Upperward Mountaineering Club
,Glendessary November 2004
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The Upperward Mountaineering Clubs destination for November was the small village of Onich
just south of Fort William. They intended to use this as a base from which they intended to drive
further northwards into two separate areas, as one group of eight members wished to drive up
to the Glen Shiel area, and the larger Group of fourteen opting for the remoteness of Glendessary.
Due to the recent drop in temperature most of the hills around had a surprising amount of snow
so it was with a degree of excitement and anticipation that they drove in along the tortuous
switchback single-track road alongside the shores of Loch Affric to this hidden corner of
Knoydart. They left the cars at the small car park at the head of the loch and commenced the
walk in along the land rover track at the start of their walk. The group were rewarded with clear
dry conditions and blue skies, perfect conditions as far as Mountaineers are concerned,
however, after a mile of walking along the
private track they then encountered very thick mist
before turning off to follow a stalkers path uphill. The guidebook describes this as being not
very obvious, however, because of the snowy conditions underfoot it was even more
obscured than normal. As they gained height they walked up through the cloud and came
out into clear blue skies a condition known as a temperature inversion, this amazing and
beautiful sight made them pause long enough to see clear blue skies all around with the
clouds far below almost like cotton wool enveloping all the mountains. A short break was had
to admire the scenery and catch up on some photographs. The next part involved contouring
around a large tract of very boggy ground and it became a case of trying to avoid most of the
streams hidden underneath the snow. They then headed downhill where they forded the
river Kingie that fortunately was not in spate, before heading steadily uphill where the path
then dog-legs back up to
the col between An Eag and Sgurr Beag, two of the subsidiary peaks
before their objective of Sgurr Mor. This is one of the country’s most dramatic man-made
stalkers paths, due to the fact of the surrounding peaks and the desolate glen. They
continued weaving uphill and then up and over Sgurr Beag before heading down once
again to the col at 750 metres. They had a short break in the shelter between the peaks before
they ascended the steep ridge to the summit of Sgurr Mor however, this part of the ridge now
became much more windswept with particles of icy spindrift being blown directly into the
groups’ faces making the ascent more troublesome than normal. As they neared the summit
they were faced with another hazard as some snow drifts were built up with parts up to 3 feet
deep which slowed progress down to a crawl. Eventually they reached the lofty vantage
point of the summit where they had tremendous views from the southern aspects of
Ben Nevis and the Glencoe Mountains, then sweeping round and far out to the west where
they could pick out the Islands of Rum, Canna, Eigg and right up to the splendid pinnacled
ridges of Skye, now all resplendent with their mantles of snow. Due to the magnificence of
the viewpoint they lingered for as long as possible taking in the views but they were eventually
forced to head downhill once again to find sanctuary out of the fierce biting wind. After a short
but well-earned break they continued down off the snowy slopes where they gathered together
before all crossing the river safely. Once everyone was across it was then a short uphill pull
before they found themselves on the boggy undulating plateau and the same slog back through
the streams before the final downhill back to the private road. The other group had an equally
rewarding day with ascents of A` Chralaig and Mullach Fraoch-choire, Where they started their
ascent from the Cluanie Inn, with a particularly fine scramble along some snow-encrusted ridges,
again done in excellent weather conditions. Other walks completed on the Friday of the weekend
were a group ascended a circuitous ascent of Beinn Narnain from the car park at Inveruglas near
Loch Sloy, while another ascended the most easterly of the Mamore range Sgurr Eilde Mor, both
of these parties enjoyed excellent clear weather with long periods of sunshine.
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