Hills: Beinn a' Chaorainn South Top, Beinn a' Chaorainn, Beinn a' Chaorainn
North Top, Beinn Teallach
Date: Friday 12th July 2019
Company: Myself and Cuillin
Distance: 17.5km, Ascent: 1205m
Time: 6Hrs 5Mins
On Thursday evening, I drove to just beyond
Roybridge parking up for the evening in lovely Glen Roy. On Friday morning,
I drove to nearby Roughburn for an ascent of Beinn a' Chaorainn and Beinn
Teallach. I last summitted these hills in May 2000. I could recall almost
nothing from my previous ascent, so it would be like doing new hills
.
From the large verge by the gate at Roughburn, we set off along the
forest track towards the base of the hills. As yet, I had not decided
whether to undertake a clockwise or anti-clockwise circuit.
Track through the forest:
On passing an area of recent tree-felling, I saw a cairn at the side of
the track marking a possible starting point. The terrain beyond looked grim
so I decided to ignore the cairn instead progressing further along the
track. A short distance before the Allt a' Chaorainn, I spotted a faint
track making its way up Beinn a' Chaorainn. As this was the hardest of the
two hills, I decided to make use of this track and ascend Beinn a' Chaorainn
first.
As the cloud was down to 350m, there were no views during the
ascent. I followed the faint track and then found several other faint
tracks. Not sure if there is a wider track but if there is, I didn't find
it.
At a height of around 750m, we stopped for a short break.
A short break during ascent of Beinn a' Chaorainn:
On continuing-on, something happened that I was not expecting. We
popped-out above the clouds
. It wasn't the
best cloud inversion I have seen but it was great to get out of the cloud
and see further than ten metres ahead.
Above the clouds:
As is often the case with cloud inversion, it tends to rise as the
temperature increases at the same time as you gain height. We were therefore
back in cloud on reaching Beinn a' Chaorainn's South Top. Other than
stopping for a photo at the tops and summit, our walk henceforth was
continuous.
Cuillin at the summit of Beinn a' Chaorainn South Top:
The summit of Beinn a' Chaorainn is not far from the South Top and there
is not much of a drop. It therefore did not take long to reach the summit.
I was however aware of the cliffs to my right. In poor weather, when
there is snow on the ground, this is a hill where you have to be careful not
to walk out onto a cornice.
Heading towards the summit of Beinn a' Chaorainn:
Again, views from the summit were limited due to low cloud. Cuillin is
however quite photogenic
.
Cuillin at the summit of Beinn a' Chaorainn:
Looking back to Beinn a' Chaorainn South Top from the summit of Beinn a'
Chaorainn:
The North Top of Beinn a' Chaorainn is also not to distant from the
summit, so it also didn't take long to reach the North Top.
Looking back to the summit of Beinn a' Chaorainn from the summit of
Beinn a' Chaorainn North Top:
I was not particularly looking forward to the next section of walk as
you have to lose circa 450m height before ascending the second Munro. I
didn't find a track descending to the col but the ground is mostly grassy
and not too steep, so it was a fairly pleasant descent.
Beinn Teallach from the col:
Beyond the col, we started our ascent of Beinn Teallach. I found the
ascent quite gruelling due to the heat. Throughout the walk, I had been
stopping at every stream and puddle for Cuillin to keep hydrated and cool. I
was also carrying water and a bowl for him.
As Beinn Teallach, is
quite a bit lower than Beinn a' Chaorainn you don't have to regain all the
lost height.
Final ascent of Beinn Teallach:
On reaching the summit we got reasonable views across to the hills
surrounding Loch Treig. As this is a twin-topped hill, we visited both tops
to ensure we visited the high-point.
Cuillin at the summit of Beinn Teallach:
View from Beinn Teallach:
Looking back to the summit of Beinn Teallach from its twin-top:
While the descent was easy-angled and on grass, it was very wet
underfoot. I was looking forward to getting back onto good track. Cuillin
was now muckit!
View during descent:
The Allt was thankfully straight-forward to cross, so much so we
actually walked along the middle of the Allt for circa twenty metres to get
Cuillin clean and hopefully remove any as yet unattached ticks.
On
getting back to the van, Cuillin was already clean but I was in desperate
need of a shower. I therefore visited the Trucker's Diner in Newtonmore
where you can have a superb warm shower for 50p!!! Their all day breakfasts
are also very good
.
A wee post-hillwalk snack:
Subsequent to the walk, given we would be staying in the van for a further
couple of nights, I gave Cuillin a thorough check for ticks. He had picked
up one tick which I took off with a tick twister and subsequently killed.
While I love nature, that does not extend to ticks.