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Section 10a Section 17 |
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Ardgour: Cona Glen
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Section 10a
Beinn Odhar Bheag
Rois-Bheinn
Sgurr na Ba Glaise
An Stac
Beinn Mhic Cedidh
Sgurr Dhomhnuill
Garbh Bheinn
Sgurr Ghiubhsachain
Beinn Resipol
Carn na Nathrach
Sgorr Craobh a'Chaorainn
Stob Coire a'Chearcaill Druim Tarsuinn
Beinn na h-Uamha
Creach Bheinn
Fuar BheinnSection 17
Section 3
Section 4
Section 10b
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Druim Tarsuinn and upper Cona Glen.
Sgurr Ghiubhsachain 849m 2784' Ghiubhsachain, Scots Pine wood Sgurr Craobh a'Chaorainn 775m 2543' Craobh a'Chaorainn, Rowan tree Druim Tarsuinn 770m 2520' Ridge in the way(lit.Transverse ridge) Map
Argyll's last hurrah, this, a very fine hill occupying the head of the Cona Glen. Rough and rocky, with two summits making the list of Corbetts. All ascents routes will involve steep ground and route finding through craggy terrain. Route finding is important here, either finding a way avoiding the crags or picking the best scrambles. There are some esoteric rock climbing crags tucked into the corries as well.
The higher summit, Sgurr Ghiubhsachain, is one of the most photographed hills in Scotland. Along with Beinn Odhar on the Moidart shore, the hill frames Loch Sheil and provides the backdrop to the leaning Jacobite monument at Glenfinnan. You have seen the calendar and you have eaten the shortbread. I once had a photo of the hill from The Scotsman calendar on my wall. I remember the shining rocks on the ridges, a regular reminder that there is plenty of quality outside the ranks of the Munros.
For some reason, the hill has not attracted much recognition in literature. The Moidart hills are glossy magazine regulars, as are the Streaps, but Ghiubhsachain/Craobh a'Chaorainn, the best hill in the area, is rarely recognised. There is little sign of wear on the ridges.
Its not possible to access the hill directly from Glenfinnan, but the Callop river can be crossed some miles to the east at Callop. There is a car park by the bridge here with picnic table - a great breakfast spot. I enjoyed a fine meal here, shared with the local robin and chaffinches before the walk in to the hill. Here is the watershed of Ardgour, the Callop river running to Loch Sheil, and the nearby Dubh Lighe, running from the other side of the glen, heading to Loch Eil. Ardgour/Ardnamurchan was just one glacier dump away from being another Skye. The 'Goat Isle' would have been world famous, but for that pile of sand and gravel.
I picked a route on the hill that would hopefully maximise scrambling, an ascent of the north ridge, Druim an Sgriodain (the obvious rocky ridge seen in all the calendar views) and a traverse to Callop over Sgorr Craobh a'Chaorainn. This makes an interesting looking circuit mostly on ridges, hopefully high above the dreaded tussock bogs.
There is a forest road along the shores of Loch Sheil to Polloch and this would give fast access to the foot of the hill, if it were not for need to stop repeatedly to marvel at the view, either at Concrete Bob's viaduct and the Glen Finnan Hills, Beinn Odhar or the wooded crags above the road. There is a lot of scope for climbing here, there are many big slabby crags and some routes at a friendly grade are recorded up in the corries. Even if you have no desire to take to the hills, the 5km walk to the occupied cottage at Guesachan is highly recommended. A great afternoon out with a pushchair, or family bike ride.
It was a strange walk in, the sun was bright and there was just the odd patch of snow left on the hills. Yet it was only mid March. A weird sensation, walking through a "May morning" without the song of the willow warbler or call of the cuckoo. Its a funny feeling, being out on one of those days when the seasons get mixed up.
The SMC guide suggests that the foot of the ridge is craggy, and only accessible from within the corrie, but it is actually easy to gain the foot of the ridge directly from Guesachan. Once on the ridge the going is good, and it was very enjoyable linking up a series of slabs and easy scrambles. Just below the top of Meall a'Choire Chruinn there are two steep steps, these both gave excellent scrambles on rough juggy rock.
Looking below it was easy to appreciate the true position of Glenfinnan. Rather than being an intermediate stop on a railway, it is a fjord head community. For most of history the main road in was the loch, a short hop from the ocean. Until the 1950s a ferry service linked Acharacle with the railway at Glenfinnan, and before that there was plenty of boat traffic, this was Viking country. Castle Tioram guarded more than Loch Moidart. In 1745, the most famous boat trip on the loch occurred, Charles Edward Stewart travelled this way to unfold the standard at Glenfinnan. The catastrophe had begun, beneath my feet. The shores are empty now, one or two cottages remain. One across on the Moidart side was briefly famous as 'Wildernesse' the home of the wild cat studying Mike Tomkies who was a regular newspaper columnist in the early 1980s.
Meall a'Choire Chruinn gave a brief respite before combat began again. This was just like being in Norway, black water below and yet another rock band above. Don't worry, you can walk around the obstacles, but if confident, enjoy the direct ascent of the juggy easy crags guarding the twin summit of Ghiubhsachan. You will leave some skin behind, its gloriously rough. Being a dry winter, there was only a little ice blocking the odd hold.
Either I was enjoying the scrambling too much or just slow and unfit, as I was quickly caught by only the second person outside my own party I had ever met on an Ardgour hill. We passed a few words at the summit, both of us burnt off a load of silver halide, and he hared off rapidly towards Craobh a'Chaoruinn.
The view was very fine and the air clear. As I write this, I am being told of a haar in Edinburgh, here I could see the Storr, all the Cuillin, Clach Glas showing particularly well. Two dots passed between the two Beinn Odhar tops. Only Creag Meaghaidh and Ben Nevis held snow. The immensity of the Cona Glen was striking.
The ridge to Craobh a'Chaoruinn is very easy and smooth, once you get to it. First a tricky descent, very steep and slabby, is required. Coming the other way there would be scrambling here too. As often the case in Ardgour, diagonal rakes and traverses allow the joining up of the easy bits across the crags. If misty, you may need to backtrack a bit in order to puzzle out the route.
The character of the ridge changes once down the tricky descent from Ghiubhsachain. There must be a change in the rock, as the going becomes very easy over a smooth gently rising broad ridge. The summit crag of Craobh a'Chaorainn is quite a shock. This is quite an obstacle, a return to the ruggedness of the ascent of Ghiubhsachain. Again the rock is friendly and the crag gives a very good scramble. It can be avoided by sneaking around to the right/eastern side.
The west of the hill is a confusion of crags. There are several rounded tops above Loch Sheil, above a lot of very good looking rock, direct descents to the loch could prove tricky. This could be a very interesting area for the exploring mid grade climber. As well as the lumpy ridge out to Sgurr nan Cearc, (Hen's Comb, always an inviting hill name) there is a very direct descent along an east ridge to the Callop path. I took this route, dodging some crags at a steepening, and then over a final bump before meeting up with the notoriously boggy Callop path.
This was an unusual March, dry and warm, so the hills had dried out a bit. The path was still wet and slippy, although an improvement from the previous autumns visit. Familiar gorse bushes and bogs were counted off as I started to tire. It must have been difficult for the gathering frogs, there was a lot of desiccated spawn about. At Callop the stags were waiting for their silage, winter feed, but it felt like summer, it was the start of a long spell of warm, dry weather. All snow was banished to the top of the Ben, and for the first time in years I got through a winter without skiing.
These two hills can be approached from the east, up the very fine looking Cona Glen. I have not yet walked the glen, but from the hill ,and on the telly, it looks a cracker. It is a long way in, but a fine cross country expedition with an easy escape down to Callop. The glen is well wooded with a race of scots pine that is beleived to have survived the ice on a milder part of what is now the continental shelf. The river was once a famed salmon and sea trout fishery, but like most West Coast fisheries has declined dramatically in the 1990's. There is talk of a revival though.
Conaglen House was briefly notorious as the West Coast hash smuggling HQ of Howard Marks(Mr Nice). If you fancy letting the place see here.
One of a cluster of rocky peaks at the head of Glen Huirich, Druim Tarsuinn is probably only famous for having a controversial name. The hill is a T-junction of two 700m ridges, like a hammer, with the summit knobble, directly unnamed, poking up above the 2500' line at the hammer's head. For some reason, perhaps the modern obsession with listing summits as opposed to whole hills, the SMC have taken against the name, giving it one of their own creation. Personally I have no problem with the name, folk named hills not summits, and the ridge does not stop at the bealach and this hill really does get in the way, disrupting any north/south travel through Ardgour. The climb to the bealach is fearsome from either side.
The Bealach an Sgriodain was once a through route, and a path is shown crossing it from Glen Huirich to the Cona Glen and Callop. This path has gone from both the map and the ground. Crossing the pass involves a steep climb out of Glen Huirich or the Cona Glen and is quite a complicated route, not aided by numerous forestry fences on the Huirich side. There are few crossing places over the high ridge on the south of the Cona Glen. This ridge is quite interesting beyond the Corbett towards Stob Mhic Bheathain to the East and slowly declining over Sgor an Tarmachain above Loch Sheil to the west, down the shaft. This is Forestry country so plan your escape beforehand.
While the very fit will do the hill after the Ghiubhsachain/Chaoruinn pair, along Druim Tarsuinn, approaches are possible through the Cona Glen or Glen Scaddle. These will appeal to the stravaiger as these glens are long. They have good tracks for a cycle approach , but the estate here has some sort of problem with bikes, so hide them well. The North-South long distance walker, probably working their way up the west coast, will probably be funnelled over the Bealach an Sgriodain, leaving little extra effort to gain the summit. While the Cona Glen is blessed with a good track, its worth remembering that the route through from Callop is very boggy in places and the path is a bit of a welly job. It is however a very scenic walk, blessed with a lot of fine old trees and great views into the Streap area to the north.
Sadly I picked an awful spring day for the hill, and was not blessed with a view, or a long ridge walk. A simple out and back via the Bealach an Sgriodain gave a short but steep day from Glen Huirich. Because of the forestry there is a special hazard to this approach. The burn descending southwards at 865704 is in a deep ravine with the only easy ascent on the west bank. Unfortunately there is a forestry fence close to the drop so this approach is quite exposed, requiring hanging on to the fence in places. This was especially difficult in the wet. The climb was steep, and eventualy I was able to cross the ravine and cross over the ridge forming Meall Daimh to gain the snowy Coire an-t-Searrach. The peaty corrie floor was criss crossed by forestry fences. The twist here was that in a snowy corrie, the snow pack flows, like a glacier, and the fences were buried, broken and bent by the weight of the flowing snow. There were several fences, in different states of decay, so they keep trying. Be careful here, there is a lot of wire about. Meanwhile the deer just walk over the fence at the deepest drift. Leaving the small corrie was easy compared with the haul up the side of the gully and lead to a misty ridge, pure rough bounds with mica schist outcrops, very similar to Carn na Nathrach next door. There were no problems, just steep wet gravels. I did not linger at the summit, being only to happy to dash back through the corrie and just get the wretched business of descending the forestry fence out of the way, along with the three mile walk through the forest. This is another place where a bike would help.
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