It was another day that started in the night with a 2.00am alarm in order to travel to the location and be able to start the climb of the two Beinn Alligin Munros before sunrise. I was hoping to be able to soak in the great views from the top while the sun was low and light was good.
The best laid plans however do not always bring the fruits of one’s labour and can have some unexpected twists as I was going to find out.
The first twist was a very unfortunate incident where on the car journey to the Torridon range a large red deer stag came out of dark from ‘nowhere’ in front of me as I was travelling up the A896. For a millisecond I thought ‘that was it’ for the car - slamming the brakes on like my life depended on it, I saw the deer pass the front of the car and then a thud as I collided with its rear end. With a vehicle behind it wasn’t suitable to stop straight away but amazingly my lights still seemed intact and I was able to journey on. Later I discovered quite a bit of damage to the car which could well have been written off in such an encounter - I was extremely thankful it wasn’t. On the return journey there was no deer to be seen in the area … so some questions remain unanswered to this day!
Arriving at the car park below the Munros, still recovering from the flashbacks of a vision of the deer episode, I started the ascent and it wasn’t long before quickly gaining height that the views opened up in the pink light of pre-sunrise across Upper Loch Torridon.
Continuing upwards Squrr Mor (in the left of the image below) and the Horns (three peaks to the right of the Squrr Mor) came into view as the sun rose.
Then the second twist of the day disclosed itself when I noticed cloud swirling around the tops of the mountains I was heading for. Despite the weather apps indicating clear skies until around 7am, I hadn’t bargained for ‘typical’ mountain weather conditions giving rise to cloud building up over the peaks in the low temperatures of very early morning.
The views back below continued to impress however:
Eventually the mist/cloud descended to completely clothe the tops of the mountains with me entering it accompanied with a tinge of disappointment …
I eventually made it each of the Munros. There was a few uncomfortable moments navigating in the mist and not able to find the correct route to descend to the ridge between the two peaks. Along the ridge there were views under the cloud which gave a perspective of what it could have been like from the peaks on a clear day.
Once at the second Munro (Squrr Mor) I sat and waited for some time - wondering if the cloud would lift - with only the imagination any use for what the views would have looked like. Now and again the sun could be seen through the cloud - but that was it. There was going to be no grand mountain peak experience on this trip.
The return path back to Tom Na Gruagaich (the first Munro) was much easier to see going east to west and emphasised the steepness of the route I had descended earlier on. Views were possible under the cloud along the ridge - here’s a selection. At one point it seemed that Tom Na Graugaich was go to be set free from the cloud - but it didn’t last long!
Retracing my steps I commenced the descent back towards the car park. On the way down I passed many walkers - surprised i think at seeing me descending at that hour of the morning! About 2.5 hrs after being at the top, and part way down the descent, the cloud started to lift - which made me question the 2.00am start!! LOL.
Squrr Mor and the Horns
It was turning into a beautiful day and this was only around 10.00am! The photos below include a sequence of watching the cloud slowly rise from the mountain peaks as I continued down.
Here’s the last panoramic looking across Upper Loch Torridon, before the descent hides the views back up the route behind me.
A morning of mixed emotions. Partly wishing I had stuck it out for a few hours waiting on Squrr Mor - but with the cold and more particularly the unpredictability of the weather it could easily had gone the other way. But ‘conquering’ my first Munros was a date to remember.