Sailing on high in the Fannichs
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WINTER MOUNTAIN WALK
Sgurr nan Clach Geala and Sgurr nan Each
Distance – 17km
Terrain – Icy ridges, paths and rough ground
Maps – OS Landranger 20, Beinn Dearg
Start/finish – Layby on A832 just over 5km past Braemore Junction
A winter mountaineering expedition over two snow-covered Munros
THE mist parted suddenly and the summit pinnacle of Sgurr nan Clach Geala reared up like the prow of a great ship.
We gasped, taken aback for a moment at how rugged it looked, with a precipitous drop to our left into the corrie hundreds of metres below.
Sgurr nan Clach Geala is undoubtedly the most impressive of the Fannichs – a group of nine Munros bounded in the south by the great expanse of Loch Fannich and in the north by the A835 and the A832 Ullapool and Gairloch roads, which divide at Braemore Junction.
I had got as far as the junction a couple of weeks before, planning to do this route, but my access was blocked by a snowed-up road.
It was snow free today and John and I easily reached the car park just over five kilometres past Braemore Junction, where we geared up for our day on these wonderful mountains.
The hope was that after a freeze-thaw cycle and a cold night, we would encounter hard-packed snow high up that would make the going easier with crampons on.
I recalled a memorable day on the Fannichs years before in March 1989 with my then colleague Cameron McNeish, now well known for his TV exploits.
The ridges were plastered in rock-hard snow and progress was quick and easy. We covered four of the Munros that day in a big circuit, starting with Beinn Liath Mhor Fannich and ending with An Coileachan, though my diary records that the walk out was “a long slog”.
We were mightily relieved to reach Cameron’s campervan parked on the A835 where we had spent the previous night.
Fast-forward to January 2012 and John and I began our trek along the track that leads in a kilometre to the shore of Loch a’ Bhraoin.
Here the estate has created a new path diversion on a much better surface than the original boggy path that begins the route through to the western end of Loch Fannich.
The diversion rejoins this after crossing a bridge and the path continues beside the west side of the Allt Breabaig which must be crossed early on.
Today that was straightforward enough with our walking poles used for support. They’re like an extra pair of legs in these situations.
We intended to climb Meall a’ Chrasgaidh, at 934 metres the first of three Munros lying in a north-south line. But conversation and lack of concentration took over.
Before we knew it we had walked well past the point where we should have begun our ascent.
Since Sgurr nan Clach Geala – in the middle of this triptych – was the real prize, we decided to press on and climb over rough ground to the bealach between the two Munros.
Higher up we began to hit patches of snow and their weight-bearing firmness held promise of what was to come.
Abandoning thoughts of doing Meall a’ Chrasgaidh, my plan was to follow one of the snow rills leading to the ridge under Sgurr nan Clach Geala’s summit.
Ice-axes in hand and crampons on, we advanced steadily upwards. The summit had tantalisingly cleared once or twice but the cloud kept drifting in and obscuring it again.
It was one of those clearances that gave us the amazing view of the cliffs, edged on their western, less-steep side by snow, dropping away to the glen we would return to for our walk out.
Now for some fun and we set off for the top, staying as close to the edge of the corrie as safely possible, gawping into the depths below when we could find a stable stance.
As we took a break at the summit, marked by a trig point and a cairn, two walkers appeared from the opposite direction. After a brief conversation we ended our break and set off down the way our acquaintances had come up, aiming now to do the next Munro, Sgurr nan Each.
Huge cornices overhung the cliffs to our left and had fractured in places ready to cleave away when the temperature rose. For now everything was solid but we kept a discreet distance from the edge as the ridge began to arc towards the next bealach, Cadha na Guite, unseen until we got just above it.
The bealach sits at around 800 metres, with a drop of some 300 metres from Sgurr nan Clach Geala and a reascent of about 120 metres to the top of Sgurr nan Each.
Still on hard snow most of the time we were able to keep the crampons on, get to the summit and return to the bealach ready for a walk out of around six kilometres.
But first we had to reach the path. The boggy slope, streaming with water in places, made the going difficult and slow, until at last we arrived at the path.
We regained the car just as the light had almost gone. I took a last look back at the mountains, quiet sentinels in the darkness, the snow still visible on the skyline, and pointed the car back to Inverness.
