Tranter's Round variant

Peaks: Mullach nan Coirean (939m), Stob Ban (999m), Stob Coire a’Mhail (990m), Sgurr a’Mhaim (1099m), Sgurr an Iubhair (1001m), Am Bodach (1032m), Stob Coire a Chairn (981m), An Garbhanach (975m), An Gearanach (982m), Na Gruagaichean (1056m), Binnein Mor (1130m), Sgurr Eilde Mor (1010m), Binnein Beag (943m), Stob Ban (977m), Stob Choire Claurigh (1177m), Stob a’Choire Leith (1105m), Stob Coire Cath na Sine (1079m), Caisteal (1106m), Stob Coire an Laoigh (1116m), Stob Coire Easain (1080m), Sgurr Choinnich Mor (1094m)
Area: Mamores/Grey Corries, Lochaber
Perhaps a bit more honest to call this 'Tranter's Lite', as we missed the crucial final section up Ben Nevis. I've held a vague plan to do a version of Tranter's for some time: as big rounds go, it's quite short and achievable. Peter was keen to go for the full job, and we set this weekend as the only possible mutually suitable date. As such, I never really thought it would come off, given the usual August weather in the area. However, remarkably, my weather luck (which has held all year) continued yet again, and we headed up to Glen Nevis on Saturday afternoon and slept in the car boot for a couple of hours before waking at 4am. A bad start caused by sloppy headtorch navigation and a desire for directness saw us crashing through very steep conifer forests on the side of the glen leading up from Polldubh - but we still reached the summit of the Mullach in 70 minutes. Superb views as the sun began to peek through the clouds above Ben Alder to the east. Wonderful low sunshine lit the ridge as we ran towards Stob Ban and my first ever repeated Munro (I'd nipped up during an astonishingly unproductive and lazy teenage week with Steve back in 1989!). It's a nice peak, rocky and distinctive. Great running down to Lochain Coire nam Miseach before a steep rise gains the Devil's Ridge. This is an annoying but superb appendage to the main Mamore traverse, and had to be done, so we dumped sacks before enjoying the excellent narrow ridge with good scrambling over a subsidiary summit to the fine peak of Sgurr a'Mhaim. It was all fantastically enjoyable, still only 6.30am with the sunlit ridge giving perfect exposed running, and the entire Mamore ridge completely to ourselves. After a snack, we plodded over Iubhair and up Am Bodach before heading out along another narrow rocky appendage - with steeper initial scrambling - over a superb ridge to An Gearanach. A tiring addition to the main ridge, but these two diversions provide the best views of the day. We were still feeling good at this point, but the weather worsened, with clag drifting over the fine peak of Na Gruigachean during our ascent. This was a shame, as the network of ridges continues excellent over to the parent peak of Binnein Mor, and it looked a bit threatening for a while. Compass work was necessary, which slowed us down a bit. Whilst eating on the small summit of Binnein, however, a small tear in the cloud gave us hope and we ran down the steep east ridge before contouring round towards Sgurr Eilde Beag. The three peaks at the end of the Mamores present an unavoidable conundrum on this round: there is just no easy way of combining them. Sgurr Eilde Mor, in particular, is an outlier separated from the rest of the range. Our solution, to contour round the ridge then drop down to Coire an Lochain, was a good one: but still involved a long climb up shifting scree to gain the summit. Great hill, though, and the sun came out for wonderful wild views over to Ben Alder east. Another massive descent to the valley and we picked up the good path over to Binnean Beag, which looks innocuous from afar, barely worthy of Munro status, but didn't feel innocuous during the climb. This was my lowest ebb all day, but two pork pies perked me up on the summit: from where Stob Ban looks an appallingly distant prospect on the other side of the Water of Nevis. So, all the Mamores were done by lunchtime, ten Munros in total. Now for the Grey Corries! A very steep descent down the northern slopes of Beag, draining and stressful, led to a predictable bog trot along the base of this broad glen to gain the river at the Nevis/Abhainn Rath watershed. A wild and remote location: superb in this weather. We were then faced with a monstrous haul up the side wall of Coire Rath, contouring past numerous red deer to gain the broad col below Stob Ban. This was the crux of the whole outing and it was with some relief that we gained the remote summit of Stob Ban (a long way from the nearest road and a very long way from our car in Glen Nevis). My Innov8s were now almost destroyed, and more splits opened up on the steep scree down to a small lake before ploughing up the south ridge to Stob Coire Claurigh. Peter now began to suffer a bit, after being ahead for most of the Mamores. I was surprised to feel great, however: the path feeling deeply luxurious after the trackless nightmare up Stob Ban. At the top, the ridge along the Grey Corries looked mouthwatering and I couldn't wait to get started, running again over several tops and subsidiary peaks. All of this was wonderful: a remote, magnificent switchback ridge that stays high throughout. I enjoyed every minute and still felt good for the much steeper trudge up the fine peak of Sgurr Choinnich Mor: which feels separate to the rest of the Grey Corries but is a beautiful peak. From here we contoured round to the climb up the Aonachs but decided to bail out at this point for the very long and horrendously midgy run through Glen Nevis, past the Steall waterfall, back to Polldubh. Around 17,000ft of climbing, 34 miles, 22 peaks with 14 munros, so still a big day out in the hills. I was struck again by my weather luck this year: crystal clear, stunning views from a galaxy of peaks across Scotland, the Italian Alps, the Maritime Alps and beyond. After fish and chips in Fort William, we drove home through the night via two short naps in Hamilton and Tebay - rather tiring.