[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 15th May 2007   Bidean a Choire Sheasgaich Lurg Mhor Map Lurg Mhor is a fairly remote hill and I knew this would be a long day but the weather was fine and dry, some high cloud cover but overall excellent visibility. I started out from Craig again (8.43) and once more rode & pushed the bike up the forestry track as far as the deer fence. Then I followed the same route as 2 days previously, along the track, over the wire bridge and on up the path to the Bealach Bhearnais where I met a 60-ish bloke from Cambridge who was sitting on a rock, resting. He told me he was on about 170 Munros but doubted if he'd ever finish them. Today he was heading for Sgurr Choinnich and Sgurr a Chaorachain and lamented the fact that his legs weren't all that sturdy any more - he liked zigzag paths. The starting point at Craig   Journey's end for the bike - the deer fence Crossing the wire bridge I wished him well and, turning to my right, ascended the northern spur of a Corbett, Beinn Tharsuinn, which lies fair, square and unavoidable across the path to Bidean a Choire Sheasgaich and has to be traversed. It was easy enough to get up onto the spur and then walk along over some outlying hillocks but when the main peak of Beinn Tharsuinn rose up before me I was happy to sidestep it by edging carefully along the narrowly clustered contour lines of the hill's steep western flank. Littering this hillside were several boulder cascades which had to be crossed with caution and near the further end I had to climb higher to avoid some awkward, craggy outcrops. Once past there, however, I was able to continue more or less on the level along the Beinn Tharsuinn ridge (it's a long hill) before descending south to a bealach between BT and the first Munro of the day, Bidean a Choire Sheasgaich. Bidean a Choire Sheasgaich from the Beinn Tharsuinn ridge Bidean looked truly daunting as I approached, with great, vertical crags and forbidding ranks of rocky outcrops offering no obvious way up. Still, the route guide said I could follow the path directly up the face so I presumed it must be easier than it looked. From the low point of the bealach I climbed a path by an old dry stone wall for some distance and eventually came to a place where the only way forward was via a steep chimney, an almost perpendicular cleft set in the rock. It was possible to climb up this chimney but the foot and handholds were set amongst mud, loose stone and shale and the further up I went the more apprehensive I became. It was rapidly becoming one of those ascents where it becomes difficult to back out and you are uneasily aware that there is no guarantee it's going to get better. In fact from the top of the chimney the view upwards looked even more daunting. I was conscious of being a long way from help, totally alone, out of phone contact and in a potentially risky situation. Still, you can't just sit there. I had reached the top of the chimney, was coated in mud, more than a bit shaken and wondering what I was going to do next. Ahead looked just as bad with yet more steep rock faces and my confidence was gone. I decided it was time to forego the 'path', not that there was any trace of it any more, and make my own way, tacking sideways, west, round the mountain for a while - at the least it would take me away from those hellish crags. I was standing atop a slanting, grassy ledge and after a brief rest I set off along it. After about 100 or so yards I spotted another gully heading upwards. Once again it was steep but this one was all grass-covered and looked more stable than the shale and rock monstrosity. I had to give it a try so up I went. It wasn't exactly a piece of cake but it was do-able, as long as you concentrated hard, and eventually I pulled myself onto the top, much relieved. There are many doubts and uncertainties in this life but right now I was absolutely certain of one thing: I was not going to return down that face. I'd find an alternative no matter how long and out of the way it was. I had reached a fairly level bit but there was still another steepish, craggy stretch to get past before gaining the summit. Nothing like as demanding as the earlier bit, however, and I was at the top by 1.45, thankfully flopping down to enjoy the very fine views in all directions. The summit of Bidean a Choire Sheasgaich Lurg Mhor from Bidean a Choire Sheasgaich After the exacting ascent of Bidean a Choire Sheasgaich, Lurg Mhor looked comparatively straightforward and so it proved to be. A simple descent to a broad, grass and stone col then an easy haul up to the summit (2.48). Lurg Mhor summit cairn On the way up I had met a couple who had also decided not to return via the north face of BACS - I was glad I wasn't the only one who had found it a bit dodgy. They said they were going to descend east into the glen and continue round before ascending along the Allt Bealach and back to the Bealach Bhearnais that way. I now decided to do the same. The alternative way back It was an easy descent from Lurg Mhor back to the col and then down into the glen. Unfortunately, however, I didn't pay enough attention to the map and went up the wrong glen. It was safe enough and got me past BACS but led me back to the base of Beinn Tharsuinn, the Corbett, where I had no option but to climb over it again. Ho hum. Wearily I climbed up to the BT ridge and then retraced my inbound path, including the tricky contouring around the steep hillside to avoid the main peak. All was negotiated safely though and at last I was back at the Bealach Bhearnais from where it was a simple, if lengthy, walk back to the bike and thence to the car (7.30). The path back from the Bealach Bhearnais A long day. I saw several small groups of deer roaming these hills during the day. I shouldn't think they get disturbed much.