Training Weekend 5/6th February

For training this weekend, my friend Arlene and I decided to put away some miles (40 of em)!



Loch a Chealaich Leamhain

DAY 1: Given the gale force winds that we had seen on Friday (and were forecast to continute over the weekend), we chose a low-level but long walk from Moy (432830) to Corrour station (23 miles) [1104m]. The route we took went via Lochan na Earba, Loch a Chealaich Leamhain (800m), Culra bothy then Bealach Dubh (727m), followed by descending the river Uisge Labhair and finishing up along Loch Ossian to Corrour Station House (SYHA). The day started well (at 7:15am) with a good pace along the track into the Ardverikie Estate. During the pull up to Loch a Chealaich Leamhain we experienced very poor visibility and heavy snow showers. We were surpirsed at the amount of snow already underfoot, which slowed progress. We followed the track to about 800m where we had hoped to find a fork in the path, leading along the northern edge of the loch. However, in the poor visibility and snow, the fork was nowhere to be seen. Following a bearing to the loch would have taken us through craggy ground (which was icy and treacherous in places), so we decided to retrace our steps and try the track along the southern side. However, before we had gone far the cloud lifted, revealing a splendid view of the loch and its snowy shores.


Col at Loch a Chealaich Leamhain

 The loch was frozen in places and in the weak sunshine we picked our way through deep drifted snow to emerge (rather more tired!) at the river Allt Cam. Here we needed to ford the river but with all the recent snow, levels were quite high. After some searching we found a croassable spot and ploughed straight through the cold water (boots filling up!) and were happy to be on the track to Loch Pattack.



Culra bothy and Ben Alder

At Culra bothy we stopped for a sandwhich and a time-check. Culra is a great bothy (both tidy and well-equipped with a wood-burning stove and sleeping platforms!) We couldn't see the col at Bealach Dubh from the bothy and were a little concerned about possible snow slopes up there (becasue it is Easterly facing, and with snow and strong winds from the West, the SAIS avalanche forecast suggested slopes might be unstable). Nevertheless, we carried on past the magnificent Ben Alder and up to the col. It was slow going due to soft drifts and buried ditches! Enroute we saw avalanche debris on our right, evidence that several easterly facing snow slopes had undergone recent slips.

View of Loch Ossian from Bealach Dubh

Finally we reached the col and were pleased to find rakes of heather and scree which could be used to easily reach the top. At the col we looked SW and could make out Loch Ossian in the far (very far!) distance. We were inspired at this point and merrily plodded down to meet the river Uisge Labhair. We followed this through snowy bog which seemingly meandered on and on forever. The terrain slowed our progress considerably and we didn't reach the track at Loch Ossian until 5:40pm. Nevertheless, there was nothing else to do but march briskly along the north side of the loch in the dark, towards our accommodation. We reached the hostel at 7:15pm (with blisters and tired legs). Fortunately we were rewarded with a filling meal (venison pie and a pint of cider - mmmm). The GPS had measured our route as 41.75km (26 miles)!

DAY 2: Corrour Station to Kinlochleven via Loch Trieg, past Loch Chiarain Bothy to Blackwater Dam and down the River Leven 26.2km (16 miles) [549m]. After breakfast we started out at 9:15am. We were probably a bit slower today but the walk to Loch Chiarain Bothy was enjoyable and uneventful. The weather was cloudier but mostly dry, except for some light rain as we reached Blackwater Dam. This continued until we arrived in Kinlochleven. The River Leven was impressive with huge waterfalls along its length. As always, the last leg dragged on and on and we didn't make it back to the car until about 4:30pm.

Sore feet and an insatiable hunger but big smiles all round!


Arlene as the cloud cleared at
Loch a Chealaich Leamhain (Day 1)