Moidart: Rois-bheinn

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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 Bheinn Section 17 Section 3 Section 4 Section 10b Return to Corbett index Return Home.

Rois-bheinn from An Stac. Rois-bheinn 882m 2895'  Hill of Showers?  Map Sgurr na Ba Glaise 874m *  Grey cow's peak  Map An Stac 814m 2550'  The Stack or regular peak.  Map * replaced Druim Fiachlach 1981

An Stac 814m

An Stac.

The tight knot of hills at the head of Glen Moidart have gained a certain fame over the years, certainly they are better known than most hills below 3000'. This has a lot to do with their quality accessibility, association with the '45 and in recent years, featuring in Richard Gilbert's The Big Walks. Of course being The Big Walks, Rois-bheinn and neighbours get lumped in with Beinn Odhar in a very long traverse. It goes without saying that big hills rising immediately from the ocean should be given a less hurried treatment on one visit at least.

Ignoring guidebook suggestions I planned a route involving a descent of Rois-bheinn's west ridge. A descent into that view was not to be missed. In order to cut the road walking, I found a good car park at Alisary, squeezing between those annoying boulders that are placed to thwart parking and set off up above the cottage into the infamous Moidart tussocks. This delightful product of high rainfall and fertility was going to feature very strongly in my memories of this day.

The Alisary burn runs down though a deep gorge and a fair bit of height was required before the deer path led me to an easy crossing of the Allt Tarsuinn branch. Soon after I met the first snow of the day. Only a dusting but enough to improve the scenery and thrill with the promise of winter to come. This was an exceptional cold snap for mid October, I had awoken to an iced up tent on the west coast. Elsewhere, heavy snowfalls put down a vast accumulation which lasted over a fortnight, before the southwesterlies returned.

An Stac is steep on all sides and hard work cannot be avoided. A symmetrical cone, it would be well known as another Schiehallion if it were not lost beside its higher near neighbours. It has still clocked up an impressive number of appearances on the calendars, as a backdrop to Loch Eilt or Polnish Kirk.

Loch Ailort, Eigg and Rum.

One thing for steep ground, it gathers in the metres quickly and height is quickly gained. Soon the ground leveled off to merely steep and I was safely up at the cairn. It was still clear although a shower to the west, turned to rain just in time to show a brief flash of rainbow over Muck. It was obvious that I was not going to be dry all day. The white Rum Cuillin suggested that a shower had just passed. Sunlight was reflected of the snowy top of Bla bhein The view was fine, especially down onto rugged Ardnish. The lochs held amongst small rocky hills changed colour as height was gained and were now a deep blue black to my snow bleached eyes. Winter was back, and I had a steep hill to descend.

I strayed too far to the right on descent, easy enough zig zagging down animal tracks below small crags that would give good climbing, A look back later showed easier ground to the east, an impression confirmed by the 1:25 000 map beside me now. A short detour for water and I was back at work on the steep reascent to Bealach an Fhiona. The ridge did not go directly to the pass, so I succumbed to an insecure scrabble across mud and scree, nothing as dignified as a crag here, across to the lowest point on the pass.

Sgurr na Ba Glaise 874m

Sgurr na Ba Glaise from the Northwest.

 

The Bealach an Fhiona at 700m shows all the signs of being an old coffin path. The mossy old cairns and the fact that it is a direct route to the Holy island of Eilean Fhionain in Loch Sheil suggest that this was once a significant short cut to the old coastal path (The road around the coast only arrived in 1968) . While the northern approaches to the pass are rough, the southern slopes were smooth and grassy. This is quite normal for the Rough Bounds. The sunlit southern slopes did not get so heavily glaciated.

Druim Fiachlach.

Sgurr na Ba Glaise was promoted on the resurvey in the 1980's. This saves a lot of effort if approaching from the Bealach an Fhiona, as the previous top, Druim Fiachlach is a long way to the east. This hill is reputed to be the finest of the lot, so a good reason for a return visit. The ridge is truly toothed, and gives some fun scrambles.
	The Sgurr however was a simple cone, which was climbed in a heavy snow shower. There was the usual excitement at encountering the winter's first snow, especially so early in the year, and the 180m climb was pretty effortless. I did not hang around at the summit, and the shower had passed by the time I had returned to the pass, but not before the chance to see a fine brocken spectre projected onto the departing snow cloud. After a session of manic waving at a cloud, I was ready for the equally easy ascent of Rois-bheinn.
This runs alongside the half dyke that runs up from Alisary. The fence had decayed, but the low dyke still makes a good navigation aid for those with an aversion to unplanned visits to Glen Moidart.

 

Rois-bheinn 882m

The east ridge of Rois-bheinn

Rois-bheinn is double topped. The East Top was the summit, the West Top has the views. The trigpoint has gone now, a few shards of concrete in the tiny cairn being all that remain. I expect its been toppled into corrie by now. A few weeks later I found a wrecked trig in Lanarkshire, this was almost certainly toppled by a bovine enjoying a scratch. Trigs are vanishing, especially on the big hills, open to weather and vandals. When I first started out they were all intact, and still had their metal plugs, but some individual with an allen key has been around collecting the brass plugs, and an intact trig is a rare beast. Strangely I have visted many intact trig points outside Brighton on the South Downs, but hardly ever see one on a big hill. There is even a movement afoot to destroy trig points. However they are an unpopular minority, trig points are now a well loved feature of hill tops everywhere.
The inadequacies of the main summit cairn is more than compensated for by the whopping great construction on the west top. Another jubilee cairn? It was an easy walk across a meadow between the tops, The snow shower had not passed this way, so the hill was in summer nick. A herd of deer were grazing and fighting between the tops. Once past the cairn the view could be appreciated. This is why I came this way, rather than descend over the crenellations of Druim Fiachlach.	Rois-bheinn Summit
Rois-bheinn is directly above the sea at one of the best parts of the coast, with a very fine selection of islands on display. Right out to Barra Head. Eigg and Rum are the star turn from here backed up by the Skye Cuillin. Colours other than autumnal golds were provided by sandy ground below Loch Ailort, the sands of Peanmeanach and the good farmland at Roshven. It was a slow descent, over easy ground down to 350m. Ardnish and Lochailort from the west ridge of Rois-bheinn. The descent got even slower lower down. I had elected to avoid the long road walk by bombing off down the flank towards a gap in the forestry. This was a Bad Move. There came a point where the tussocks took over. The grass had been cattle grazed but still covered a multitude of booby traps, rocks, holes and slippy bogs. The lower the altitude the more likely a broken leg. This is a bad place, and I think I set a new personal worst in speed over the ground. Matters were not helped by a high deer fence with no crossing place. A detoured a long way to a taped gateway, only the gate was not there, only more fence. No choice but to climb it here but the gateway was only a metre wide, so the main fence was not damaged. On the other side things were worse. I staggered sown beside another fence into a trap where the fence intersected an evil slot of an eroded basalt dyke. Scrambled across this to blunder downwards to the final fence. A "well spoken" woman was waiting on the road, calling to me. A goml? Am I going to get a load of hassle for the "wrong" descent? She drove off as soon as I got to the final fence, she must have been baby sitting my descent. Given the probability of injury on that hellish ground this was appreciated. I think she may have been staying at the excellent Loch Ailort Hotel (Ask about possible accomodation in the bunkhouse around the back). I was glad to finally scramble down the last obstacle to the road, having completed one of the most unpleasant mile of walking of my life. I reckon that all this grief can be avoided by following the ridge down to Roshbhen Farm.. I saw ATV tracks heading that way. The road walk is longer, but at least you get to keep your legs. Cutting down the flank to the gap in the forestry at 734787 is a bad idea. The road walk is lovely especially on a frosty evening, watching the sun set behind the skerries at the end of the loch. A great day and such a pleasure to meet the snow again.

Bealach an Fhiona. The cairn suggests a corpse road. Beinn Resipol and Glen Moidart in the background.

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