Fisherfield Corbetts

A quick check of old diaries and logbooks confirmed I had been on the Fisherfileld mountains on four previous occasions. Each time, the approach had been from the road to the north, past An Teallach and involved an overnight in Shenevall bothy (apart from getting my Dad over the then six Munros which used a nights camping just below Ruadh Stac Mhor to make the long day as short as possible.

·         4x summits with Alan Kelly
·         2x summits with Graham Pascall
·         6x summits with Shamir
·         6x summits with Joe and Dad

For a change and to minimise “away time” I opted for an approach on mountain bike from Gruinaird. The path was pretty easy going and I left the bike at the end of Loch na Sealga before starting up the ridge leading to the first hill of Beinn Dearg Bheag. 

Approaching the front face, it looked intimidating. There may be a direct route through the crags but not really being in the mood for an epic, turned the face on the right hand side and battled up a traversing line through a mix of mainly heather but crossing some scree runs. Topping out onto the ridge was impressive – fairly narrow and with outstanding views in every direction. I enjoyed a wee run along the ridge slowing only to take care on a few rocky steps. Reaching the summit, I looked back to the West …the remoteness of the Fisherfield always makes me smile. 

The run down to the bealach was fun and again, I took note of the proposed descent route down past to Loch Toll an Lochain. Not sure this was the quickest but reckon it was easier than retracing the full ascent route.

Played about with some photos on the summit of Beinn Dearg Mhor before starting the return journey. Thankfully, there was a pretty reasonable path along the side of Loch na Sealga. Back at the bike, I started the return journey to the van. In both my own Munro round and my Dad’s, the Fisherfield mountains featured highly in the last push towards ascending the last summit. 

With now only three Corbetts to go, it felt correct that the same area had been equally as important in my Corbett Round …