noticed the hill we were climbing was 1010
metres above sea level. Now if that isn’t a tad
Da Vinci Code-ish, what is?
Beyond the lochs another footpath skirts
round the west side of the hill and eventually
crosses the north ridge just below Meall
Doire na h-Achlais, heading back to Loch
Eilde Mor before taking to the screes and
boulders of the north-west ridge, a steep and
rough route to the narrow summit. Enjoy
the panoramic view of the Mamores, Ben
Nevis and the Aonachs, the Grey Corries,
the Easans and the great waterlogged
mattress of Rannoch Moor.
The stalkers’ path descends slightly
from Loch Eilde Mor before climbing onto
the broad bealach that separates the two
Binneins (peaks). From Binnein Beag’s
summit Ben Nevis looks close enough
to touch, but despite its dominant bulk
and presence it doesn’t compare with the
beautifully sweeping ridges of Binnein
Mor. A tiny square-cut summit is formed
by curved ridges and corries into a classic,
archetypal mountain shape. Sparkling
lochans fill the corries and you will climb
up past these shining waters, traversing
the hill’s north-west slopes to reach the
north ridge, a long, narrow highway to an
impressively narrow summit with barely
enough room on it for the cairn.
Once you have feasted on the
extraordinary views, a broader ridge drops
you down to Sgurr Eilde Beag from where
a wonderfully engineered stalkers’ path
carries you back down to the outward path
from Kinlochleven.Magnificent maiden
If Binnein Mor has a narrow summit
then that of Na Gruagaichean is quite
spectacular. Its double-topped form is
one of the more impressive tops in the
long corrie-bitten wall of the Mamores.
One guidebook suggests: ‘its grace of form
and the complexity of its twin tops are
only revealed when approaching along
the main ridge.’I had previously climbed Na
Gruagaichean on a day of low cloud and
icy underfoot conditions. On that occasion
I combined the peak with its Munro
neighbours, Stob Coire a’ Chairn and Am
Bodach, a good circular route above Coire
na Ba; but an ascent of Na Gruagaichean
and Stob Coire a’ Chairn, returning by the
outward route through Coire na Ba, makes
an excellent day out.
This corrie offers a fine approach to the
Mamore Ridge for two reasons. You used
to be able to leave your car at the Mamore
Lodge Hotel, for a fee of £3 – this saved you
about 300m of climbing – but sadly the
old lodge appears to be derelict now. More
importantly, Coire na Ba has an excellent
stalkers’ path that follows its stream high
into the corrie bowels before traversing
up its north-east slopes in a couple of big
switchbacks to reach the main ridge.
The weather was curious – with high
pressure to the east and low pressure to
the west the meteorological system was40 The Great OutdoorsAugust 2019