Over The Hill

Two weeks ago as we stood on the summit of Sgorr nam Fiannaidh, on the western edge of the Aonach Eagach Ridge, we agreed that we should complete the double and make Meall Dearg, the second Munro, standing at the centre of the Aonach Eagach, a " must do" priority. The weather for today was certainly not encouraging, with snow showers, some heavy, and strong winds forecast, but we decided to continue with our plan and set off for our start point at Caolasnacon, on the shores of Loch Leven.

A rather wet and waterlogged path heads south east up Gleann a'Chaolais on the northern side of the tumbling waters of the Allt Gleann a'Chaolais and rises steadily towards the distant bealach at 535m, before crossing over the Allt Gleann a'Chaolais as it curves towards the impressive bowl of Coire Cam; the path, now steepening slightly continues to rise alongside the waterfall on the Allt a'Chathaidh Raibhaich and up onto the broad, and indistinct bealach.

Sheltering from rather a strong and cooling wind, we took a short break in a grassy hollow and watched 3 other walkers depart the bealach and head in the opposite direction to our intended route and take to the rock and scree covered slopes of the Corbett, Garbh Bheinn on the northern side of the bealach; shortly afterwards we headed off into a squall of sleet and hailstones to begin the climb up the rocky north eastern ridge of Meall Dearg.

As we climbed, the weather just played games with us, one moment clear skies, then more sleet and hailstones, and then a blanket of low grey cloud, obscuring everything from view; and with all of this came a strong wind, which at one point, as we reached the shoulder at around the 850m height we simply stopped in our tracks, turned our backs on the hail and wind and huddled there until the squall passed and the cloud lifted a little before making the final, and relatively easier climb onto the broad summit dome.

Apparently, the views from here are quite stunning, with the Aonach Eagach Ridge spanning out to the east and west, and to the south, the mountains on the opposite side of Glen Coe dominate the skyline - Apparently! We had nothing but grey mist - but we were determined to wait and see if the clouds would break - so we waited - and waited - and waited - and finally, after about 30 minutes of stamping the snow to keep warm and doing some fancy "clear the mist dance" we did, for a very fleeting moment get a small break in the clouds, just enough to whet the appetite, and mark this mountain out as a must do again - on a clear day!

There are only two options for the descent from Meall Dearg - one, either east or west along the Aonach Eagach or two, down the north east ridge, the way we had come. So, in reality, we only had one option - back the way we had come. And so we set off back down the rocky ridge towards the bealach, still fighting the wind and hail, which thankfully abated somewhat as we reached the bealach, making for a pleasanter walk back down the glen to Caolasnacon.

Irrespective of the weather, this was a great day on a great mountain - Must do Again! - Thanks Everyone.