32 - COULAGS
12.3 miles 1950 metres
Start Wednesday 08.04
Sgurr Ruadh 09.18
Beinn Liath Mhor 09.59
Maol Chean-dearg 11.23
Finish 12.10
Graeme's path leading to Maol Chean-dearg. Graeme's fog bound route went straight up the fae on the right. Map tms.nickbramhall.com
Time: Estimated 3.52 Actual 4.06
Graeme writes:
After a refreshing sleep in Strathfarrar I drove the van from Beauly to near Achnashellach and its midgy riddedn pouring rain. One of Liz's resucitating meals was then consumed before I retreated to the peace of the van again. There was a couple of long legs in progress just now and hopefully I would manage some sleep. The last I remember was water drops rattling down hard on the van roof.
When I did wake up, hours and hours later I was seriously worried I'd missed something but fortunately for me and unfortunately for the relay, several hours had been lost overnight and the chances of our achieving our 277 hour target now looked very remote.
It wasn't long before I'd have to drive Ifor and baton to Achnasheen for his leg, wait there for him and then drive to Achnashellach to begin mine.
I'd been up the Coire Lair path several times before but never in weather as bad as this. So much rain had fallen overnight that in places the path was a small stream. Refreshed as I was after all my rest, and running strongly up to the pools below Sgurr Ruadh I couldn't help but feel empty in spirit since for us to be on target for our schedule I would have to finish my leg before I'd even started. I felt deflated for the team and was merely going through the motions. Once past the pools it was back to the familiar mist and drizzle with occasional heavy showers. I was now really quite sick of the weather.
Once over the cluttered stony summit of Sgurr Ruadh I found the small pool on the map to the north east of the knoll. From here I dropped further to the lower pool and took more or less a straight line to Beinn Liath Mhor, contouring a little and just climbing straight through the line of crags on the map. On top the conditions were just monsoon like and I really felt sorry for myself.
It was then westwards down rough steep slopes to locate the path going to the Bealach Ban and then the Bealach na Lice junction. A very good path it was too, almost like a gravel path in a country garden with no real boulders, bogs or the usual mountain obstacles.
From the path junction I gaped up at the cliff like Maol Chean-dearg. From down here, only able to see the lower half below the drizzle it looked impenetrable. I would just have to start climbing and see where I got to I thought.
Basically I just went straight up into a narrowing gully to the right of the left hand side cliffs and thankfully had some reassuring former bootmarks for company. At least someone else has come this way I thought. It certainly became very steep, not a way to descend unless you were absolutely sure, but I was committed to going up now and I never encountered any areas with “bad steps”, “dangerous exposure” or sheer cliff faces. It didn't seem long before I was over the lip and onto the flatter summit plateau and had found the cairn top.
If I remember correctly I took a bearing directly west in an effort to avoid any lurking cliffs, but having located a path marked with a wooden and aluminium cross around four feet high it headed off more north westerly, the way I wanted to go. The advantages from knowing the hill were all too obvious once again.
It was tricky ankle breaking stuff down to Loch an Eoin but once on the path I turned into a 10k man hurtling down like a rollercoaster on tramlines.It was just that sort of path, good underfoot, gentle drop in gradient, gradual bends and banked curves.
Amazingly on this my 11th running leg I encountered my first fellow mankind, who shouted encouragement as I whizzed past them. They had obviously known I was coming and as, I found out later, had been chatting to Eddie and Ross at the end of my leg. It wasn't long before I arrived there myself having had to do a little “as the crow flies” cross country from the main path to the road. All in all I had enjoyed the leg apart from the heavy rain near the beginning.
Peaks done 244 Hours elapsed 245 Peaks to do 33
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