Winter Wonderland

Arran's snow survived the brief thaw at the start of the week, and more arrived high up.  By Wednesday, it was looking like a true winter paradise and a day of settled weather coaxed Wally, Mike and I in to the hills for one of Arran's classic ridge routes. The high level route from Cioch Na h_Oighe to Goatfell in summer is great fun, with some sections of grade 1+ scrambling, mostly avoidable, but not entirely.  In winter it takes on a new level of challenge, that varies with the conditions.  Yesterday we found many of the harder sections banked out and easy, but some of the steepest scrambling felt more tenuous under a thin layer of sugary snow and rime.We had the mountains to ourselves, breaking trail all the way to the summit of Goatfell.

 The route follows a steep path up the eastern flanks of Cioch na h-Oighe from Glen Sannox, via a series of slabs and corners, nicely icy yesterday... Once established on the ridge, its a good scramble until the ridge broadens in to Mullach Buidhe.

 From Mullach Buidhe itself there were wonderful views of many of Arran's fine ridges, undulating away to the west. 

 Easy walking over the top of Mullach Buidhe. 

 Dramatic views of the small, but perfectly formed, Cir Mhor. 

 Resting briefly before the scrambling begins again on Stacach Ridge, to Goatfell. 

 The blocky tors of Stacach can mostly be avoided with a path to the east in Summer, but in winter this regularly gets banked out with very steep and unstable snow.  At times like these it is better to brave the teeth of Stacach.  Steep in places- needs a head for heights and and some winter climbing skills (this is not a walk).

The reward is the view from Goatfell- with great views of Cir Mhor and Caisteal Abhail.

Blue Sky Days

This week the island has been basking in unseasonal sunshine and dry weather. I've had two fantastic days in the mountains before the weather broke, in almost identical conditions of hot dry rock and a cool breeze- perfect for scrambling and climbing.

On Sunday, I was out training with Arran Mountain Rescue Team ( I am a probationary member), and we headed up on to the western slopes of Mullach Buidhe to practice some rope work and rock climbing.  Normally AMRT training sessions are hard work, but this had more of the air of jolly picnic on the beach, although we did do some top roping of some hard and highball boulder problems on the ridge, plus some abseiling and climbing on the biggest buttress. All quite leisurely really.

AMRT Jolly. 

Setting up for the ab and climb.

Top roping in the sun. 

Great views of Cir Mhor and Caisteal Abhail across Glen Sannox. 

On Tuesday a good friend stopped by on route to the highlands and we whisked him from the ferry into the hills. At this point I should provide a nice big plug for the company he represents, Mountain Hardwear, but as we lent him a load of non Mountain Hardwear gear for the day, he'd prefer to remain anonymous!

So it was back in to Coire Lan and up on to North Goatfell for a quick traverse of Stacach in perfect conditions.

The boys enjoying tremendous views from the top of North Goatfell. 

Heading off down the Stacach for Goatfell summit. 

Now it is Thursday and the rain has come at last.  It is sad to say goodbye to the sun for a bit, but the island was beginning to feel like a tinderbox in the haze from the mainland wildfires.  I'm relieved that we have survived the dry spell and the moisture will only help the wildlife. Good for gardeners too!

Granite Heaven: The High Road to Brodick

Yesterday was one of those days when the Isle of Arran gleamed like a jewel in the sea. Staying indoors was simply not an option, and the only decision to be made was which gorgeous corner of the island to go and play in? In the morning, the Northern Hills were still shrouded in mist, but the forecast looked set fair so we dropped the car at Cladach near Brodick and hopped on a bus to Sannox.  From here we planned to link up two of the finest low grade scrambles in Scotland, if not the UK, and vastly underrated at that. It was a long day, the sort when you linger at every viewpoint for longer than you intend... and I took tons of photos, so I'll let them speak for themselves.

From Glen Sannox, the way strikes up left toward's the Devil's Punchbowl. Cioch Na h'Oighe is the peak on the right of the picture. There is a traverse path that runs from the burn to the base of the scrambling on this peak.

 

Once established on the Cioch, there are great views in to Glen Sannox. The route follows a series of exposed slabs up to the first summit. Most are avoidable, but there is one tricky section that must be negotiated. 

Once on the ridge, a series of rocky crests rises up before you. 

Most of the hardest scrambling is avoidable on the right, but it is more fun to take the ridge direct at about grade I/II

All too soon the ridge broadens out at the back of the Punchbowl and you begin the climb up to Mullach Buidhe. 

Looking back along the ridge, there are fabulous views of the Cioch, and down to the sandy beach of Sannox Bay. 

Mullach Buidhe itself is a rock escarpment overlooking the head of Glen Sannox, This is looking back to Mullach Buidhe from the slopes of North Goatfell. 

Great views in to Coire Lan and towards the village of Corrie from the slopes of North Goatfell.

The blocky summit of North Goatfell, with Goatfell looming beyond. 

The Stacach Ridge hangs between the two summits of Goatfell.  Most of the difficulties can be avoided by taking a traverse path to the East, but a traverse of the ridge crest is an exposed and exciting scramble on excellent rock at hard grade I.

Great views back in to the mountains. From left to right the peaks are: Cir Mhor, Caisteal Abhail, and North Goatfell. 

And finally, from the summit of Goatfell, the South Ridge. The tourist path takes an easy line to the East.  We chose a direct descent down the South Ridge, with a bit more easy scrambling, before dropping down to the main path above the forestry.

Low Winter Sun: Cioch na h-Oighe

I think I have been up Cioch na h-Oighe more than any other ridge or peak on Arran. Close to the road, it is just a steep heather bash from Glen Sannox and a great choice for a shorter day if you want to get in to technical rocky scrambling terrain.  The rock is generally sound, the views immense, and it is one of the quietest places in the Northern Hills- I rarely meet anyone else up there.

So, this morning, a long lie and a good weather forecast lured us back up there with a promise of a fun scramble and some winter sunshine.  We were not disappointed. I think it would be hard for me to get tired of this fantastic ridge.

 

Walking up Glen Sannox for a short distance, before cutting up to the left and towards the Devil's Punchbowl. 

I've have described this route a few times, but in case you are new to the blog- climbing up to the Cioch involves taking a path leading up towards the Devil's Punchbowl, above Sannox, and then picking a traverse line under the nose of the Cioch, before scrambling over slabs and scree to reach the upper slopes.  The final tower forms a hooked prow, spectacular in profile.  On the left, the terrifying crags of The Bastion drop away, and to the right, steep but heathery slopes in to Glen Sannox.

Arriving on the Cioch, we were blinded by the low winter sun.  It was glorious, but a bit much so we gratefully dropped down in to the notch beyond, and followed the undualting crest over granite blocks and through narrow squeezes until the ridge broadened in to the flanks of Mullach Buidhe.

 

Cir Mhor from Mullach Buidhe

Beyond Mulllach Buidhe, there is a short descent before the final climb on to North Goatfell. Here the bright sun dazzled us again,  The view from the summit was incredible, and as well as the snow capped highlands to the North we could also make out Jura, and for the first time ever- clearly, the Isle of Mull to the Northwest.

On the summit of North Goatfell

Finally we began our descent down to The Saddle between North Goatfell and Cir Mhor. In places the path is heavily eroded and a fine scree of granite gravel means that care is required on descent.  From the saddle we traversed a short distance under the North East flank of Cir Mhor, before descending a well marked but scree filled Gully above the Whinstone Dyke.  From here, in descent, you have a choice of continuing to folow loose scree to the right (facing out) or descending the dyke itself, which is steep but certainly preferable in dry conditions.  There is plenty for hands, but the footholds are a bit polished by time, boots and running water. 

At last we arrived back in to Glen Sannox, and all that remained was a long stomp out of the glen as the light failed.  We passed a small herd of stags on the way, who crossed the river to avoid us, but still allowed us great views of their magnificent head gear.