Munros + Corbetts - up to 2008

Here are some of the mountains I climbed during the early part of my Munros round 2 plus Corbetts.

A few of the mountains listed below were actually done before I had finished my munro bagging round one - usually because I wanted to get out, and the munros I had not climbed yet were to far away to get to them.

Sometimes if I was away in some remote part of the country during my munro bagging round 1, I climbed some of the Corbetts as well - not because they were Corbetts, just because I was there, and so were they.

There is no order to the ramblings below - they are just as they came to mind.

North East Scotland - January 2008

There are quite a few Corbetts in the north east corner of Scotland, and I did several of them in January 2008 - we had about 3 weeks of very warm weather, and I climbed most of them in a pair of shorts, with no shirt on. A bit different from January 2009 !

They are not the most exciting hills to climb, being mostly rounded bumps in a very bumpy landscape. One of the more noticeable features is the tendency of the landowners to bulldoze roads right over the top of them - which is handy if you like mountain biking over mountains.

The very far north - May + June 2003

Whilst I was right up in the north doing the munros up there for the first time, I did some of the Corbetts as well, plus some of the other mountains that aren`t even Corbetts.

One of them was Ben Stack, which doesn`t qualify as anything, but gave a superb view across to Arkle and Foinaven - and from there they both look like big wedges of pure rock, with perpindicular sides. I had to climb them.

I did Foinavon first - it is quite a difficult mountain to get to, as most of the sides have a section of precipice in them, however you can get up from either end. I started from near the spot height at NC 285 550, and headed across a lot of boggy ground to Creag na Claise Carnaich, then up onto the first summit, Ceann Garbh, and then onto the true summit, Ganu Mor.

When I had left the road, it was incredibly hot, and I got very hot doing the long climb up. However up there the weather never stays the same for long, and my reaching the top of Ganu Mor was heralded by the most horrendous hailstorm, which lasted quite a long time, and I hid behind the cairn.

The view from the top looking down the rest of the ridge is absolutely amazing, with a few jagged tops, and then a rounded grassy lump. It was irresistible, so of I set along and down. The ridge is quite narrow in places, and the rock was still wet, so I had to move carefully. After the 869 metre summit, there is a drop, and then a very steep and loose climb on grit, and you have to weave your way on this up through the rocks. Eventually I got to the 808 metre summit, then across to the grassy summit. I reckoned I would drop down to Loch Dionard, and head up the track back up to the road. However despite spending quite a lot of time trying to get down, I couldn`t find a way down, so had to turn round and climb back up to the grassy summit, then go all the way back up the ridge. From the grassy summit, Ganu Mor appeared to be towering above me, and looked positively sinister, with grey cloud all around it. However I survived the ghostly environment, and eventually got back to my van.

I`d like to do it again sometime, it is a stunning mountain, but I think I`ll try cycling down the track, and see if there is a way up from that side.

Arkle was a lot less traumatic, but a splendid walk all the same - the ridge connecting the two summits is quite narrow, so it is good fun. Arkle is much easier to get to than Foinavon, from the south.

Another Corbett that I did, without even knowing it was a Corbett, was Ben Loyal. I don`t seem to have an OS for that area, so have no idea how I did it - I have a vague recollection that I parked in a quarry on a bend in the road, and then headed sort of south to Ben Loyal, so I was probably heading south on the A836, somewhere near Loch Loyal. I do remember that I was the only vehicle parked there, yet the summit was quite busy, with some quite big groups of people, so there is probably another better route somewhere else.

It is a good-fun mountain - you can go and explore all the side ridges, which can take quite a bit of time, but worth doing.

The other Corbett that I have done up there is the south peak of Quinaig, Spidean Coinich. It was the day I had to travel back to Dundee for work the next day, so I only had a short time on the hills, but couldn`t resist going up Quinaig - I didn`t really realise that Quinaig has three very distinct peaks, each one of which is a seperate Corbett.

The walk up and down is quite fun, though a bit of a slog - if you are smart, you can work your way up/down long lines of bare rock, rather than fighting your way through the heather.

The mountains in that part of Scotland are quite stunning, and quite unlike most of the mountains in the rest of Scotland. But the weather changes very fast, so be prepared to meet all four seasons every day.

Stob an Aonaich Mhor - late spring 2008

I can`t remember exactly when I did this - but I can remember the cycle run to get to it. It is a very long run up from the western end of Loch Rannoch - and the track climbs up to about 2000 feet. So it is a very slow run up. However once you are at the top of the pass, it is only a short walk up to the top of Stob an Aonaich Mhor. And from the top you get a stunning view over the top of Loch Ericht to the cliffs on the eastern side of Ben Alder.

The cycle run back down to Loch Rannoch is superb - 12 Km`s downhill nearly the whole way !

Schiehallion - June 2007

The first time that I did Schiehallion, I did it via the tourist track up from the big car park at Braes of Foss. So this time I wanted to do it via a different route, and started from East Tempar farm at NN 691 576 - it is a much better way to do Schiehallion than the tourist track, and took just over 3 hours for the whole trip.

Ben More and Stop Binnein - January 2006

The most memorable thing about this trip was the cloud layer - I met the cloud at around 3300 feet - plodded my way up through it - and broke through into blue sky and sunshine at around 3600 feet. What a stunning sight from the top - looking down on the layer of cloud, with the higher tops poking through it. I also had a superb brokenspectre.

Lochnagar - February 2006

The first time I did Lochnagar, I followed the normal route up the track that heads north west and west from the big car park at Spittal of Glenmuick.

In common with a lot of Munros on my second round, this time I wanted to do it differently, so I cycled from the car park right down the north west side of Loch Muick to the small wood. Then headed up the footpath towards Lochnagar. It turned out to be a much nicer way to go, and I came back over Cuidhe Crom and Little Pap. I recommend it as a way up Lochnagar.

The only downside, that I discovered later, is that you tend to miss out on the great view of the corrie and cliffs on the NE side of Lochnagar. But you could do a bit of a loop round the horseshoe at the top.

Conachcraig and Lochnagar - December 2007

On this day, I set out to climb two Corbetts to the north of the Dee, in the Invercauld Estate - Carn Liath and Cullardoch. However as I drove north the cloud base was getting lower and lower, and by the time I got to Braemar, I reckoned even these Corbetts would be in cloud. Then as I was driving eastwards towards Invercauld. I got a brief glimpse of Lochnagar - and it was in sunshine ! The cloud layer stopped just to the west of Lochnagar. I had already done Lochnagar, so didn`t need to do it again, however there is a Corbett beside it, Conachcraig. I couldn`t see it, but guessed that it would be clear as well - so I just carried on driving to Ballater, and down to the car park at Spittal of Glenmuick.

Well I set off and did Conachraig - and Lochnagar was just the other side of the pass, and it looked so inviting - so off I went. I had to move fast, or else I was going to run out of daylight. It was superb up on the top of Lochnagar, a thin layer of crunchy snow, with long snow gullies down the side running down to the floor of the corrie and Lochnagar. Along with a superb view to the east. On the way back I looped round and over Cuidhe Crom, and back to the car park.

It was one of those magical days when the trip was just great, and just a few miles to the west, a solid layer of cloud blanked out everything.

Beinn a`Ghlo - Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain and Carn nan Gabhar - September 2006

The first time I did the three munros of Beinn a`Ghlo, I did them from the car park at Loch Moraig, and it is a very long trek to do all three from there.

So this time, I cycled up the track from Straloch on the A924, as far as roughly NN 994 718, then climbed up to Carn nan Gabhar, down and up to Airgiod Bheinn, back to the coll, and up to Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain, back to the coll again, and down to pick up my bike.

This is a much nicer way to these munros than doing then from Loch Moraig.

I did Carn Liath, as well as Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain again, a few months later from Glen Tilt - and that is a better route as well, rather than going from Loch Moraig.

Ben Vrackie -

Climbing Ben Vrackie above Pitlochry can hardly be described as climbing a mountain. There is a wide tourist track all the way up to the top, and you meet lots of families complete with children who are almost too young walk all treking their way to the top. Lots of low slung shoes and trainers and anoraks tied round the waist.

Boots and a rucksack are definitely out of place !

Carn na Caim and A`Bhuidheanach Bheag - May 2008

These aren`t the most interesting of munros, they are just higher lumps in a long flattish ridge. To access them is a walk up a track which is now disintegrating up to the marble quarry near the top of the ridge. The first time I did them, I did Carn na Caim first, and then A`Bhuidheanach Bheag second - and the whole journey is just a rather long featureless walk.

For this second trip, I did them the other way round, with a rather unexpected result - after going across to A`Bhuidheanach Bheag, then back to Carn na Caim, I headed SW for a bit, then cut off to the right instead of going back to the marble quarry to pick up the track. And I dropped down into a rather splendid and quite unexpected ravine. So it was a much more interesting way back down.

Beinn Dearg - June 2007

Beinn Bhreac and Leathad an Taobhain - Spring 2008

These three mountains are not the most exciting of places to go, and probably will only be climbed by Munro or Corbett baggers.

The most distinguishing feature of them is the cycle run up the track through Glen Bruar - it is not a nice cycle run. The first 4 km`s of the track are very steep and rough - the track climbs nearly 750 feet, and you end up walking quite a lot of it, as it is just too steep and rough to cycle either up or down. The upper parts of the track flatten out a bit, some parts of it are okay, some parts are again very rough. The track has been relaid in many places with large sharp crushed rock from the local quarry, and is not nice to cycle on.

Carn Ealar and An Sgarsoch - October 2007

I did these in early October, and although the day started very cold, later on it got quite hot, so the shirt was off for quite a lot of the day.

I cycled down from Linn of Dee to somewhere up the track beyond Geldie Lodge, and hid my bike where it couldn`t be seen from the track.

Then off to do Carn Ealar first, round the horseshoe to An Sgarsoch, and back down to the track. And I couldn`t find my bike - I walked nearly all the way back to Geldie Lodge, turned round, and walked way back up the track again looking for it. It is quite a featureless area, so had no idea where I had left it. It took me a long time to find it. Phew !!

If you are ever going this way, don`t do it in wet weather - the track crosses the Geldie Burn at quite a wide ford, which is not easy to cross. As soon as you have got across the Geldie Burn, the track then turns right and crosses a much smaller river - however it is actually quite hard to cross this as well. So take your waders !

Carn a`Mhaim, Ben Macdui, and Derry Cairngorm - October 2007

Another trip in early October, and the same good weather as two days before, except for a bit of cloud on Ben Macdui.

My route was the same as the previous time - cycle from Linn of Dee up to Derry Lodge, then into Glen Luibeg for a couple of kilometres. Then up to Luibeg Bridge, and start climbing Carn a`Mhain. Over the top, continue north, and up the SW flank of Ben Macdui. Then head east over Creagan a`Choire Etchachan, and south to Derry Cairngorm. Continue SSE to Glen Luibeg again. It is quite a long route, but I haven`t ever worked out a better way to get to Ben Macdui.

Beinn Mheadhoin, Beinn a`Chaorainn, and Beinn Bhreac - October 2007

I did these three munros in mid October, and once again had superb weather - no shirt on for most of the day, even sitting on the summits.

It is worth doing the three of them together, as you have gone a long way up Glen Derry to get to Beinn Mheadhoin, so it doesn`t make much sense to not do Beinn a`Chaorainn and Beinn Bhreac on the way back.

I reckon it is worth taking the bike right up to the end of the wood in Glen Derry, more fun than trudging up from Derry Lodge.

Ben Avon and Beinn a`Bhuird - October 2007

I did these two just six days after my trip to Beinn Mheadhoin, Beinn a`Chaorainn, and Beinn Bhreac, and what a change in the weather - I couldn`t get up one of the tors on Ben Avon, because it was covered in ice.

The first time I did these two munros, I did them on two seperate trips - I did Beinn a`Bhuird from Glen Quoich, and Ben Avon I did by cycling down from Tomintoul, which is quite a good cycle run - I tried to do the horseshoe round Slochd Mor, I did manage the summit of Ben Avon, but had to give up on the horseshoe because of deteriorating weather.

Anyway, for this trip, I cycled up from Invercauld to somewhere around the ruin at NO 119 952, then up the track right up to the Sneck, which is the coll between Ben Avon and Beinn a`Bhuird, then up to the right to the summit of Ben Avon. Back down to the coll, and up to North Top of Beinn a`Bhuird. Down the cliff top to A`Chloch, then across to the South Top, over Carn Piaclach, and down to pick up my bike. It was very good trip, although one of the longer ones.

If you`re going up there on a bike, by far the worst bit of the track is the one kilometre below the ruin - both above and below this kilometre, the track is okay for cycling.

The Devils Penis, Monadh Mhor, and Beinn Bhrotain - October 2007

This wasn`t a very well thought out route, it seemed a good idea at the time, as I had a plan to do Cairn Toul and The Angels Peak from the west, ie, from the end of the track that comes down from Coylumbridge, and ends at the north end of Loch Einich. In fact I didn`t do them that way.

To get to The Devil`s Penis, I cycled up to Glen Luibeg, then followed the path into the Lairig Ghru, and across that horrendous peaty / boggy bit to Corrour Bothy. Then up the path up the hill, and onto the summit of The Devil`s Penis.

Then I had a very long and tedious conture round the south-western flank of Cairn Toul as far as Loch nan Stuirteag, then climbed up to the summit of Monadh Mor. Then SE down to the coll, and up to Beinn Bhrotain. From there I headed east and back to my bike in Glen Luibeg, skirting round the flank of Creagan nan Ghabar.

It is a good thing that it had been a long dry spell of weather, otherwise I would not have been able to cross the river Dee on the way back, and that would have been a major problem.

Incidentally the name The Devil`s Penis is actually the correct name - however most people fight shy of calling it that, so it gets called The Devil`s Point instead.

Cairn Toul, Angels Peak, and The Devils Penis - October 2007

Having changed my mind about how to get to Cairn Toul and the Angels Peak, it was back to Glen Luibeg and Corrour Bothy again.

I started up the path, but then cut across to the right, round the bottom of Coire an t-Saighdeil, and up the SW ridge of Cairn Toul. This was good fun as it got quite scrambley in places. From the top of Cairn Toul it is a nice walk across to The Angel`s Peak, then back round the side of Cairn Toul, and down to The Devils Penis, and back down to Corrour Bothy, and back to Glen Luibeg.

Cairn Gorm - 2008

I started from the big skiers car park, and climbed up passed the railway and the restaurant polluting the environment with the smell of chips, and up to the summit. From there I headed south and west, over the various peaks and round to Cairn Lochan, then back to the car park. It is a very scenic route, as you are walking right around the northern edge of the Cairngorm plateau, just above the cliffs. I think it is probably the most scenic route I have ever done in the Cairngorms.

I actually jogged on and off for the last kilometre or so, not for any reason other than I felt like it. However it was just as well I did - just as I got to back to my van, the heavens opened, and there was the most horrendous rain shower - if I had been out in it, I would have been drenched in seconds.

Carn Liath and Culardoch - 2007 and 2008

I`ve actually done these two Corbetts twice now - once in 2007, and again in 2008 - because I discovered after I had done them for the first time, that Carn Liath has two peaks of equal height, and to make it count, I had to do both peaks. The first time up there, I had only done one peak.

These two Corbetts actually present more of a cycle run than a climb - you can cycle right up to the coll between them, or even further if you want to.

I also found on my second trip up there, that there is a new road up from Invercauld, which is much easier to cycle up than the one which is shown on the map, and starts climbing very steeply, and is just before you get to Invercauld House. Carry on up the bottom road passed Invercauld House to the junction which goes down to Alltdourie, somewhere round there there is a road going to the right, which goes up through the forest, and joins on to the original road at the top of the wood around NO 178 947. It`s a bit of a struggle climbing up this new road, but it is a great run back down again.

Morven - 2007

This is another of the Corbetts that can hardly be described as mountain climbing - there is a radio transmitting station right at the top, so there is a vehicle track right to the top. Boots not required.

You could maybe cycle right to the top, but it would be hard work going up, it`s quite steepish and continuous in places. And you would certainly test your brakes on the way back down.

I did Creag nan Gabhar on the same day, it doesn`t take too long.

Incidentally, if you want to make a longer day out of Morven, it would be a nice upland walk to head southwards from Morven, going as far as you want to go, and you could go as far as An Socach if you wanted to. However you`re going to need two cars.

Cairn Bannoch and Broad Cairn - August 2007

I did these two Munros from Glen Clova - mistake !

The track is extremely unpleasant to cycle on, and I`ve noted in my logbook that I actually had to carry my bike at one point, it was so bad.

If I ever do them again, I`ll try doing them from Loch Muick.

And just a note - another route from Glen Clova is Jock`s Road, which goes right across to the A93 just south of Braemar. You could say it is misnamed - it is certainly not a road, and it`s impossible to cycle on - I`ve tried it from both ends, and it`s a no-no.

Carn a`Choire Bhoidheach and Carn an t-Sagairt Mor - July 2007

The first time I did them , I did them from Glen Doll, along with Broad Cairn and Cairn Bannoch. At least that`s what my log book says, so I suppose it must be true - I must have been a lot fitter then, it looks to be a very long way.

This time I did them from the A93, by cycling up to Lochcallater Lodge, and enjoyed a very pleasant walk up to the two munros. Some people access Lochnagar via this route, but that would be a fair trek.

Meall Greigh, Meall Garbh, An Stuc, and Ben Lawers - July 2007

I reckoned the best way to do these four munros was to do them as a horseshoe, so I started from the Loch Tay road at NN 652 378 and cycled up the track - well in theory I cycled - in practice, I did more pushing than cycling, until I got to where the track levels off. Then it was an easy cycle along to the dam at NN 662 427. Thereafter it was a comfortable trek across the tops, and back down to my bike.

I was lucky with the weather - it started off okay, but went downhill. By the time I was back down, the tops were all in cloud. However I had it clear.

I don`t think that really the bike was worth having on that trip, it would make little difference to the time taken, just doing it all on foot. The biggest advantage is that there is nowhere to park on that section of the Loch Tay road, so had to park quite some distance away.

Meall nan Aighean, Carn Mairg, Meall Garbh, and Carn Gorm - July 2007

Another nice horseshoe route is these four munros on the north side of Glen Lyon. It is a straightforward walk up from Invervar and over the tops all the way round.

I was lucky with the weather again, which got better as the day wore on - by mid afternoon the air was very clear, and so I got a superb panoramic view - from Ben More round to Ben Nevis and the Grey Corries. I worked it out when I got home that I reckoned I could see two peaks on Ardnamurchan as well.

There seems to be some disagreement about the name of Meall nan Aighean - some books refer to it as Creag Mhor. However the OS map shows Creag Mhor to be a rocky bit further down the ridge to the south east. So I don`t know which is correct.

Beinn nan Imirean, Meall Glas, and Sgiath Chuil - November 2008

Another horseshoe on which I used by bike was these three mountains in Glen Dochart - a Corbett, and two Munros. And after doing the trip, I don`t think the bike was a particular asset.

I started at Auchlyne, and cycled up the track - or rather I pushed my bike for a kilometre or so up a very steep hill. However once up to the junction, it flattens out, and is okay thereafter, except in some places where it is quite rough, or steep. An interesting feature that you come across is a ford - it`s quite wide, but if the river is not high, you can cycle right across the concrete edge. Without a bike, you are going to get very wet feet.

The interesting thing about this river is that appears to be flowing the wrong way - if you look at where it has come from, and where it is going, then it is flowing uphill. Further up the track you find the reason - it has come out of a tunnel - I guess the tunnel goes through to Glen Lochay. I wonder if it is the other end of the huge pipe that crosses Glen Lochay just beyond the end of the road - it is a huge pipe that comes out of the hill on one side, drops down to the bottom of the valley, climbs back up the other side, and dissappears back into the mountain again. I wonder if it goes all the way to Loch Lyon.

Anyway, I cycled right to the end of the track, then did the horseshoe clockwise. After Beinn Cheathaich, there is a big drop, before a quite steep climb all the way back up to Sgiath Chuil.

The cycle back is a bit easier than the cycle outwards - I realised as I was coming back that there is a buried pipeline all the way back alongside the track, so the track was probably built by the Hydro Electricity people.

For the amount of time it took me to cycle the track, I think it would be just as quick to forget the bike, and walk up from Auchessan. That`s how I did it for my first round of Munros.

Loch Pattack Munros - 2006, 2007 and 2008

At the time of writing this, I`ve done 7 of the 9 munros around Loch Pattach. The best trip was the Ben Alder horseshoe - ie, Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil, which I did in July 2008, and had excellent weather and superb visibility, which gave a fantastic view in every direction.

I`ve discovered that there is a better way to get to the mountains to the south of Loch Pattack, if you have cycled down from Dalwhinnie - at the top of the hill, before you drop down to Loch Pattack, there is a track going off to the left - the OS map shows it as a footpath, but it is easy to cycle the whole length of it. It is shorter than going via Loch Pattack, and it saves wading through Loch Pattack when the loch is a bit high. I think there is a bridge just before Cultra Lodge, but don`t quote me on that. When I did Ben Alder, I cycled right down to about NN 514 748.

Carn Sgulain, A`Chailleach, and Carn Dearg - July 2008

This was a long one, and as far as I can remember, I never set off to do it. I set of to do Carn Sgulainand and A`Chailleach. However I just carried on.

I started from the car park at the end of the road above Newtonmore, heading north up the track. I kept going north, right up onto Am Bodach, then round to Carn Sgulain. Then looped round to A`Chailleach. Then I just went for it, and headed west across to Carn Balloch - this used to be a Munro, but was downgraded in 1980. Then SW to Carn Ban - another former Munro that was downgraded in 1980. Continued south and south-east over Carn Dearg, 923, Carn Macoul, and down the ridge to Dalballoch, then back to the car park. 9 hours in all, which was a bit of a struggle.

However it was worth it - to the south, Ben Alder, etc, were in a thick grey clag. However to the west and north it was incredibly clear, and I could see for miles. I think I could see Sgurr na Ciche on Knoydart, all the way up the west coast as far as ( I think ) the Fisherfields. And that is a long way !

Beinn Odhar - December 2008

Beinn Odhar is a Corbett just north of Tyndrum - although it is alonside several other mountains, it is quite seperate from them, so is a good candidate for doing it in winter when the days are very short. I did on December 31st, so you don`t get much shorter days than that.

The mountain weather forecasts had been talking about inversions - very cold in the valleys, nicer up the hills.

As I drove westwards towards Crianlarich, Ben More was clearish, but bits of cloud were hanging around. By the time I got to Tyndrum, the sky was completely overcast with a thick grey low clag. However I carried on, and because I wanted to know what the track up Glen Coralan is like, I went right up to Auch, and cycled up the track, right to its end.

From the track, I had to drop down quite a bit, cross the river, then start climbing Beinn Odhar. Although it was low, the river is a boulder river, and every boulder was covered in ice, so it was very difficult to get across it. As I climbed the ground got more and more icey, and soon I was having great difficulty in going uphill - there was no snow, it was just the turf that was absolutely solid. Eventually I stopped fighting it, and put on my crampons, so progress was a bit faster.

Eventually I climbed up into the cloud, Beinn Odhar is almost like a cone, so there was little chance of not finding the summit without using my compass. Eventually I realised that the cloud was getting thinner - the sky was getting bluer. Then suddenly I was through it, and in the sunshine. It was an incredible sight - just the top 100 feet or so were in sunshine, and from the summit I could see for miles. All the Munro`s were poking up out of the cloud - and the visibility was superb in every direction. Ben Nevis, the Grey Corries, the Cairngorms were all as clear as day, sticking up through the cloud. Ben Lui, Ben Oss, and Beinn Dubhchraig were just across the way, and the top of Beinn Chuirn, the Corbett beside Ben Lui, was only just visible. The other four Corbetts beside Beinn Odhar were all hidden - couldn`t see them at all, but Beinn Dorain and the other Munros just up from it were all sticking up through the cloud.

I sat at the top in the sunshine for quite a long time enjoying the warmth of the sunshine, and quite stunned by the sight laid out before me.

However time was moving on, and eventually I had to drop down back into the cloud, and down into the completely grey and overcast and frozen valley. Yuk!

I kept my crampons on longer than I needed to, because I reckoned it would make it easier crossing the river again - they certainly did - I could just walk across the ice covered boulders with ease, so the crossing was much easier than before.

Incidentally, if you are into industrial archaeology, the track up from Auch goes underneath a rather splendid curved viaduct, and there is a second one further along the railway line. I thought curved viaducts were a rarity, but there`s two of them. Interestingly, I seem to recall that there is another one between Mallaig and Fort William, and that is the same railway line. Maybe the railway company employed an engineer who liked designing curved viaducts.

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