Brown Cow Hill aka Hill of the Brown Cow

And so to the last Corbett in the Cairngorms. A visit to mum and dad's usually entails a gander at the hill map in the area - if I was away early enough, I'd get to Corgarff for 0900 and enjoy a good run over this hill. I was there bang on time and with running gear on and light pack. Although cold, it was a good weather forecast so no need to worry about inclement weather. I enjoyed the run along the Land Rover track and then the steep climb up past the grouse butts. I was making good progress and started to enjoy the views across to Ben Avon and the tors in particular. It seemed an age since I'd been up there with Darren and Graeme in 2010. Jeezo.

I dropped down off the initial climb, and crossed a relatively deep heather expanse - it was a bit of a struggle up to the plateau of Brown Cow Hill but the view back to where I came from, and the Ladder Hills was very rewarding. From here, it was a nice run over to the small cairn with the stunning tors of Ben Avon in the distance. All that remained was to descend back down the glen and round past the estate buildings to the car. I was all done in 2.5 hours with 16km of distance, which is reasonable going in Winter.

Glas Bheinn from Kinlochleven

The last official working day of the year and I was away from home by 0430. My plan was to head North to Kinlochleven and get 4G on my preferred hill so that I could dial into the last meeting with the team. I needn't have worried. I drove through Glencoe at 0630 and thought I'd drive up to Fort Bill for coffee and breakfast at Costa. Disaster - not opening until 0800. I just hit a garage, fuelled up and got some Red Bull before the lovely meander along the wee road to KLL from South Ballachulish. And it was still pitch black at 0745! I phoned my wife and wished her and my daughter 'good morning', as they laughed at my eagerness. And lack of hill progress. Eventually in the grey murk of dawn, I got my hill gear together and set off up the path out of KLL. Progress was good and the view back down Loch Leven with the Pap of Glencoe is always special. 

Eventually, I levelled out and the view ahead was clear to my objective for the day, the Corbett Glas Bheinn. Most reports suggested crossing the head of the loch and contouring round but it made for a boggy approach. As I had my trail shoes on and was largely running, I decided to head straight along the loch and then take a more direct approach up to the summit.

The track was excellent for approach running and I was entirely on my own. I thoroughly enjoyed the isolation of it all and one of the trees at the side of the loch was very pretty. The sound of the streams running off Sgurr Eilde Mor was lovely.

I reached the old building at the adjoining point between Loch Eilde Mor and Beag. A simple crossing off this and it was straight up the slopes, which were boggy lower down. I ploughed up for a good 45 minutes, with the view back to the Lochs very nice indeed. And at 1000, I took my call and proudly showed off my background to the team. Tres jaloux! I was a happy soul at the summit.

I continued North-East off the summit and then jinked back towards my crossing point, careful of the crags just off the summit. Once down safe, it was a simple pleasure of running/walking back out to the car. I got down for 1200 and was home by 1445 in time for coffee and lunch. A great wee end to the year's hills. But for 2022, I aim to compleat the Munros.

Carn Mor & Glen Pean bothy

And so it was the annual Winter bothy trip with Graeme was back on. Cancelled in 2020 because of this damned pandemic, we confirmed the date of 3rd weekend in November for a new bothy experience, and a new hill! I had forgotten how long the drive takes down Loch Arkaig but what a rollercoaster it is. Total concentration for 40 minutes and eventually I rolled up to the car park at Strathan with a few of the beasts as welcoming party. 

It's amazing how close you can get to them. But, that was terrible of me calling Graeme and Luna beasts - they had only been in A'Chuil one evening. We got the packs sorted and began the yomp into Glen Pean; although a threat of rain, it didn't really take hold and we had fine views as we walked further into our destination. It was good to catch up again as we hadn't been on the hill since Knoydart - our Munro extravanganza and the sad acceptance that it was currently two thirds of my total Munros for the year. But it's quality over quantity, isn't it? Not when you're 15 from completing....

After a good hour of walking and catching up, we saw our home for the night and it looked a cracking wee abode.

We unpacked, got the sleeping bags set out on the sleeping platforms and became German for the afternoon - towels down, our platforms claimed for the evening! We needn't have worried as we'd be the only folks in the bothy that night. Our plan now was straight up on to the ridge of Carn Mor, a Corbett that would lead us out to the edge of Knoydart and Loch Morar. It was a brute of ascent and unforgiving but we appeared on the flat ridge after about 45 minutes. From here, our summit lay 2 miles to the West and despite the odd burst of rain, we had a great walk along to the final climb. 

We could see the massive slip to the South of the summit and carefully walked along the cleft, before the wind blasted us on our final walk to the summit cairn, and Loch Morar beyond. We didn't hang about at the summit and Luna was unimpressed by the wind chill. It took me a good 15 minutes to warm up on the way down towards the bothy.

Our descent was careful and we were both relieved to get back to the bothy and into the warmth of a braw bothy fire. Glen Pean has a rather foreboding feel to it - in stark contrast to the magnificent bothy - we sat from 1715 until 2215, watching bothy TV, supping beer and even stretched to a fine bottle of bubbly with the now compulsory Diablo toasties. The walk out the next day was fine, with the hill summits covered in snow. Winter is soon upon us.

Garbh Bheinn (Ardgour)

I managed to get some sleep after my summit camp on Beinn Bheag (report here https://grahammadness.blogspot.com/2021/09/sgurr-mhic-eacharna-beinn-bheag.html) and the tent was packed up with breakfast in my belly by 0630. The cloud was just beginning to break and my objective for the day looked me right in the face. Granite slabs dropped down most of this impressive mountain - one for summer for sure.

I made my way down to the lochain below Garbh Bheinn and looked up at its steep climb - I had a climb of about 1100 feet ahead of me but I would just take my time as a slip here would be problematic. The climb eventually wound its way into a Coire and I followed the route to the summit but not before I stopped and took a photo back to Beinn Bheag, which paled into comparison beside this brute of a hill.

The summit view was obscured by clag so I just made my way down the long shoulder of the Corbett until I got back to the road. Only 7.5km of a walk out from camp but it took my 3 hours which highlights how tough the terrain was. All that remained was the short ferry trip back over and the drive home. I felt very relaxed and recharged. This was my 125th Corbett - tough to beat this experience.

Creagan na Bainne from Newton Bridge

I was in dire need of an end to the working week. Scunnered is the word. I had a pass for an overnight but I couldn't be doing with the long drive or a night under the stars - my mind was in monkey-mind. Best to keep it local and do something non-technical. I decided to head to the Sma' Glen and take the bike with me. I parked up at Newton Bridge, and began the bike along Glen Almond. It was dry and warm so it wasn't long before I was generating a good sweat. I hadn't been down this way before so was enjoying the great Land Rover track in. I decided to take the bike as far as Dalriech but rather than leave the bike in the glen, I would ascend the lower slopes of the Corbett. Tough going but I reached a high enough point before it got really steep. It was as I ascended that the first shower came down the glen. Not unpleasant but it had been a long time since I'd been out in rain. Changed days.

I followed the track that wend its way up the hill and eventually started to get decent views North over Loch Tay to the Ben Lawers Munros. The apparent hump over some peat hags was my destination for the day - not particularly inspiring but once I got to the summit, I was happy to get another summit in the bag. The number of mountain hares was incredible, darting all over the place. I re-traced my steps back where I came and began to feel better as the showers died down and I began to dry off. 

I had some nourishment back at the bike, donned the gear and began the cycle back out. I took 20 minutes off the return leg as it was mainly downhill - I hadn't appreciated how much ascent there was to the initial journey in. A couple of lovely ladies asked if I'd enjoyed my day and it was great to exchange pleasantries before the fairly short drive home. Always good to see a new bit of this great, wee country we live in.

Mam na Gualainn

And so after 18 months, I was back out on the hills with Graeme who I had not seen since pre-pandemic. And this time, we'd be joined by Luna, his new black Labrador. We had agreed to do Mam na Gualainn from Kinlochleven and got there nice and early (0830). The pooch was keen to go and we began the hike along the road before ascending the WHW path on to the lairig. It had been about 15 months since I'd tried this with my brother-in-law in very heavy snow. At that time, we had got as far as the shoulder and then bailed. This time, the weather was fine with no rain or inclement weather forecast. Indeed, we made good time up on to Being na Caillichand the views were stupendous. This hill is ideally placed for views to Glencoe, down the Loch, and over to the Mamores. An absolute gem of a hill. 

At some point, Luna had absorbed a tick and Graeme was able to unlatch and dispatch. She seemed non-plussed and only had eyes for lunch! We made our way along the ridge to the Corbett summit, where there was a poignant summit trig point ('Keep on climbing, Tony') - he had died very young and had served his country in the Royal Marines. A fitting tribute to someone who had given so much. I thought about it for a while and we pushed on. The descent back into the lairig was uncomplicated and once back on to the Land Rover track, we were assailed by numerous WHWers asking us how far to Fort William. We began to make the numbers up by the 3rd or 4th lot of people "Only 14 miles to go now" etc. We were down by 1430 and it was a most enjoyable hill. Great to see Graeme again and the plans for Knoydart were in full flow for July. Encore!  

Gairbeinn from Melgarve

I had intended on heading back up the Munros again but the timings weren't right so I decided to keep the drive reasonable, and instead decided on Gairbeinn from Melgarve bothy. I had the bike unloaded once more, and from Garva bridge, it was a nice ride along the road for about 4 miles, all done in 22 minutes. Unsurprisingly, the bothy was locked but it looked a nice place to spend an evening so I'll definitely come back in Winter. Gairbeinn stood tall and as it had been so dry, what would have been a boggy approach was actually dry underfoot. I fair pelted up the slopes, and once at the plateau, the views opened up nicely to surrounding hills. Although the wind turbines were a definite blot on the landscape. There was still some snow patches lying around and there was a real frigidity to the wind blowing from the North. I didn't hang about and descended quickly to the bike. The 4-mile cycle back out was lovely and the amount of deer near the river was incredible. When I got back to the car, I fired up the cooker and got some curry down my throat, with a wee can of Dr Pepper. I felt great and it was good to get Corbett 122 in the bag - ONLY 100 to go!