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Liathach Spidean a' Choire Leith Mullach an Rathain Map I was staying in Gairloch for the week with Trisha and was keen to climb Liathach as it was one of the most challenging of the Munros I still had to do. I'd read the guides and knew there were two ways of doing the traverse between the two peaks: I could either scramble directly over the Am Fasarinen pinnacles or I could bypass them on the southern side of the ridge by a path which was described variously as 'narrow', 'eroded' and 'dangerous'. I'd talked to a couple of people who'd done the traverse and they'd all said that the pinnacle route wasn't too bad and was the best way to go. Consequently I was hoping to take their advice. The day was overcast and despite being mid-May the winds blowing from the North were distinctly icy. I drove the 25 miles from Gairloch and parked the car in Glen Torridon on a short strip of tarmac by the road. From there I looked up at the intimidating bulk of Liathach and was a bit disconcerted to see that the upper slopes appeared to have a light dusting of snow on them. Surprising as I had seen virtually no snow at all on the nearby Fisherfield hills when I'd been there a couple of weeks earlier. Still it couldn't be helped so I booted up and set off up the hill at 7.50. At that time there was only one other car parked there. The path from the road is quite distinct and well-constructed and leads through heather and grass steeply up the mountainside. Very steeply in the upper stretches, where I suddenly came upon a fellow climber, the owner of the parked car, making his way down. I asked him what the conditions were like on the ridge and to my dismay he replied that there was too much snow and ice there for him so he had decided to turn back. Still, I was at least ¾ of the way up now and wasn't going to turn round without having a look for myself so on I went.
The path reaches the top of the grassy, wall-like side of the hill and brings you to the lip of a great stony amphitheatre at the back of which towered a set of daunting rock faces. I wondered how on earth I was going to get up that lot but the path kept on going and it turned out to be not that bad. I pressed on and eventually pulled myself up onto the ridge at a col where a small cairn marks the ascent route. Beyond the col the ground fell away again, even more steeply, and facing me across the void I could see the imposing mass of Beinn Eighe a mile or so away.
The ridge was icy and covered with more snow than I'd expected - the 'fine dusting of snow' seen from below was a bit more substantial up close. Not overly deep but at least an inch of it lying over the rocks. I was unsure about whether to bother going along to the Eastern top but in the end decided I should make an effort so I set off and climbed Stuc a' Choire Dhuibh Bhig - fairly straightforward and some good views at the end. I then retraced my steps back to the col - the round trip had taken about 20-30 mins.
From there I continued west and made my way along the ridge over several peaks to the summit of Spidean a' Choire Leith, the first and highest of the two Munros. Climbing the final snow-covered, bouldery slopes to the top felt a bit dodgy - the snow was thicker there and an icy wind was now gusting quite strongly. Mindful of accounts describing the traverse as a tricky scramble at the best of times I decided at this point not to carry on beyond the summit - it felt too dangerous.
At the top (11.20), however, the wind obligingly died down a bit and I thought I'd walk over to the edge of the summit platform and take a look at the descent to Am Fasarinen. From the edge I could see the two routes quite distinctly below - the pinnacle route and the Southern Softies' route. The SS route didn't look too bad but, of course, I couldn't tell what it was like at the pinnacles or beyond. I hummed and haaed for a while and in the end decided to give it a try and return the same way I'd come if I found it too difficult.
After an awkward climb down the steep scree slope I took the SS route and it wasn't bad at all. Barely any up and down bits it simply skirts the tops as a narrow track along a very steep hillside. Certainly it was steep enough that a slip there would most likely be fatal so I had to concentrate very hard on the ground just ahead of me - definitely not a place for strolling casually along and taking in the views. If you have a reasonable head for heights, however, the path itself isn't too bad - it's narrow and exposed but only appeared to be eroded and slanting in two places. I was very careful there.
It didn't seem to take long before I was past the pinnacles, however, and after that it was just an easy walk up broader slopes, the path avoiding any unnecessary mounds and hillocks, to the summit of Mullach an Rathain (1.05).
The way down is via a steep zig-zag path through soft shale for a few hundred feet after which it gets more rocky and then heathery culminating in another well-constructed path back down to the road. Back on the road I had a 2 mile walk back to the car. Near the end an old boy and his wife stopped their car and kindly offered me a lift but as I only had ½ mile to go I thanked them and declined. Walking along the road and looking up at Liathach I was filled with awe at its size and sheer sides. Those jagged edges and towering peaks - had I really been up there? It seemed impossible. And a bit scary even now it was all over.
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