One of The UK’s great ridge walks
Creag a’ Mhaim
Druim Shionnach
Aonach Air Chrith GM/WS-045
Maol Chinn-dearg
Sgùrr an Doire Leathain GM/WS-050
Sgùrr an Lochain
Creag nan Dàmh GM/WS-100
Before I retired from Tesco, I would organise some kind of annual physical challenge for my store manager colleagues, usually to raise funds for a good cause. In February I got a message asking if I would like to keep this going - no charity - just a few friends going away for a night or two and taking on something challenging in the Highlands. I suggested Skye’s Trotternish Ridge or The South Glen Shiel Ridge. The latter was chosen by the group.
On Monday 22nd June, four of us headed west from Aberdeenshire, in two cars, arriving at the lovely Ratagan Hostel at the end of Loch Duich at tea time, home for the next two nights. A posh hostel, with an alcohol licence, chilled beers and continental breakfast for anyone who wanted it (£6.50).
I was kind of reluctant to mention SOTA to the gang. Mainly because it was a huge undertaking and I didn’t want to delay things too much. It was actually Amy who brought it up on the drive over. When she asked if these were SOTA hills and when I said they were, her and Allan both said, “Well you have to do them then because it will be your only opportunity.”
view from the hostel
It was baking hot in the dorms. and we all struggled to sleep. We had 7am alarms set, but many hostellers were up at 6am, heading off on bikes, to the hills or up the Cape Wrath trail.
We left at 8am, driving back up Glen Shiel, depositing a car on the way to our start point, which was 11km further up the glen. 17C and little wind - too hot really.
0830 saw us on the long walk in which eventually took us, after 6 km, to the hill track and our first Munro - Creag a’ Mhaim.
the long walk in
“Is this one for your radio?”, I was asked. I had explained about Marilyns, SOTA and the like, but it hadn’t really sunk in. Anyway, we stopped for a quick selfie and then descended to a broad ridge.
heading to Druim Shionnach
Pleasant walking until it narrowed and kicked up near the summit of Druim Shionnach. All good with a narrow exposed path. “No, I’m not doing radio here either”.
The way over to Aonach Air Chrith GM/WS-045 looked a bit more interesting. The shapely peak rose steeply in front of us. Some exposed paths and steep but short chutes led back to the ridge, where a path took a direct line up along the edge. It was blowing a steady 40 kph SW wind by now. Great for cooling, but not so good for those who were a little nervous on the exposed bits.
Aonach Air Chrith GM/WS-045
SOTA Time! A small summit, with no real cairn, but some splintered rocks a few metres to the south. Not ideal, as it was in the teeth of the wind, however up went the Carbon 6 and the 41’ wire. SFI was 120 and K was 1. 20m SSB brought in six contacts and then a pause which was good enough for me to call QRT and pack up. I was struggling to hear stations over the wind anyway. Just as I was heading off the summit, the phone rang. @MM7MOX Andy and @MM0VPM Alan were north of me and looking for a summit to summit. The FT-3d with short rubber thingy achieved that. I apologised for my short activation. They understood the size of my undertaking today. Also, they were just 35 km NW of me, it turned out.
fab times on a fabulous ridge
Onwards to summit number four - Maol Chinn-dearg. I was struggling with the Marilyn thing on this walk. Everything felt like P150. Anyway, this one wasn’t. More narrow airy paths with a few wee scrambly bits.
bonny skies on the ridge
No radio here, so onwards to the next summit on the ridge - Sgùrr an Doire Leathain GM/WS-050, except this one wasn’t really on the ridge. It was on a spur to the north. We followed a line of old iron fence posts. I prayed for one in the AZ. I didn’t get it. Instead I got a reasonable pile of rocks. The wind had dropped, so a handful of boulders did the job of supporting the mast. I’d decided activations needed to be shorter, so I used the 17’ vertical that just has two radials along the ground. That brought me ten contacts on a very quiet 20m band, and then @GM4OAS plus MOX and VPM on 2m FM.
approcahing Sgùrr an Doire Leathain GM/WS-050
2m FM from Sgùrr an Doire Leathain GM/WS-050
Summit number six looked a bit “interesting”, especially with tired legs and knees. A steep and stepped descent instantly led to a steep pull up to the shapely Sgùrr an Lochain, which again felt like it should be a Marilyn! As we descended, it disappeared into the cloud. We never did see a view from the top.
Sgùrr an Lochain, just about to disappear
A quick cairn tap and a refuel and onwards. Food of the day was everything from tuna rolls, malt loafs, jelly babies, Borders biscuits, dried banana, fruit and nut mix, lucozade sport and water. Lots of water. Most of us had drunk 2 litres and were nearly out.
From Sgùrr an Lochain, we descended a good few hundred metres and then skirted a long way around the side of Sgurr Beag (896m). The ridge broadened and got wetter underfoot. The sky got wetter for a bit as well. A gradual rise in the ground eventually led to a steepening and a proper but short scramble to the summt of our final and seventh summit, Creag nan Dàmh GM/WS-100. Two of the team didn’t enjoy the scramble into the mist at all.
Thankfully the fence posts had followed us, so I was able to Velcro the mast and get on the air quickly. By now it was 1730 local, so 2m FM didn’t yield any contacts. 20m was also quiet, but good, with @F4WBN for the third time, and @EB8LF providing some nice DX to finish. Four logged and I called QRT. We needed to keep moving. At that point the cloud cleared and we had a view.
activating Creag nan Dàmh GM/WS-100
group selfie on Creag nan Dàmh GM/WS-100 Amy, Allan, James and moi
The descent proved to be problematic. We dropped off the summit to a col and a small buttress reared ahead. Two of the group looked ahead with fear. All day they had done really well with exposure and a bit of mild scrambling, but this was too much. They suggested an alternative - a direct descent from the col down the broad gully and down what looked like a reasonable stream/gully/valley/gorge, to hopefully re-join the hill path further down.
It checked out OK on my map, so I agreed with them. The last thing I wanted was a cragfast person at this stage of the day. Annoyingly the Walkhighlands route description completely omits this obstacle. So, down we went.
descending
Steep grass, bits of rock. Not too bad. Soon, the stream emerged from the ground and bubbled along beside us. A much welcomed chance to refill bottles and gulp down cool fresh water. Reaching a gully, the stream disappeared below the rocks and we made slow deliberate progress. We criss-crossed the re-emerging burn several times, always looking for the easiest line, mainly following deer trods.
Then the deer trod exited the gully steeply to the right above a crag. What was good enough for the deer was good enough for us, so we climbed up, then descended a new side gully. Glancing left showed the stream had entered a V-shaped rock slab slide and then spilled over a steep waterfall, none of which revealed itself on the 1:25,000 map that I had studied in detail before agreeing the route.
the waterfall
Tired legs eventually found more level and grassy ground. We crossed to the left bank of the burn one more time, then easily crossed the Allt Mhalagain to reach the hill path. 2km later and we were at the end point, with a car waiting.
12 hours and 5 minutes. 27km. 1900m of ascent. Seven summits.
final burn crossing
Our descent route had been more technical than the described route, however it was shorter. It took the same amount of time. The win though - our two folks who were terrified of the scramble were in their element in the shelter and sanctuary of the gullies and gorges. They had a ball route finding and hopping all about the place. Indeed, if we weren’t all knackered after climbing seven summits, it would have been a fun wee expedition itself!
It was a fantastic day out. On an expedition of this size, the SOTA was almost an inconvenience - it countered the urge to keep moving. However, with summits three, five and seven being the SOTA summits, it also provided needed rest and refuel points for the group.
The activations were super quick as well. Two minutes, nine minutes and two minutes on HF respectively. In planning, I had some pre-guilt about this single band quickie approach, however, using the vertical made the decision for me - it doesn’t work on 40m! And, as it turns out, I appear to be the only activator who has completed the entire ridge in a day, activating the three summits along the way. Thank goodness the other four are not Marilyns.
And my friends were right - I won’t be back. A stunning day out, probably in the top five of Scottish mountain routes, but once was enough…