roughly the same route referring to my GPS on several occasions to ensure I avoided the steepest sections of the tiers.
At the summit of Ben Lee:
"View" from the summit of Ben Lee:
It was good to eventually drop below the low cloud and see Sconser beyond Loch Sligachan.
Looking across to Sconser during descent:
Looking back to Ben Lee:
Ben Lee would likely be a good viewpoint on a good day as it is very close to both the Red Cuillin and northern Black Cuillin. Disappointing to ascend it and see nowt.
The forecast for tomorrow looks more of the same, so another Sub2000ft Marilyn will likely be on the cards.