Munros + Corbetts - 2009
10 July 2009 ........ Beinn Eibhinn, Aonach Beag, and Geal Charn
These munros are three of the many munros that are in the Loch Pattack area - these three, plus a fourth one, Carn Dearg, form a long ridge that heads south west from Loch Pattack, across the valley from Ben Alder.
I did Geal Charn and Carn Dearg a few years ago for the second time - it wasn`t the best of trips. I had set out to do Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil, but as I was heading down towards them, low cloud was slowly creeping across from the east, and by the time I got to the foot of Ben Alder, both Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil had dissappeared into the clag. However Carn Dearg and Geal Charn were both clear, so after much prevarication I changed direction and did them instead. By the time I had got to the top of Geal Charn, they too were dissappearing into the cloud, and I never so any sight of Aonach Beag or Beinn Eibhinn all day. By this time I was now going to be short of time, so I gave up any thought on carrying on, and came back over and down the east ridge of Sgor Iutham.
The trip down the ridge of Sgor Iutham was quite striking, not only because of the shape of the ridge, but also because on one side of the ridge there was thick cloud, and on the other side it was completely clear. I also saw three seperate Brocken Spectres.
But back to this trip - to get to Beinn Eibhinn and Aonach Beag, I cycled down from Dalwhinnie, passed Cultra Lodge, and tried to cycle further down the track towards Bealach Dubh. It wasn`t a great success, the track is cut in so many places by drains, and you just can`t cycle across them - so I spent the whole time getting on and off my bike, to cross these drains. I gave up after about 2km`s or so.
By this time I was close to the base of the east ridge of Sgor Iutharn, so I climbed up that. It is quite good fun, as it is quite scrambley in places - and it is very exposed, as you are climbing right up the edge of the ridge. But there is a defined path up quite a lot of it, so it is a well used route.
Once above Sgor Iutharn, I headed west, and contoured round the south flank of Geal Charn, eventually getting to the coll, then up to the summit of Aonach Beag. Down the other side, and up to Beinn Eibhinn.
At this point, I had a choice - head back along the ridge over Aonach Beag, and up to Geal Charn. Or cut down to the east south east, to the track, and follow the track up and over the coll, and back to pick up my bike. This what I did the first time I did these munros, and I do remember it being very tedious - it took a lot longer to get to the track that I thought it would, and walking down the track all the way to Cultra Lodge was endless - on that occasion I had left my bike at Cultra Lodge.
So I opted for going back up the ridge, and I am so glad I did, it is a really nice ridge walk. Here is the view of the ridge from a bit below the summit of Beinn Eibhinn, looking up to Aonach Beag, and Geal Charn.
From the top of Aonach Beag, this is looking back towards Beinn Eibhinn - it is quite a spectacular view of Beinn Eibhinn.
Geal Charn is a bit of an oddity - whereas Beinn Eibhinn, Aonach Beag, and Carn Dearg are all fairly well defined mountains with distinct summits, Geal Charn has a large flat top - it is almost a kilometre square. Navigation in cloud would be quite difficult, you would need good map and compass skills to find the summit. However the cairn is quite distinctive - it is a built cairn with vertical sides, not just a pile of stones.
Looking back at Aonach Beag and Beinn Eibhinn from Geal Charn isn`t as good a view as looking in the other direction - you lose the ridge -
Having got to the summit of Geal Charn, it was decision time - because my bike was lying 2 km`s southwest of Cultra Lodge, I had to go back down to the track somehow to pick it up. I could either go back down Sgor Iutharn, or head northeast along the ridge, drop down to the coll, then down and round Loch an Sgoir. Well I`ve "done" Sgor Iutharn twice now, so time for a change - and I headed northeast in the direction of Carn Dearg.
You really don`t see much of interest whilst crossing the flat top of Geal Charn, but once you reach the edge, things change. The northeast side of Geal Charn is quite precipitous. Here`s part of it, with Carn Dearg in the background.
Somewhat surprisingly for mid July, there was even some patches of snow hiding away - with a small patch on Ben Alder in the background.
Fortunately, there is a way down to the coll, it`s quite a steep descent in places, but with the promise of another ridge up to Carn Dearg -
Sadly, I couldn`t go up to Carn Dearg, I had to turn down and drop down to Loch an Sgoir. It was a somewhat unpleasant descent - quite steep, with boulders hidden in deep heather, so it was slow going. However it did reveal a good view across to the flank of Sgor Iutharn.
So back to pick up my bike, and the long cycle run back to Dalwhinnie. Another excellent day, my only regret is that I didn`t leave my bike at Cultra Lodge - when I set off, I had no idea that I would want to come all the way back along the ridge. The walk along the ridge is so much nicer than the very tedious trek along the track.
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