TR Sgurr an Utha



G

Graham Ingram

Guest
Set off at 6:30 am Sunday aiming for Carn Mor in Glendessary but the
trip through Glencoe was stormy to say the least and by Fort William
the rain was bouncing down. We decided to take the easier option of
3 - 4 hours in the rain rather than a full day so headed for
Glenfinnan and Sgurr an Utha. Took the track from the road up the
shoulder of Fraoch-bheinn with the rain steady and very heavy by this
time, full waterproofs in July ! The ridge up to Fraoch-bheinn is
very reminiscent of the nearby Ardgour peaks and I suspect accurate
route finding in the mist up here could be a problem. As it was
visibility was ok, it was just the rain causing problems ! from F-b it
is a nice little ridge to Sgurr an Utha but as we turned into the wind
the rain just got heavier. as we approached the final summit knoll,
the rain stopped and the sun came out ~ brilliant views for under 2
minutes and then the hailstones started. The size of peas the noise
from the hail hitting jackets and hoods was amazing. We made a
descent back to the glen by following down a very swollen stream. got
back to the car in about 3.5 hours and back to Fort William for a
browse round Nevis Sport ! Of course as we drove home through Glencoe
again the weather was brilliant with high broken cloud and blue skies
! !

--
Cheers
Graham

284/284 97/219

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> The ridge up to Fraoch-bheinn is
>very reminiscent of the nearby Ardgour peaks and I suspect accurate
>route finding in the mist up here could be a problem.

Correct.. and the magnetic rock here does not help.. Mind holding the
compass away from the rocks is all it takes.

Meanwhile in the Mounth, the showers were light , infrequent and
short. Mind there is a Corbett shortage, and I was after a Corbett top
and trespassed into the realm of the Munro Bagger. 4th one this
year(2nd this week!) - steady on!

--
Richard Webb
Serious Wa*king - http://www.sub3000.com
 
Nice one Graham, your plugging away at the Corbetts always sends me to
a map to see where you've actually been. The Munros (both done and
undone) are etched in my brain, but Corbetts for me are much more
an unknown quantity, so it's good to look at an area anew.
Your original plan was the Corbett done from Strathan by
a poster on here a couple of months back, if I remember rightly.
I don't think we're in for much of a summer, weather wise -
I'm off to the NW tomorrow, weather poor..... more cloudy cairn
photos :)

KRO
 
On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 20:51:10 +0000 (UTC), "KRO" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Nice one Graham, your plugging away at the Corbetts always sends me to
>a map to see where you've actually been. The Munros (both done and
>undone) are etched in my brain, but Corbetts for me are much more
>an unknown quantity, so it's good to look at an area anew.
>Your original plan was the Corbett done from Strathan by
>a poster on here a couple of months back, if I remember rightly.
>I don't think we're in for much of a summer, weather wise -
>I'm off to the NW tomorrow, weather poor..... more cloudy cairn
>photos :)

Funny... Its been a stinker, but due to the showery air, I have had
more distant views than usual this year. Lots of shrp colourful
piccies.

Richard Webb
 
Graham Ingram wrote

> stormy ... rain ... rain ... rain steady and very heavy ... full
> waterproofs in July ! ... rain ... wind ... the rain just got
> heavier ... hailstones the size of peas.

As much as I hold your tenacity in the highest possible regard, I
confess that this apporoach to mountain walking is utterly alien
to me.

Well done all the same. Aren't Corbetts wonderful ?

And, yes, by all means call me a whimp :)

Chris
 
"RJ Webb" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Funny... Its been a stinker, but due to the showery air, I have had
> more distant views than usual this year. Lots of shrp colourful
> piccies.

Lovely sunrise this morning looking from the slopes of Beinn a'
Chlaidheimh, rain started at 1 pm after I'd finished for the day
(only 2 of the 4 planned completed, ah well they'll be there a
long time) and was intermittent and heavy all the way home.
Cloud was above tops, views reasonable and little or no
wind. Forecast wrong for the morning, I suppose those
conditions were correct for the afternoon. Got a wonderful
picture of a stag on cliff edge looking out over the glen......

KRO
 
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