This was the first time for me to hike alone in remote places, it was also the first time for me to travel up to Scotland independently using the coach. It was something that I was going to do on a regular basis later on. The weather was nice on the first day travelling up. Rain occurred the night before in Scotland and before that time, Scotland has suffered drought for two weeks. I noticed the streams were little more than trickles and I felt concerned that drought may be a problem. In the end the regular pulses of rain during my trip turned out to be a blessing in that respect. Things would have been awkward otherwise.

The coach dropped me off in Bridge of Orchy and I had a 3.5hour wait for the next train to Corrour. The weather slowly turned darker towards the south and it started to rain ten minutes before the train was due. The midges kept me occupied when the sun hid away behind the cloud. I arrived at Corrour station with fading light and a sense of urgency was felt to find a suitable campsite. Eventually among the heather slopes I came across the main stream and I felt lucky that a nice patch of grass and running water were present for a comfortable nights sleep. Corrour felt like a suitably remote place to start the round of Glen Nevis, far better than Fort William despite the hassle of transport. The difficulty of transport gave a certain feeling of achievement once you did reach your final destination.

I had contemplated doing these three summits which included my first two Corbetts. I felt I could do it on the basis of my May Bank Holiday trip around Wasdale. I got up nice and early to a breezy day and no rain (yet). Setting off at 7.30am, the pull to the north western top proved tiresome against the gale. From there I dumped my sack to climb Leum Uilleim (featured in the train spotting movie).

It started raining and I thought it would be like this all day. The glimpses through the cloud were very bleak. The Blackwater reservior would be better called Bleakwater given its setting in Rannoch Moor. The winds were storm force at times with me being buffeted quite violently. Back to the sack I found the wind flow to be more laminar which made things easier on the way down to a small loch. Following the descent, I walk along a track and the rain cleared. the views across to the Glen Coe summits were great despite the leaded sky and gave the place a distinct feeling of remoteness.

Lunch followed and then it was on to the next Corbett. Once the summit ridge was reached, I could now see the eastern block of the Mamores with my final summit clearly in view. The approach to the Munros via the Corbetts was certainly preferable to walking along low level tracks in bleak settings. The memory of the West Highland Way across Lairig Mor back in April was still very clear. Up to now I saw no one else until Loch Eilde Mor where I saw fishermen around the loch. So remote was the setting before.

The ascent up to the high loch beneath Sgurr Eilde Mor proved strenuos now, I was tiring and feeling parched with the work already done. I reached the loch in the late afternoon, dumped the sack and sped up to the final summit. It was a relief to dump my sack and walk up freely. The wind was very strong on the summit, certainly storm force and down a the sack it was gale force. The paths around here are very well made and maintained as I walked north looking for a campsite. The strong winds made me think setting the tent up would be interesting, though I found a nice sheltered spot to rest my head.

The day started rainy and I wasn’t inclined to rise promptly, so I had a lie in until 10am. I didn’t set off until 11.30am when the day was clearer. The first summit was a nice easy introduction and provided fantastic views down to the jaws of the Nevis gorge and surrounding mountains. The approach to Binnein Mor was sheltered from the worst of the winds and the summit was pleasant and narrow. It’s one of the shapeliest summits in Scotland and from the Grey Corries it looks like a symmetrical spire.

The winds proved tiresome on the main ridge and the ridge looked extremely long. One small gap in the ridge funnelled a lot of wind, this buffeted me a lot and with a big drop on the other side of the ridge, it was wise to take care. The winds after that gap were easier and the rain didn’t arrive until after the second to last summit. I was told the ridge out to An Gearanach was very narrow, with the strong winds and the rain I opted to walk round the west side to avoid this ridge. The wind dropped significantly in speed after the summit was attained but the rain was relentless. Beneath the cloud level I noticed a sunny patch to the east, it was always there and the rain never stopped on the way down to Glen Nevis.

Near the bottom, I noticed another walker tripped and tumbled near my position, she was unharmed though the two walkers seemed as though they were taking a route round the Falls of Steall having discovered it from the top. I can appreciate how this glen attracts a lot of accidents due to its popularity combined with the craggy nature.

Lack of wind was now a problem, the midges were coming out for dinner and I was it! The sun (now coming out) reduced their intensity though. Although I intended to climb Am Bodach and traverse the Devil’s ridge, lack of time permitted me not to do so.

I was woken at 10pm, there had been an accident, a group of campers upstream were assisting a walker who had slipped up on Ben Nevis. I instructed her to go down the glen and call Mountain Rescue, I investigated the injured and he had cut his head. The bleeding had stopped though he wasn’t able to walk which suggested something more serious. The campers handled it O.K. by providing a sleeping bag and hot drink. I went back to my tent not being able to assist any further, I felt guilty feeling what if he was still there in the morning having not being rescued.

I enquired the morning after to the other folk and the man had been rescued, he was stretchered off late at night by mountain resue. The day started nice, I pondered as to whether I could manage both the Nevis and Aonach mountains, the rise to Aonach Mor plateau looked very steep, that made me nervous. The overall ascent of 1800m made me wonder but in the end I did it and it was a great feeling of achievement.

The ascent from falls of Steall to Ben Nevis took three hours which I felt pleased with. They normally take longer, the views were superb from the top with Skye and the North West Highlands bursting into view for the first time. Most of the ascent was done now and my major obstacle was the CMD arete. In the end it was no obstacle and turned out to be a boulder hop with little scrambling, a great ridge none the less with super views of the Nevis cliffs.

Aonach Mor was grassy in comparison to Ben Nevis and ominous clouds were bubbling up now. A large rain cloud was spread over Knoydart and I now had eagle eyes for clouds heading my way fearing thunder. The Aonach Beag cliffs were also grand and the elevation above the corrie floor below felt immense. On the final summit, there it was, a huge cloud spreading north from the south. First the Cruachan Peaks were gone, then the Glen Coe peaks were going. After a quick chat with a bloke on the summit who saw me at Corrour, I hastily made my way down to the first available stream. The rain arrived when I was a good way down, it wasn’t hard and there was no thunder. The cloud lingered the rest of the evening though. This was as remote a place as any with grand views over Glen Spean.

The next day was the best day of all weather wise. It was also the first day I didn’t see a single other person at all. This made me feel a bit lonely but the situation was savoured. Torrential rain hit as I set up my tent that evening, I was hurrying to the desired camp site while viewing this cloud getting nearer and nearer. The loneliness was getting to me though at the time, I was to climb Cruach and Sgurr Inse but didn’t want to this trip.

The Easains, two big tops and very imposing from this angle, were my last summits of the trip. The walk up the corrie between them was tough and tedious though the walk on the main ridge fared much better going. The winds were up, and rain spreading in from the south made the view gloomy. I hurried to the first peak hoping I would reach it before the rain and then met the first people for two days on the second top.

After that it was a long easy walk out (with steep bit in the middle) to the first road I saw for 6 days. I decided to not do the peaks on the other side of Loch Treig, the weather looked gloomy and I wanted some place comfortable now. I climbed all I had intended to climb this trip and I left the rest of the peaks for another trip. It was back to Manchester via Loch Ossian YH.