[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 20th May 2007   A Chralaig Mullach Fraoch-choire Map I parked in the layby on the A87 just to the west of the Allt a Chaorainn Mhor, a very scenic spot overlooking Loch Cluanie and the start of the South Shiel Ridge, and set off for A Chralaig at 10.00. The first stage of the ascent was a steep climb directly up the grassy hillside, following a distinct path where muddy footholds had been worn into the slope. Some way ahead of me I could see two blokes who were progressing at roughly the same pace or possibly a bit slower. From high on the slopes of A Chralaig - looking back to Loch Cluanie and the South Shiel Ridge ... and looking forward to the summit     There had been showers forecast for today but the tops were clear and the day was ok although the wind was getting stronger the higher up I got. At the top of the first shoulder the ground levelled out a bit and gave onto a long, gradually ascending ridge which went on for over a mile before finally rising up to the summit ( 12.00). The large summit cairn of A Chralaig There was an enormous cairn there, over 10 feet high and very well constructed. Also there were the two blokes I'd been following, John and Richard. John was a Yorkshireman, about 40, who had already completed the Munros. Richard was a Newcastle man, about 45-ish, and he had done 47 so far. They started towards the next one while I had a bite to eat and admired the views, then five minutes later I too set off for the Mullach. The way led up over a knife edge ridge, all rocky pinnacles and steep drops to either side. Unfortunately the wind was really blasting away by now, strongly enough to give me some qualms about the wisdom of carrying on over such a precarious route. Yet, the summit was in plain sight and the temptation to carry on couldn't be gainsaid. The increasingly narrow ridge, curving round to the summit of Mullach Fraoch-choire I had to inch up some of the bits very carefully and then came to a bend around an outcrop where I met Richard and John coming back. They said they'd reached a point where you had to swing yourself round a rock above a precipitous drop and they'd decided to come back and try going over the pinnacle crest instead. John went up and had a look but decided that way looked even riskier. The main path was well trodden, however, so I decided to go along it and see for myself. It was a bit vertiginous but the protruding rock wasn't really a big problem and I was able to carry on up the path, past some more pinnacles, and finally gain the summit (1.20). Richard turned up a few minutes later and kindly took my picture for me again. By the summit cairn of Mullach Fraoch-choire with A Chralaig behind He and John left the summit before me, retracing our route, but I was to catch up with them one last time at the col between Mullach and Stob Coire na Cralaig (the preceding 'top' on the ridge) where the descent to the glen started. They were hanging around discussing whether to drop down the hillside or reclimb the top before descending further along. There was a distinct path down from the col though and I said that was the way I was going. They decided on that way too but after some distance they stopped for a food break and I left them behind. I dropped quickly and easily down into the glen and then commenced a rather boggy walk along the valley bottom for about 3 miles, the last half of it on a rough cart track. Richard & John descending from the col The track back along the valley bottom Back at the A87 and the car by 3.50 then I drove half a mile to the Cluanie Inn and had a ginger beer - live on the wild side, eh. (You can just see the Cluanie Inn as two small white blobs to the right of the loch in the first photo.) I'd had the odd spot of rain, some strong wind and a flurry of snow at the top, but mostly it was fine with some sunny bits and decent views of the surrounding hills, lochs and glens.