NW Highlands trip report - part 3

I have a simple philosophy on hill walking and the number one rule is - I ain't going up in crap weather. The primary appeal of visiting a summit are the elevated views of scenery, the novelty of walking in a cloud and/or on all fours to prevent being blown over, has long worn off. Happily I haven't succumbed to ticking off hill lists nor do I suffer from summit fever, so I'm prepared to bide my time until the weather cooperates. The long awaited weather forecast for a hill excursion arrived and despite the attractions of Beinn Allign, Beinn Eighe was chosen as it would offer outstanding views not just of the scenery, but also of the geology. The summits were forecast to clear of cloud by the afternoon, so it was a relaxing start at 13.00 hrs from Glen Torridon, with an eye on sunset photography from the ridge.

The peak of Spidean Coire nan Clach and view north over the Moine Thrust Belt to the Letterewe Forest

The walk up is initially on a well constructed stalking path with plenty of zig zags to ease the ascent gradient and then briefly levels off before ascending into Coire an Laoigh. Where I was delighted to chance upon an emerald waterfall of mosses.

Egress from Coire an Laoigh to the ridge is either via the horror of scree, angled rock slabs or the munro baggers trench and bypass paths that scar the grassy slope of the corrie head wall. If I returned to the ridge again, I would probably take an alternative approach from Slugach via Coire nan Clach.

Stuc Coire an Laiogh and the Coulin Forest

Whilst taking in the views from the col between Stuc Coire an Laoigh and the ridge, a Golden Eagle quartered the slopes below us, the first time either of us had seen an eagle from above. Up onto the ridge the views were indeed excellent and visibility was improving.

Beinn Eighe - Western summits

Beinn Eighe - Eastern summits 

A wander over to Spidean Coire nan Clach and Nic's debut Munro. Whilst taking in the views a fell runner appeared and a wee blether ensued, he'd made the ascent in 39 mins! whilst the descent might take 19 mins! A physique of sinew and muscle, with a job as a head stalker on Gairloch Estate, fell running since a boy, a born and bred hill man. He also enlightened us on the deer mortality rate over the winter and provided an insight into the hills and winter conditions. Interesting that Liathach, the massif adjacent to Beinn Eighe, was the one mainland hill he really didn't like, even more so, since a fell running friend had died on it a fortnight before. Watching his descent down the ridge can only be described as a fluid motion over rugged terrain.

Coire Ruadh-staca and a suit of glacial landforms on the corrie floor 

The view north into Coire Ruadh-staca reveals a suite of hummocky and lateral landforms, moraines indicating the downwasting and retreat of the corrie glacier at the end of the Loch Lomond stadial. By turning around 180 degrees and looking south across Glen Torridon into Coire a' Cheud-chnoic (Valley of a hundred hills) a suite of hummocky moraines gives the valley its Gaelic name.

Glen Torridon and the hummocky moraines of Coire a' Cheud-chnoic

What can also be appreciated from this vantage point are oblique views over the Moine Thrust Belt and an insight into the architecture from an elevated viewpoint. A link to a video to modelling the formation of thrusts :



With an elevated oblique view across the Moine Thrust Belt, the pale quartzites and bands of dark or vegetated Torridon sandstone hint at the nature of the thrust belt, which in the image below is the northern part of the Achnashellach culmination, an imbricated thrust stack.

A view over Glen Torridon to the Achnashellach culmination of the Moine Thurst Belt

It is fair to say we loitered on the ridge for a while taking in the views, the haze seemed to drift in and out, which provided a memorable view of Liathach bathed in crepuscular rays

I had hoped to stay up on the ridge for sunset but a large bank of cloud out west didn't hold much promise and Nic didn't fancy the descent in head torch light, so the last images were made before the descent back down into Coire an Laoigh.

We arrived back at the  car in the gloaming and I was relieved that I hadn't noticed any late light falling on Beinn Eighe since our departure. A good day.