The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

[above] On the summit ridge of Beinn Dearg, with Baosbheinn visible ahead and Beinn An Eoin to the right

[right] Boulder-hopping across a lochan near Loch Toll nam Biast, Beinn Dearg behind

he footing was good for the ascent and while the slope was

unrelenting, the views back to Beinn Alligin brought a real sense of

grandeur. My pacing on pathless climbs like this is always terrible,

combining fast spurts of hiking with disproportionately long rests.

At least it gave me time to admire the vast landscape above and

below, while Harsharn efortlessly hiked upwards, seemingly carried

by the wind.

Once we had gained the ridge, an entirely diferent world

revealed itself as sunlit slopes were replaced by shadowed north-

facing ones covered with snow. his was my irst time hiking in April

in Scotland and the contrast was striking.

he summit itself, and the location of our planned camp, was a

further kilometre along the ridge with a bit of descent and ascent

in-between. Although I’d initially had concerns about inding

a suitable camp spot, there was plenty of choice along the ridge

and we pitched the tent not far from the top with a view across to

Liathach. With a stif breeze already blowing and much stronger

winds forecast, we took the precaution of double-poling the tent – a

welcome bit of security at such an exposed spot.

he summit ridge of Beinn Dearg is scattered with large

Torridonian sandstone boulders. Although the surrounding

mountains have a similar geology, only Cul Mor in Assynt ofers a

comparable showcase of these gigantic pink rock formations. Beinn

Dearg, the red hill, seems a particularly appropriate name.

hat evening I set about trying to make sense of the rock

formations with my camera, taking images of the Coulin Hills, the

mountains of Torridon and the Fisherields beyond. Eventually I

settled on an arrangement of stones that worked well with Liathach

behind. he sky was obscured with cloud but the sun broke through

momentarily to create the image I was ater.

Overnight the sky cleared and the following day we rose

long before dawn to photograph the Milky Way arcing over the

mountains. he darkness gave way to a beautiful sunrise and we had

a lazy breakfast lounging around in the warmth.

By mid-morning we were walking again. Although you can

at this point continue along the ridge and drop down the south-

eastern side of the mountain to re-join the footpath that runs

beside the river, we opted to go down the route we had climbed

TORRIDON

44 The Great Outdoors Spring 2019