Beinn Dearg (1008m) NN853778
Summitted: Saturday 28th August 2010
Summitted: Saturday 28th August 2010
Carn a'Chlamain (963m) NN916758
Summitted: Saturday 28th August 2010
Summitted: Saturday 28th August 2010
An Sgarsoch (1006m) NN933837
Summitted: Sunday 29th August 2010
Summitted: Sunday 29th August 2010
Carn an Fidhleir (Carn Ealar) (994m) NN905842
Summitted: Sunday 29th August 2010
Summitted: Sunday 29th August 2010
There are four Munros to the immediate west of Glen Tilt that can be climbed over a long weekend without too much bother - Beinn Dearg, Carn a' Chlamain, An Sgarsoch and Carn an Fidhleir (AKA Carn Ealar).
Leaving work a little early to jump on the 4.40 train to Blair Atholl, I arrived with a good bit of daylight and hoofed it up the track towards the Allt Sheicheachan bothy. Just as I was leaving the trees above Old Blair, I decided I wanted some fuel for the fire, so I grabbed a sizeable log and mounted it on the top of my rucksack, balancing it with one hand. This didn't make the uphill slogg any easier, but I knew there would be no fuel to be found at the bothy. I arrived at the bothy with a little daylight to spare and set to work on smashing up the log. Being damp in the core, and of a dense yet springy variety of pine, it wouldn't break, so I left it inside to dry out. Instead, I wandered about for a while, grabbing armfulls of dead grey heather, which I used to keep a miniscule fire going for well over three hours by continually adding twigs every few minutes. It was a hassle to keep such a small fire going without burning out all the fuel, but the only alternative was sleep and it provided a little light for me to have a whisky or two.
The following day I was up at dawn and set off at 7.50 up the Allt Scheicheachan track. Where the track bends sharply to the right. the path continues for a short while before switching back and rising onto Meall Dubh nan Dearcag. From here you can see the summit for the rest of the way.
Beinn Dearg from Meall Dubh nan Dearcag.jpg
Having started off at over 450m, I was at the summit by 9.30am. It was time for a sandwich and a short break, huddled behind the wall around the trig point - which is, unusually, made of stone and mortar instead of concrete.
The summit of Beinn Dearg
Heading north and then west onto Elrig'ic an Toisich I followed the Caochan Carn a'Chairidh down to the Feith an Lochain. Not easy going, as there is no path, and there are a million little pot-holes where tiny tributaries of the burn flow underground. The sky had cleared, so I lay on a bit of shingly beach by the Feith an Lochain for a while to eat some biscuits and pick a route up to Carn a' Chlamain. I decided to head up to Cuil Riabhach, as it looked like the easiest route onto the ridge that would take me up to the summit.
Heading up to Cuil Riabhach
The groun here is very rough and when I got onto the ridge it started to rain heavily enough to warrant waterproof trousers. A little further along the ridge the sky cleared again and I got a view of the Tarf Hotel, and could see the top of Carn a' Chlamain. I was happy now that I could see my next two targets and it was still early afternoon. I was looking forward to getting to the bothy early and having plenty of light to cook and plan the next day.
Summit of Carn a' Chlamain
The path coming up from Glen Tilt
Looking down Gleann Craoinidh
I didn't hang around at the top as it was blowing an icy wind and I was keen to get down to the bothy to get a decent space. There were a few people on their way up to the summit, so I decided to push on down Conlach Bheag and along Feith Uaine Mhor to the bothy. There's no path here, so it 's heavy going. It rained on and off and the burn snakes erratically along the bottom of the glen, making it impossible to see the bothy until about 100 yards away.
I got myself settled into the wooden-clad room about half an hour before a group came down off Carn a' Chlamain and got themselves set up in the double-room next door. Surprisingly there was plenty of cut wood lying around, as the cladding on the front of the building had been replaced.
The next morning I was up early but the weather was very poor. The wind hurled rain at the windows so I decided to hold off on going out for the day until a little later. At about 11 the weather lifted a bit and I set out along the Tarf water to An Sgarsoch via Sron na Macraniach. It rained on and off, but nothing too severe. The wind was still high, especially on top of An Sgarsoch, where I could quite easily lean into the wind without falling over.
The summit of An Sgarsoch
I didn't hang around too long as it was freezing. My hands were going numb just from exposing them to the wind whilst I took a few pictures. It was time to head on to Carn an Fhidhleir. On the way down to the coll between the two summits I bumped into a couple of guys who were doing the same route in reverse. There wasn't much of a path down to the coll, where I stopped to eat some food before tackling the steep ascent up to Carn an Fhidhleir.
The sky was clear again at the top, so I chilled out for a while in the sunshine, as it was quite warm when sheltered in the lee of the summit cairn. My exit strategy was to head south along a ridge of 5 peaks that would take me to Meall Dubh Chlais. It was more difficult than I had thought, but eventually I made it back to Tarf Water where I strode across the river, sometimes thigh deep. The hundred yards were a soggy trudge to the door where I emptied about a litre of water out of each boot.
The following day I put on wet boots and set off at 6.50 back up Carn a' Chlamain to get down to Glen Tilt, skirting round just short of the summit to get onto the landrover track that heads down to Chlachghlas. It's a long trudge down Glen Tilt and the rough track surface made sure my feet were pretty sore by the time I hobbled into the shop in Blair Atholl to get some well-earned juice and snacks.
