Date: Sunday 11th November 2018
Company: Myself and Ann-Marie
Distance: 15.9km, Ascent: 1025m
Time: 5Hrs 45Mins
On Sunday morning we drove from our weekend base at Torridon round to Achnashellach for an ascent of Sgorr Ruadh.
I had only once previously walked the track leading towards Coire Lair during my ascent of Fuar Tholl. All previous ascents of Sgorr Ruadh and Beinn Liath Mhor I had undertaken from the the Beinn Eighe car park, near Torridon.
Sue had left the hostel circa 45 minutes before ourselves so I wondered if we could possibly catch up with Sue during the walk if we walked at a good pace.
Click here to see a map of the route undertaken
From Achnashellach we passed the red telephone box and followed the track leading to the level crossing.
Crossing the railway line:
Beyond the level crossing we followed the track leading towards Coire Lair and Fuar Tholl. During the walk-in, I stopped to take several photos of Fuar Tholl, a fantastic Corbett.
Heading towards Fuar Tholl:
On reaching the track junction we took the track leading down to the River Lair which we crossed using a number of stepping stones before continuing on towards Fuar Tholl.
Coire Lair:
From the outset it was a fantastic day providing excellent views of surrounding hills.
Sgorr Ruadh and Beinn Liath Mhor:
It was nice to see neighbouring Beinn Liath Mhor which we had ascended the day previous from Torridon-side. Had we planned our walks a little more in advance we should have left a car in Torridon and a car at Achnashellach for a traverse of both hills. Regardless, it was nice to do the two Munros on two separate days from two different starting points.
Sgorr Ruadh:
Fuar Tholl is a very rocky mountain. It is a Corbett I will definitely repeat some time in the future - one of my top 50 Scottish hills.
Mainreachan Buttress on Fuar Tholl:
On reaching the col between Fuar Tholl and Sgorr Ruadh we skirted round several lochans, following traces of path, to reach the base of Sgorr Ruadh. We could see Sue ascending Sgorr Ruadh perhaps now only fifteen minutes ahead of ourselves. I decided to take a more westerly line up Sgorr Ruadh to avoid as much rock as possible and make use of a couple of grassy lines.
Skirting round the lochans between Fuar Tholl and Sgorr Ruadh:
Ascending Sgorr Ruadh:
At 11:00 on 11th of November I stopped to take a photo looking back to Fuar Tholl and spend a couple of minutes in silence for Remembrance Day.
Looking back to Fuar Tholl:
I then cracked-on up the hill to catch Sue with increasingly fantastic views as more and more height was gained.
View towards Loch Carron and An Ruadh-Stac:
On approaching the summit I caught up with Sue and it was nice to spend the summit together having a bite to eat and taking photos and a short videoclip. Sgorr Ruadh is an outstanding viewpoint. In my view it is one of the best viewpoints out of all the Munros! Worth keeping this one for a good day.
An Ruadh-Stac and Maol Chean-dearg from the summit of Sgorr Ruadh:
Beinn Damh, Loch Torridon and Beinn Alligin from the summit of Sgorr Ruadh:
Beinn Alligin, Liathach, Beinn Eighe and Beinn Liath Mhor from the summit of Sgorr Ruadh:
At the summit of Sgorr Ruadh:
On leaving the summit we said our goodbyes as Sue was undertaking a circuit while we were just doing an out and back route. We returned to the car via the same route but I slowed down considerably on passing Fuar Tholl as I was getting some foot pain thanks to wearing new, not yet broken in, boots.
Loved the summit views from this hill and it was great to spend the weekend at the WalkHighlands meet. I have neglected the North-West Highlands (my favourite part of Scotland) too much this year owing to ticking off more southerly Munros and Tops. In 2019, I aim to spend much more time in the North-West Highlands.