20th May 2013 - The Ballachulish Sandbag

Anna laundering some cash before we headed out...just thought I'd show it for evidence...

At the start of our route, soon to wave goodbye to the road

One of the few rideable sections

A well earned rest

Enjoying Loch Linnhe after the forest track

So today Anna and I were keen to get on the hill, but given the very low cloud level our plans of doing the Sron Na Larig and down Bhienn Fhada was shelved. We opted instead to have a go on the bikes around a loop Anna has had her eye on for ages - from Ballachulish around the Ballachulish Horseshoe to Duror and back up National Cycle Route 78 to the start of the trail again - around 24km all told.

We set off with high hopes, but soon found ourselves facing boggy, grassy slopes and extremely rutty tracks with no where to ride properly. We ended up spending most of our time pushing the bikes wondering why we had brought them with us... Regardless, we had a good laugh and it was nice sharing the outdoors with Anna since her new job restricts her time off so much. She is still fitter than me on the bike!!!

Eventually we came to the end of the boggy hell (stunning scenery though) and hit some nice but too short lived single track before going full throttle down several miles of forest track (a welcome relief!) and hitting ontot Route 78 which was incredibly quick. With only a few stops to admire the scenery and eat cake, we were back to the car in no time, and homeward bound after a milkshake and chocolate cake at the cafe in Glen Coe.

Great to be out on the bike doing some cross country stuff, but I think that route has served its purpose and wont be visited again on two wheels....Hoping to do my TCL soon so its all good training I'm sure!

9th February 2012 - Ballachulish Horseshoe

The slog. Yucky ground, wet boots!

At the top of one of the steps

Anna with her pose on

The cloud breaking, peaks in the distance

Sgurr Dhonuill appearing through the clag

Anna with Sgurr Dhonuill in the background

The cloud drops again from the summit of Sgurr Dhonuill

As we descend, the cloud climbs back up again

Anna's old housemate Aoife was up visiting us for the weekend, and was keen to get out to make the most of what was left of the snow. Anna was keen to take her up something more than just a snow plod, and I have had my eye on the Ballachulish Horseshoe for years. Although not technical, it offers some interest and is definately a good starting route for a beginner. We knew it was going to be a long day, but that didn't stop us having a more than leisurely start. The initial slopes were a slog until we reached the snow line, but we were getting hints that the over bearing cloud cover was beginning to break up a bit, with good vews over to Loch Leven and the Pap of Glencoe beginning to show. On reaching the 'difficulties' Anna and I took turns at the front, and the slippy ice on the steps were the only real issue. We made good progress up the NE ridge, and onto the first summit of the day, Sgorr Dhearg. Here we were treated to what would turn out to be stunning cloud and weather conditions. The cloud slowly dropped, revealing peaks across Glencoe and Glen Etive and further afield, it was stunning. However, we had to press on and after a long plod we found ourselves dealing with the tricky, slippy and wet final step onto the summit of Sgurr Dhonuill, where we were again treated to some excellent views, although this didn't extend very far north so the Ben was hidden.

From the summit we started what we hoped would be an easy descent ended up being horrible, boggy, uneven ground. We plodded on until eventually, with the threat of darkness fast approaching, we hit a reasonable looking gully to descend and made our way through forestry to begin the trudge along the forestry track to Ballachulish and the car. A superb day and a great effort from Aoife on her first proper winter day!