“You can do it Billy”

Bill Todd

It was a showery mixed up morning as we parked in the picnic car park up Glen Brittle and set off to explore Coire na Creiche.  The idea of the trip was to introduce Juliet White to some of the higher delights of the Highlands and Islands.  Today we were using the Walk 12 notes from Wilson Parker’s book as a guide.

The cloud level was about 2,000′ making it a good day for low levels.  Following the River Brittle the first remarkable thing we say was a sort of miniature Strid.  This proved the easiest stream crossing of the day albeit only for photography.  Continuing, the Alt a Mhaim was difficult; the book said “a large stride”, some stride.   Turning into the Coire the gorge and water scenery was magnificent right until we joined the path from Bealach a Mhaim near Sgurr an Feadhain.   We started to realise at this stage that the water levels were way above normal due to heavy rains and melt water.  After lunch we ventured up to where the AIt Coire a Mhadaidh “falls pleasantly between rocks, further progress may be impossible under wet conditions.” It was impossible for us and we used the scree gully on the left to attain the floor of Coire a Mhadaidh.  Here a hailstorm prompted us to return to the car via Bealach a Mhaim.  We met two chaps who has been on Gillean and decided we had missed nothing by keeping low “hailstones like cricket balls”.

I had been up two of the Sky Munros but not Broach na Frith, supposed to be the easiest.  Juliet wanted to climb a Black Cuillin so on the next fine day we walked up to Fionn Coire from Sligachan.  Here we fell in with a fellow guest at the hotel, David Clark.  The augmented party soon got up to the start of the Fionn Coire snowfield, extending about 600′ up to the ridge.  I started off in the lead but was soon superseded by David and before too long we got up to Bealach nan Lice and enjoyed the view over Lota Coire to Blaven Group.  Turning right a traverse over snow brought us to a rock eyrie where we met Jill AIdersley coming down from the Broach.  I knew I’d seen her before and of course it was at the 1992 dinner.  From here it was just the final snow and rock ridge to the summit, magnificent.

Anywhere else but Scotland subsequent days would have been an anticlimax but they all turned out well worthwhile.  We climbed up the shoulder of Sron na Ciche the next day coming down by the Sgumain Stone Shoot.  This was new to me and when we arrived at a cairn on a flat boulder halfway down I thought I had better check so I asked some nearby climbers “Is this the easy way down?” They must have thought we were in some distress because the cry was “Don’t move.  We’ll come up to you”.  In fact as most people must know below the cairn is a pleasant scramble for a score feet before resuming on scree.  I felt like some sort of tourist who gets halfway down Broad Stand and asks “Does the path go down here”.

Again with David we had a splendid day in the Quiraing, a real wonderland of pinnacles and gorges with the famous table where they hid the cattle from sea raiders.  I don’t know whether the cattle grazed on the Table, I had all on to get myself up and down the loose steep gully.

If Skye was magnificent Dundonnell was no less so.  Juliet was particularly impressed with the Summer Isles, shimmering in the sun on a perfect day.  This was a sentimental journey for me because thirty years before Joan and I had had a holiday at Achiltibuie and done some climbing on the sea cliffs at Reiff, now the haunt of some of the top operators.

Glas Meall Mor was the only mainland peak we climbed, going up by the fabulous Ardessie Falls, again in peerless weather.  The glen proved admirable as a gradual means of ascent and the climb would have been even more effortless without the snowfield in Coire a Mhuillin.  Unlike the Skye snow this was hard and in default of crampons we had to walk round it.  The last stretch to the summit was fun with scrambles over outcrops and red sandstone like piles of biscuits, but steadier.

Our final day out was a walk up to Coire Toll an Lochan, the heart of An Teallach.  We started from the Coire Hallie Car Park as recommended in “The Munros”, crossed the Chaorochain Burn and joined the quartzite ridge that runs up Coire Guibhsachain.  This proved very pleasant in cloudy but dry conditions.  At the top we turned right and went over the shoulder of Sail Liath towards the coire.  Here we found a sandstone boulder balanced on a plinth of three small stones like a Norber boulder.

The cloud lifted as we got into the coire and gave us good views of Corrag Bhuide and Sgurr Fiona while lunching.  The walk back down the glen was uneventful until near the end.  First I slipped into the AIt a Glas Thuill and soaked my feet then I led the party to an impasse when less than 100 yards from the road.  The path led between rhododendrons but stopped at the Gharb AIt, swollen and swiftly running this was a real facer, although the path continued on the other side.  The map showed a footbridge but there was no sign of it.  I’d been there last year but couldn’t for the life of me remember how I’d crossed the stream, the myth of Todd­like infallibility took a real tumble.

Casting about among the trees and bushes we crossed a subsidiary stream by a log then climbed a fence to get back to the road.  A serious search established that there was no footbridge and a look at my diary showed that the AIt must have been much easier to cross last year a bit above this year’s impasse.

Thus ended one of the best Scottish holidays I have had for many a year.  Oh, what was it that Billy could do? I’ve quite forgotten!