Over The Hill

Following the success of climbing Ruadh Stac Beag I asked Alex if she would like to join me to try Beinn Dearg. I had been nervous about attempting this mountain as I could remember Lindsay telling me that there were “airy” sections and her legs were a bit short to manage the “chimneys” without help. However we both read John’s report of July 2014 with fabulous photos, and others’ reports, and I thought we could “bag” the top and then retreat and miss out the scary ridge. So on the summer solstice we drove north on the Cluanie road where there had been a wedding at Eilean Donan Castle and stopped at the viewpoint above Torridon to spot our hill. It was a beautiful evening and the hills looked fantastic. Fingers crossed the next day would be the same. We drove the single track road to our start point, looking for a possible space to park for the night. The Beinn Alligin car park was perfect. Empty except for a van belonging to “AshToddPhotography”. I had brought along my early birthday present of gooseberry gin, so we cracked it open and enjoyed a glass. The moon was out and it hardly got dark and it was very quiet…..until a door banged at 6am. The photographer I thought had returned, however I was wrong. If the door banged once it banged about 8 times!! How can one person make all that noise? It turned out to be a car with multiple occupants, and then another arrived. Time to get up then. There is an excellent path up the east side of the Coire Mhic Nobaill with lovely waterfalls and we could see our hill with a little cloudy hat which we hoped would lift as the morning wore on as it was still early. There were two other couples ahead and I reckoned Alligin was their goal. At a cairn the path splits and ours heading north started to get less distinct and more stony but still dry. We passed near the foot of the impressive Horns of Alligin and stopped at the head of Bealach a’Chomhla to try and spot a route up to our objective. It wasn’t easy as the sun was shining now right in our eyes and it looked a mass of rocks. It was a steep and very rocky slope that faced us with no indication of any path, so it was difficult to keep to the ridgeline. There was a deep scar opposite on one of the Horns and we tried to use this to keep us right. Just as John and his team did in 2014 we scrambled up and through some rocky sections, much to Alex’s awe seeing her mum attempt some difficult sections, and knowing she had to follow. Eventually we were at the top of Stuc Loch na Cabhaig which afforded some wonderful views of the Horns and Alligin itself and other mountains nearby. We used some bypass routes rather than scramble over the rocks as the wind was beginning to pick up. Unhappily for Alex I called them escape routes which added to her anxiety, oh dear, an unfortunate slip of the tongue. We took a few photos then sheltered for a short rest. I noted Baosbheinn a Corbett I have yet to climb and which looked rather daunting I must say. Once on the ridge proper the going was easier and at last we were on the summit just after 12 noon. It was really quite windy on top so after a few obligatory photos at the cairn (spot the difference from 2014) and looking at the giants of Liathach and Beinn Eighe, we headed back down to have lunch in a more sheltered spot. There were frogs aplenty and I saw “Mountain Everlasting “and “Sea Thrift” nestling near rocks. The route off appeared to be easier as we found a few cairns marking the ridge and as there were no new surprises we more or less just retraced our steps. We got back to the van at 4.15 to find the car park quite full with cars scattered around. We saw no one on Beinn Dearg so I wonder how many were climbing Alligin and how many were walking their dog? Went to the Community run loos in Kinlochewe as there is hot running water there to freshen up and have tonic (no gin this time) and crisps before the journey home. I’m very proud of Alex and enjoy our chats on the hill, but I might be pushing it to ask her to join me on Baosbheinn!