Area: Kintail, Scotland
Although the 'Brothers' of Kintail are inferior to the more famous neighbouring Five Sisters (which I ran on a pre-breakfast trip in 2012), this was still a grand day out in the hills - made better by the inclusion of Am Bathach and Ciste Dhubh as 'aperitifs'. After waking up with ice on the inside of the window, I drove from Forest Lodge to Fort William for breakfast then continued to Glen Shiel, and into a thick bank of fog! This was annoying after the crystal clarity further south, but I trusted the forecast and (after first dropping my bike off below the Bealach an Lapain) headed up into the mist on Am Bathach. This is a delightful Corbett and an obvious objective from Cluanie Inn - a long ridge and fine peak. A steep start led to the ridge which was a delight, and I soon detected a clearance. Sure enough, at the summit, the mist started to peel away revealing glimpses of the peaks to come and blue skies above. By the time I left the summit and got down to the very broad, boggy Bealach a'Choinich the mist was clearing in earnest and the magic began. Tendrils were left in some valleys but everything soon became crystal washed in searing clarity. First came Ciste Dhubh, up very steep boggy slopes initially, but then giving way to a superb ridge. This was as good as it gets, perfect views across to A'Chralaig and down towards Glen Affric. A contouring path below a little pinnacle led to a narrower finishing ridge to one of Scotland's smaller summits, just a plinth with fantastic views on all sides. After a quick snack I descended comfortably back to the big bealach for a long drink from a stream and lunch. I spied a way across to gain the 'Brothers' although it was obviously going to be a steep, hard climb. I went up a stream valley and this worked quite well, although the ground then became very steep indeed. This led tiringly across to a snowfield and semblance of a vague path. Eventually, and suddenly, I emerged onto the sundrenched summit of Sgurr an Fhuarail, just a top but a wonderful vantage point looking out across the entire North Kintail ridge. This was perhaps the view of the trip, and after a snack I moved across a snowy section to a dip and then climb to the second Munro of the day, Aonach Meadhoin, a large dome and a lesser viewpoint. The ridge continues, absorbing stuff with a few narrow sections, the odd bit of scrambling, up to Sgurr a'Bealach Dheirg. Here, the summit is along a narrow and rocky ridge, a fantastic spot. A huge snowfield lent definition to a great view over to the Saddle. The South Glen Shiel ridge also gave happy memories. The rest of the ridge went easily, although I was tiring a bit, as Saileag is a bit of an afterthought, but still Munro number four of the day. I jogged down to the marked Bealach an Lapain and the horrible descent down this. I had been up here before on my Five Sisters day and it is unpleasantly steep throughout, even worse in descent. I retrieved my bike from the car park and cycled all the way back up Glen Shiel to the van, a nice warm down after a 1900m elevation day.
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