Binnein Mòr

Thursday 18th September 2008

On the morning of this walk I wasn't sure where to go as it was raining again and I didn't want to do another difficult walk in the rain. Being at the top of a mountain in good weather is better than anything, but being at top of a mountain in bad weather can be one of the worst places on Earth; unfortunately I didn’t get any good weather on this holiday. I had considered going up Ben Nevis (who’d have thought that would be a wet weather alternative!), but the path up the Ben is very boring and then my eyes drifted right down Glen Nevis towards the Mamores. This is a fantastic area for walking that I have grown to have a lot of affection for. I first visited the Mamores in 2005 and was blown away by the stunning scenery that was shown at its best by the brilliant weather that I was lucky enough to have that weekend. The Mamores consist of a complex chain of ridges that are an absolute joy to walk along with a multitude of tops arrayed along its length that includes eight Munros. I came back a year later on the only rainy day in a whole two weeks of walking in the Highlands and I still had a great walk, so when I tried to decide where to walk on this day it was an easy decision to repeat the walk that I had done two years ago with only a slight alteration. Two years ago the walk was linear, ending at the youth hostel, but this time I would be returning to my starting point in Kinlochleven, and actually complete the full walk as described in Ralph Storer’s guide book.

Starting from the car park in Kinlochleven I climbed steeply through woodland out into open country. Despite having done this walk before I quickly, somehow, managed to go the wrong way and found myself taking a seriously muddy, barely discernible path that climbs very steeply up the hillside away from Kinlochleven. This was just the sort of thing I had been trying to avoid when I decided to do this walk! Once I realised I had gone the wrong way I had no choice but to continue to struggle up the hill until I was able to cross the gully that was baring my way onto the proper path, which was, of course, an annoyingly good path. It crossed a track and then climbed steeply below Coire nan Laogh up onto the steep slopes below Sgòr Eilde Beag. The excellent path zigzagged up the hillside on a nicely graded route that cleverly eased the steep contours and made light work of the climb enabling me to enjoy the views until they disappeared in mist as I reached the top of Sgòr Eilde Beag at the summit cairn where I had my lunch. That was also where I accidentally left my compass and whistle. Later when I realised this I couldn’t be bothered to go back for them so whoever found them after me, are welcome to consider them as a gift!

The onward route was fabulous, despite the bad weather. I climbed up to Binnein Mòr's south top and crossed over the fantastic, narrow, connecting ridge to the wonderfully rocky summit of Binnein Mòr, the highest point in the Mamores. I had, of course, been there before, but that was also in poor weather, so despite having been there twice I've still never seen the view from the top! From the highest point in the Mamores I returned to the south top and walked along the deliciously narrow ridge to Na Gruagaichean. This was a great walk along the rocky terrain of the ridge and up to the summit of the Munro, before crossing over to the north-western top, which is another wonderful experience despite the bad weather on this fabulous mountain. Coming off the mountain I dropped down to the bealach that is the lowest point on the whole ridge system. At the bottom of the pass I turned left onto a path that I had never been on before that slowly descends into Coire na Bà. Previously I continued along the ridge to Stob Coire a’ Chairn and then took the northern branch over An Gearanach into Glen Nevis. On this walk I headed back to Kinlochleven down a path that brilliantly negotiated the contours below Na Gruagaichean before dropping down into the corrie bottom where I followed the stream south out of the corrie. The path continued to keep my interest all the way down with stunning views of Kinlochleven as I descended and near the bottom a steep, tricky, but exciting, descent led me through woodland past the Grey Mares Tail Waterfall.

Despite the bad weather, the strong, bitingly cold wind and the rain, I loved this walk mainly because it’s in such wonderful terrain, on great mountains. The Mamores are a great area to walk in and the weather seemed incapable of doing anything to spoil it (although I'm sure it could!). One of the advantages of the Mamores is that there are good, clear paths up onto them and along their tops; there is no need to trudge through heather and bracken to get to them. The Mamores are a fantastic place; I should visit them more often, but perhaps in better weather next time.