Over The Hill

A short 4kms beyond Balsporran Cottages, at Layby 79 on the A9 the large signpost informs you that you are at the highest point of Drumochter Pass, at 462m; I like these hills, you are almost half-way to the summit before you even get your boots on! On the second day of our away weekend we were in for a slightly more challenging walk than yesterday, both in terrain and weather terms. We were sharing the spoils today, a round taking in one Munro and one Corbett should keep everyone happy.

A short distance from the layby an underpass allowed us to safely cross the main railway line before heading up a good track into Coire Dhomhain where, to our left we could clearly see the rounded hump that would be our last point of call for the day, The Sow of Atholl, whilst ahead of us, and under a heavy layer of cloud was our immediate objective, Sgairneach Mhor.

The track dips and climbs as it twists and winds its way along the hillside just above the Allt Coire Dhomhain and its many feeder streams, almost everyone of which had a mink trap set, although, all were empty of any unwary mink, none of which we saw either. However, this glen was teeming with wildlife, and before long we had sightings of a Hen Harrier, deer, grouse, partridge and dozens of mountain hare.

Wildlife spotting helped take our minds off the heavy drizzle, and the fact that any views to be had were obscured by the low clouds we encountered as we gained height higher up in the coire at around the 600m height where the track eventually ended and it then became a rough scramble over the rocky banks alongside the narrowing river bed and steeper hillsides which seemed to drop directly out of the mist above.

Just short of the 809m bealach, a very inviting and easily accessed gully loomed out of the mist, and a quick check of the map showed that this would take us nicely onto the south west shoulder of Sgairneach Mhor, missing out the lower bealach. And so, after a short, easy grassy, scramble we were standing on the broad shoulder consulting map and compass, as the low cloud obscured all around, and the featureless terrain gave little clues as to the way ahead.

The answer was a nice little compass exercise of a dog-leg of 3 short sections of about 500m each, first northeast, then southeast and finally northeast once more, and there, out of the mist was the summit cairn and half circle wind shelter, which, typically the wind was blowing directly into, and so we had to sit with our backs to the outer arc for a welcome lunch break.

We left the summit and descended the narrower north east ridge, breaking below the cloud base at about 850m with clear views of the cone shaped un-named 758m top with The Sow of Atholl beyond. A short detour had us heading for the 758m top, just because it was there. And fortunately for us, it was a good choice, as we were rewarded with the sight of a very large herd of deer making there way up the very steep coire which separates the 758m top and The Sow of Atholl, these beasts made very light work of the steep scree slopes before bounding away over the heather towards the lower slopes of Sgairneach Mhor.

We descended from the 758m top and crossed the head of the coire before making the short but steep climb to the 803m summit of The Sow of Atholl, by which time the sun was finally beginning to break through and rainbows were forming over the nearby tops, and for the first time today, we were able to take a break in reasonable comfort.

A relatively short distance away was our start point, but firstly we had to descend the fairly steep grass and heather slopes of the hillside, where the mountains hares seemed to be everywhere, as at one point I was literally about to stand on top of one before it broke cover from the clump of heather it had been lying under. An easy river crossing at the base of the hillside and a short walk, back under the railway and our day was at an end.

I have certainly enjoyed my return to the Cairngorms, and my thanks to everyone who made it a very enjoyable weekend, especially to Ian and Trish for their efforts to get us all rounded-up and organised.