Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil, 16th-17th September 2017
In an effort to find a hill that all three of us haven't done, we looked for something a bit more on the remote side - something that we might have bypassed previously due to time, but which still wasn't too far from home. We decided on a 2-dayer climbing Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil from near Bridge of Gaur using the mountain bikes to get us to Ben Alder cottage.
Toezi arranged to pick Steg up at 6:15am and I'd be shortly after, at 6:30am. It was an early start, but I provided the boys with a tea or coffee just the way they liked it and that kept any early morning grumpiness at bay.
We were on the road on cue, and made good time to Bridge of Gaur - that Kinloch Rannoch road is a lot longer than it looks on the map, but we were expertly driven.
We arrived at the old sawmill at 9:15am and were all kitted out and on the bikes for 9:30am, before the midges did too much damage. The bikes were heavily laden, with sleeping kit, some fire logs and a backup tent as well as our food and cooking kit.
The cycle in felt like it was all uphill, and apart from one exciting descent, it pretty much was. It was tough on the legs, but the sight of Loch Ericht was a welcome one. The rain was on in light showers.
Loch Ericht
At Loch Ericht, we reached the end of the road and then we were on foot over the boggy marsh, to the bothy at Alder Bay.
We arrived there at midday, and had a bite to eat. We dropped our stuff, marked our sleeping spaces with sleeping bags and did a bit of investigating. There was no one else around and the place is quite gloomy - I can see why people get a bit freaked out there if they are there alone.
Stillness of the bothy
At 12:15pm, we put on our considerably-lighter packs and headed for the hills. We traipsed up the track alongside the river and headed for the bealach at 833m, that was at 1:20pm.
Alder and Bheoil
From the bealach it was a steep climb up just over 200m to the rim of the corrie. We were hit hard by the north wind on the Ben Alder plateau, but we pressed on, using map and compass to ensure we navigated cleanly to the summit.
We stopped for a bite to eat, but it was starting to get cold and rather misty up there, so we didn't hang about too long. By 2:40pm we were on our way back to the bealach.
Lads on the summit of Ben Alder
The ascent of Beinn Bheoil from the bealach seemed a lot less steep and the weather was starting to clear from the north. One benefit of being up at that height is that you can see it all changing.
Beinn Bheoil
View back over to the Corrie on Ben Alder
We headed on and upwards and made the summit of Beinn Bheoil at 4:45pm
On the summit of Beinn Bheoil
The descent was lovely, as the clouds started to part, and we took in some lovely views:
Views!
Back to Bheinn Bheoil
We made it back to the bothy in bright sunshine at 6:40pm to a couple of new arrivals. A chap from Southampton and a lad from Bavaria, both heading for Corrour next day.
We got the fire on and made tea, and I took some pictures:
Alder Cottage
As we ate, we saw four more people arriving for the night - three girls and a chap from Sheffield, they were just up to the visit the bothy and stay the night.
The whisky duly appeared and we all sat round the fire telling stories to strangers. It was a great wee night.
Steg and the fire he didn't start
Tall tales
The night outside was clear and the stars were a revelation - unfortunately, I never brought the good tripod because I needed to save weight......
We were up in the morning at 7:30ish and set off, back to get the bikes at 9am.
Leaving Alder Cottage
We were back at the car for before 11, it was quite good fun on the way back.
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