Bike 4.7km + 170m, 15.4km +1260m, bike 4.7km + 100m. Glen Affric, Highlands.
Glen Affric car park GR201233 (08.15) cycled track past Africa Lodge to deer fence at GR156229, ditched bike (09.05) and continued along track to bridge (09.20) over All Coire Leachaive, managed to pick up the path in the snow below An Tudair Beag into the lip of Coire Coulavie. Had planned on crossing the Allt Coulavie and heading up Creag a` Chaorainnn but with a temperature spike and heavy thaw in progress I wasn`t going anywhere near the burn! Headed straight up An Tudair Beag and continued along the ridge to An Tudair (12.15), Ciste Dhubh (13.30). Then headed out to Creag Coire nan Each (13.55) and back to Ciste Dhubh (14.30). Stopped at the old Ordnance Survey surveyors shelter below Mam Sodhail for a bite to eat before heading to the top (15.10). I then had the long ridge to Mullach Cadha Rainich (16.20), and Sgùrr na Lapaich. Descended the south-east ridge to an angled break in the ground GR161236 took me steeply back to the bike. Got to the bike as night really descended (18.00), so the ride out over the rough track was by head torch - entertaining!
A long day of tough going in soft heavy snow, with whiteout along the ridges to test the navigation.
Area :
Glen Affric and Kintail
South of Loch Mullardoch you will find the Glen Affric and Kintail area whose southern boundary is the A87 road to Inverness. The Five Sisters of Kintail, Beinn Fhada, Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan and Carn Eighe are just some of the impressive peaks in this area, and all have their own unique selling points such as remoteness, size, steepness or height. As a result, peaks in the list are all over 900m.
