Above: A photo merge from 7 landscape shots. Taken during the ascent of Beinn a' Chaisgein Mòr. Ruadh Stac Mor is the pointed one in the middle.
Ruadh Stac Mor, Beinn a'Chaisgein Mor and Beinn a'Chaisgein Beag
MunrosRuadh Stac Mor
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CorbettsBeinn a'Chaisgein Mor
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GrahamsBeinn a'Chaisgein Beag
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BothiesCarnmore barn
My original plan had been to camp. |
Distance/Ascent17km 969m Original planned route from Carnmore.
58km 2628m for the revised route from Poolewe. |
Estimated Time9h 00min
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NotesWhile a separate route on a separate day, it would be a great shame not to climb A' Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mor while in the area. I am looking forward to the bike ride in too. I climbed Carnmore Crag VS c1989.
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Start
Parking in Poolewe. No parking beyond this point.
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View Beinn a'Chaisgein Mor in a larger map
10-12 August 2024
My profile on the Walkhighlands site says "Ideal day out: A Graham, Corbett and Munro in the same day, preferably followed by a night in a bothy!" In reality, I can only think of one previous occasion where I have done that. That was the circuit of Biod an Fhithich, The Saddle and Sugar Mhic Bharraich. My original plan had been just the Corbett and Graham, but on the day, I decided to head out for Ruadh Stac More first. While the Glen Shale route went Graham - Munro - Corbett, this was to be Munro - Corbett - Graham.
I have done a number of Munro - Corbett or Corbett - Graham combinations but not all three. I am interested to hear of any other "logical" combinations of all three that is a single day hike and not too contrived or with silly statistics regarding distance and ascent.
I have done a number of Munro - Corbett or Corbett - Graham combinations but not all three. I am interested to hear of any other "logical" combinations of all three that is a single day hike and not too contrived or with silly statistics regarding distance and ascent.
I was thinking about stopping off at the Contin cafe for a roll for lunch and a cup of tea, but it was closed. There used to be a cafe at the stores in Kinlochewe but it has long since gone. There is now a nice little cafe at the service station, where there were a pair of very tame robins. Wish that I had been carrying a medium telephoto lens to reduce the amount or cropping.
In this part of the world, it is difficult to not keep stopping to take photographs. One day, maybe when I am getting a bit too old to climb the hills, I will drive around the north-west Highlands picking out key positions for landscape photography. At the moment, landscape photography is something that I do as a part of hiking. It is secondary to the main objective of reaching the tops of the hills. It is reassuring to know that I can enjoy the hills in a different way with a different objective as I grow older. At present, I may see a spectacular waterfall or a potentially better point from which to compose a photograph, but I do not stray too far from my intended route to the tops.
Our home is called Slioch. This is the mountain after which it was named. I climbed it over the Easter period of 1986. I should really take the boys up it.
Despite my poor memory, I could remember the location of the car park in Poolewe. My last time here was in 2004 when I did a combined Corbett/clearing up Munro top trip. I thought that I had included A' Mhaighdean: it is included on the route marked on my OS map but I have not ticked it off in my second copy of the SMC guide to the Munros. I am fairly certain that I did but would need to go back to make sure if I was to ever complete a second round of the Munros.
My 2004 route: It seems probable that I would have included A' Mhaighdean, but not 100% sure!
Back to 2024, I biked as far as the edge of the forest and then hiked. The weather was pleasant at the start, but there were some length showers later on. From a conversation with a the man at the Kinlochewe service station, I knew that it had rained heavily the night before and I had seen online pictures of the Fionn Loch causeway under water in early July. There was water flowing over a couple of sections, but it was no problem in boots and gaiters.
My last visit was in 1992. We climbed Fionn Butress VS*** on Carnmore Crag (Beinn a'Chaisgain Mor) and Wisdom Buttress VD** on Beinn Lair.. The notes in my climbing guide for Fionn Buttress says 26 May 1992 with Nick. It also says that we started the climb at 5:30 pm. It is a nine pitch climb and my notes indicate that I lead pitches 2 and 4. Nick wa very much the better climber, so it was quicker for hm to lead the rest of the route. I remember reaching a ledge and discussing the possibility of having to sit on the ledge overnight and wait for the morning light. The route ahead was around a corner and Nick checked it out to find that it was little more than a scramble to the top of the crag. My notes say "Finished gone midnight. Excellent route". It was during a period of very settled hot weather. I used a bivvy tent and my friends lay out their sleeping bags and slept under the stars. The next day, Wisdom Butress on Beinn Lair, which, although two grades easier than Fionn Buttress was very unnerving. Climber Hamish Nicol described it as a VS Scottish V Diff. I certainly found it both harder and scarier than the previous day's harder graded climb. All the footholds seemed to have ball-bearing like grit. With both climbs, we did not continue to the summits. I returned to climb Beinn Lair in 2004 and just over 20 years later I was heading for Beinn a'Chaisgain Mor.
The barn on the left with the far more comfortable looking Carnmore Cottage in the middle distance. The ridge beyond leads to A' Mhaighdean (in English The Maiden), often considered to be the most remote munro
It would be extremely flattering to call this a bothy, but it was my base for two nights. I did not use any of the beds. I took the black groundsheet from the far left bed and placed it on the cobbled floor, before placing my own sheet on top. Using a Thermarest Neo-air meant that I did not feel the cobbles.
I have seen allsorts left in bothies but this is a first. They are not exactly what I would call hut slippers. I didn't check to see if they were my size.
I was up early and headed off up the excellent stalker's path at around 0730. Due to the amount of rain, the waterfalls looked good. Due to it being a long hike, I chose not to carry a tripod and left my ND filter at home, so I rested my camera on a rock and stopped down to F14, minimum ISO of 100 to give a shutter speed of 1/6 second which gives a very pleasing effect for waterfalls. Some people use a longer exposure to smooth out the water and give that milky effect but I think that 1/4 or 1/6 second works nicely.
This time f/11 and 1/6 sec.
Beinn Lair from the stalker's path to the A' Mhaighdean - Ruadh Stac Mòr bealach.
I had to decide whether to follow the stalker's path to the beach or head left up left up a mixture of crass and areas of boulders. The gradient for the latter looked reasonable so I opted for the route to the north-east ridge of Ruadh Stac Mor. This is taken near the summit of Ruadh Stac Mor. It is a photo merge of 9 photographs taken in portrait. A' Mhaighdean to the left above Fuar Loch More and Beinn a' Chaisgein Mòr to the right.
Summit selfie on Ruadh Stac Mòr. Beinn Dearg Bheag and Benin Dearg Mhor behind me.
I returned via the A'Mhaighdhean - Ruadh Stac Mor bealach. I thought about including A'Mhaighdhean but felt that the extra extra hill (Ruadh Stac Mor was already an addition to the original plan) would be a hill to many, come the end of the day, especially with my current fitness level.
Looking to the next (and main) objective, Beinn a' Chaisgein Mòr.
Another photo merge, this time from 7 landscape shots. This was taken during the ascent of Beinn a' Chaisgein Mòr. Ruadh Stac Mor is the pointed one in the middle.
Summit selfie on Beinn a' Chaisgein Mòr. Three more Corbetts to go!
The weather was still dry and warm. I could have done with a bit more of a breeze but it was pretty much perfect hillwalking conditions. I had a quick snack and continued to the final objective of the day.
Taken during the descent from Beinn a' Chaisgein Mòr. A herd of red deer are galloping across my path. They always stick together and follow the first to flee. You never see half going left and half right. The Summer Isles are seen in the distance.
On reaching the bealach, I decided to leave my pack and head up the 200m/650 feet up to Beinn a' Chaisgein Bheag with just my camera and a map.
I would like to know more about this like who put it there! I assume that it is meant to be a compass with the pale stones pointing east and west. There seems to be a fainter line of light stones pointing roughly south.
Summit selfie - Beinn a' Chaisgein Bheag. I am stood in front of Beinn a' Chaisgein Mòr. Beinn Lair is in the distance
The trig point on Beinn a' Chaisgein Beag. It is one of those where the trig point is not the true summit. The summit is actually the small pile of stones on the rock to the left. The Scottish Mountaineering Club guide says that the summit is 20m to the south of the trig point but I consider this to be erroneous.
The Corbett, Sail Mhor.
I headed back to my rucksack at the bealach. Form there on there is a stalker's path back to Carnmore. For the most part, it is a good path, but it is still a long way and my feet were beginning to feel a little bit sore. The main thing to note for this section was the caterpillar that caught my eye, a striking shad of green with pink wort-like structures.
Emperor moth caterpillar. I would have experimented with the settings and tried to get a better shot had it not been for the b%$£@& midges!
Back at Carnmore
The bothy window - It is the usual story of people being able to carry full whisky bottles in but then too hung over to carry the empties back out.
It was a very windy night. There was a sound that I could only liken to a pneumatic drill. I thought it was loose roof panels, but when I looked the next morning, I realised that it was down to the two retaining straps that pass over the roof and are fixed to anchors in the wall. I did get some sleep, but I also spent periods awake. I thought that I was so tired from my walk that I could sleep through anything, but clearly not as tired as I thought! I could have done A'Mhaighdhean!
I was up reasonably early, packed my kit and headed back to Poolewe. It was blowing a hoodie but dry, at least until I crossed the causeway and reached the other end with very wet legs from the waves slashing against the concrete and rocks. At one point. there was so much spray created by the wind that there was a partial rainbow above the loch.
Looking towards Beinn Airigh Charr. I assume that the structures in the water were to stop livestock or deer moving across the causeway or the shallows. Maybe there was once a gate? Animals can certainly get across the causeway today.
The wind died down a bit but is was just a signal that the weather was changing for the worse. The sun is shining on Meall Mheinnidh and Beinn Airigh Charr with storm clouds appearing above. I had only just taken my waterproof shell off!
Looking towards Bainn Lair across Loch an Doire Crionnich, during a rest stop and snack with about another 4km to the bike.
On reaching my bike and unlocking it, I took my hard shell off and donned my bike gloves ready for the mainly downhill ride back to Poolewe. Just as I was about to set off, a man and woman arrived on bikes with very thick frames. I asked the lady if it was an e-bike. She seemed to take offence and indignantly replied "No, it is not". I commented on it looking like one due to the thick frame. She encouraged her partner to get moving as it was beginning to rain. He was very sociable and chatty. He did not seem to be in such a hurry as he got a camera out an took a photo. He commented on my "old school" bike. My bike is clearly not up to their modern state-of the-art bikes, but I had never thought of it as "old school". It was the first bike I ever had from new. My father bought my bikes from the "bargain basement" advertisements in the local paper and I did not have a truly new bike until I was 49! At 15 years old, I suppose it is "old school" but not as old school as the sleeping bag that I had been using which I bought in 1984 using my student grant or as old school as my original hand-beaten SIGG bottle or my very old school map and compass!
