Hills & Mountains: Glen Coe (North)

Hills & Mountains

Glen Coe (North)

*I am in the process of redesigning this section to include notes and many more high-res shots*

Beinn a' Chrulaiste

BEINN A` CHRULAISTE (???*m)

Dates

Name?

The Mountain Hare, also known as the Blue Hare due to the blue-grey tinge to its summer coat, is a mammal often seen by hillwalkers, particularly in the eastern Highlands. Its coat changes to much denser white fur following a moult which lasts from October to December but often this is out of sync with local conditions, especially in early spring when animals with predominately white coats can contrast sharply with snow-free terrain making them easy prey for Golden Eagles or Foxes.

The summer garb returns between March and May. The bucks are in breeding condition by the end of December and mating takes place from then on. Leverets are born fully furred with their eyes wide open and litters that appear in March and April and later in August, at the end of the breeding season, are likely to be considerably smaller than those born in June.

The Aonach Eagach

MEALL DEARG (953m)
SGORR NAM FIANNAIDH (967m)

Dates

I`ve climbed the Aonach Eagach Ridge at least half-a-dozen times, usually from the west via the path beside the Clachaig Gully, seen above.* The path, which is badly eroded, often passes close to the edge and requires care. A preferable alternative is to climb the slopes directly opposite Loch Achtriochtan and gain the highest of the two Munros, Sgorr nam Fiannaidh. As well as a couple of traverses from the opposite end, I made an abortive attempt to climb the ridge in winter with Tommy H, a workmate who was a keen climber. As can be seen from these 35mm print scans, conditions were less than ideal!

Wild conditions at the west end of the ridge. At the summit of Sgorr nam Fiannaidh, gusts blew us off our feet and we crawled the final few metres to the cairn. Not surprisingly, we decided to leave the winter traverse for another day. Tommy, taking advantage of a brief lull in the gale force winds, quickly poses for a photograph before heading down.