This weekend was the first of the season that I walked in snowy mountains. It was a beautiful day with some sunshine, although It was bitterly cold in the wind at higher elevation. The outing required me to winterise my hiking pack and I packed miscro-spikes, plenty of warm layers, winter mittens, hand warmers, a flask of hot tea and a bivvy shelter, as well as all the other kit I usually take for a summer walk in the mountains.
I walked with my friends Victoria and Cath and bagged three Beinn a’ Ghlo Munros – Carn Liath (976 m) • Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain (1,070 m) and Carn nan Gabhar (1,122 m), then the Munro Top Airgiod Bheinn (1,062 m).
Walking to Munro 1: Carn Liath
We drove via thr A9 to Blair Atholl and then turned along the Monzie road to reach a car park (it’s £5 for the day for a car) near Loch Moraig. From here, the walking route heads NWW on a wide Landrover track.
As we walked and talked, we could see the path climbing steeply up our first Munro, Carn Liath. Less than 2km along the track we turned left (at a wee pile of stones), passing a hut and then making our way straight up the south-westerly aspect of the Munro.
The path is laid in stone steps and it reminded us of our closest-to-home Munro Ben Wyvis (although with smaller steps). The path was rarely too steep for too long, but overall it gave as a morning challenge and we soon started to shed clothing layers.
However, those layers went back on again as we approached the top of the Munro, when we started to feel the full frosty force of the wind. It is the coldest wind I have experienced for a long time and it made us tuck our heads and faces inside jacket hoods, beneath hats and behind buffs. Any bit of skin that was exposed was at risk of frostbite in such low temperatures.
From Carn Liath, the lowest of all the day’s summits, we could see the rest of the route laid out ahed of us to the north-east with plenty of distance, descent and ascent to come.
Munro 2: Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain
Walking downhill from Carn Liath towards the bealach between Munro summit 1 and 2 proved to be the coldest section of the day, although there were times later on when the wind also whipped us bitterly. I was grateful for thickly insulated down mittens and lots of clothing layers.
As we started to make the next small ascent to a higher point on Beinn Mhaol, the path thankfully contoured out of the wind. Pulling back our hoods and starting to chat again, it was obvious we had all felt the same punishment from the cold wind.
From Beinn Mhaol, a path contoured along the ridge heading downhill and then more steeply up again to reach the rocky top of Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain, the second highest point on the day’s walk.
It was a calmer on this summit and when we dropped a little way down the easterly slope, we found a still and warm place to sit. A sudden burst of sunshine and less wind, gave us a great place to rest and eat some food.
Looking ahead to our next Munro, the path appeared busy with other walkers. We counted about six to eight different people, some walking in small groups and others solo.
The Munros are often much busier than the Corbetts and today it was obvious that many people had done as we had – and spotted an area of fairly good weather for a winter hike.
Although the Beinn a’ Ghlò Munros make for a fairly lengthy route at around 22km or more, they do have the advantage of a path for the entire circuit.
Munro 3: Carn nan Gabhar
Carn nan Gabhar was to be our highest summit of the day although it didn’t look too far from where we sat. We could see there was fairly steep and short descent before another rise to the top.
Victoria had walked these Munros quite recently and she decided not to mention the number of false summits to come. While I had walked the circuit in my first round, I had little recollection of it.
It was only as we walked the very rocky and wide ridge from cairn to trig pillar to cairn and then back to the trig pillar that this third Munro came back to me. It turned out the trig and furthest cairn have only a metre of height difference with the further cairn marked as the highest point on the OS map.
Munro Top: Airgiod Bheinn
Turning around to retrace our steps to the bealach, we could see the Munro Top to the south. If you are only bagging the three Munros, the bealach is where you would drop down to walk back to the return track.
However, we stayed on a path at higher elevation that descended to about 1000m, before ascending to 1062m at a cairn atop Airgiod Bheinn, the Munro Top.
Again, there was an option to retrace our steps to join the usual Munro bagging route, but instead we continued south following the trace of a trod that came and went as it meandered over the rocky slope.
It was a steep and somewhat relentless descent route with lots of loose stone and scree. I slipped on to my bum a few times and we all had to take care with each step. It was very useful to have hiking poles to maintain our balance.
Every time I looked up, the return track in the glen looked a long way below us but it by bit we closed in on it. There was a final off-trod section that proved to be wet and boggy but it was only for a short period.
The track felt very long to return to the start. I confess I am a bit of a grumpy glen hiker, especially at the end of the day when I simply want to be back at the vehicle and enjoying a sit down and a cup of tea.
Cath suggested we choose a new topic of chat – which somehow we always find! – and the kilometres did go by much faster after this. We also enjoyed a superb sunset and arrived at Cath’s 4×4 vehicle just before the need of a head torch.
This is a superb circuit, whether you choose to include the Munro Top or not.
Route details: Beinn a’ Ghlò Munros and a Munro Top
Distance: 22km
Elevation gain: 1375m