BEINN SGULAIRD
View north from Beinn Sgulaird. Beinn Nevis central left, Graeme's hills next in a line to Bidean right. Photo Colin Lamont
4.3 miles 930 metres
Start Tuesday 21.05
Beinn Sgulaird 22.02
Finish 22.30
Squares: yellow - changeovers. Circles summits: green - this leg, purple - to do. Map Colin Matheson
Time: Estimated 1.23 Actual 1.25
In 1983 this was my last Munro which I had tried to save for a fine day. In the end the weather was atrocious and I got well and truly lost on the knobbly ridge with the old vague one inch to a mile map. I was hoping that today I would get a view, and was also pleased to have this leg as it was one of only two in which the terrain was almost entirely new to me.
After setting off into two evening legs with oncoming fronts, this time it looked set fine but I was racing the dark instead. With 55 minutes scheduled to the top I was a bit alarmed to be still on the road after 6 minutes. Graeme was following on the bike for his walk in. Not relishing the idea of a rough ride in the dark I shouted down to him to leave the bike where it was. Fortunately just before I lost sight through the scrub birch, I noticed that he was hiding the bike off the track.
The hillside seemed to be bone dry as though there had been no rain here. It was simply a matter of going up although I picked up a single contour bulge which confirmed my position en route. True to form the last few hundred feet were in cloud so no view. For the first time my pre-set watch beeped that the summit was due before I reached it, although only 2 minutes short.
On the descent I looked down to the corrie lined with crags on the map. A nasty boulderfield could be seen leading to unknown space, so I decided to go round the ridge – extra distance and climb. Dropping off this ridge presented considerably more nasty boulders, and I could see looking right that the mapped crags were non-existent – the boulders I had seen were the extent of the awkward going, well I can't win them all!
From here it was a flat out run down good grass with a few rocky spurs to cross. I was shouting so that if Graeme had not yet made it up the glen he would know to get a move on, but from some distance I could see him standing at the lochanside. I was desperately trying to make up my 2 minutes deficit, but the final ravine crossing killed this hope off and I ran up to Graeme just outside a rather tight schedule.
Graeme set off into the night, although for a change in fair weather. I retrieved the flags from an island where he had decided to place them, then walked off in a wet mist down a very boggy path (why such a contrast with the dry ascent?) through the spectacular Glen Ure.
I was pleased that Graeme had not taken the bike all the way up a very cycleable track as as the old stalkers' path I was following did not meet up with the new track, which I joined some way from it's end. Had I not known where the bike was I would have not known which way to turn. As it was it took me a good five minutes to find it even when I was in the right place, so well he had hidden it.
I returned to the van to be greeted by Craig's smile showing off a balloon of an ankle. The swelling and the black colour went all the way to his knee – I was utterly horrified.
“Well that's it you can't possibly continue with that” I said
“Don't worry mate, I said I'd do it, and I will,” he said casually.
This is the absolute end of the peak an hour I thought.
Peaks done 53 Hours elapsed 63 Peaks to do 224