Читать книгу Walking the Corbetts Vol 2 North of the Great Glen онлайн

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N face of Garbh Bheinn

Garbh Bheinn provides some of the best rock climbing and scrambling in Scotland. Details of the scrambles can be found in the Cicerone guide Scrambles in Lochaber by Noel Williams. Pinnacle Ridge, a difficult scramble, and the Great Ridge, an easy rock climb first climbed by JH Bell [CHECK BC - JW DOUBTS THIS] and W Brown in 1897, are fine routes on the NE face of Garbh Bheinn in Garbh Choire Mhoir.

Cross the bridge and follow a rough path up the SE ridge of Gharbh Choire Bhig. This path, which is occasionally boggy and sometimes indistinct, especially where it climbs rocksteps or crosses rocky slabs, takes you to the summit of Gharbh Choire Bhig (1hr 40min, 823m, 90820 61710). Follow the path steeply down to a saddle (750m, 90440 61930). The path up Garbh Bheinn continues NW, to avoid the cliffs on its SE face, before turning NE to the summit cairn on Garbh Bheinn (2hr 15min, 885m, 90440 62200).

In bad weather, or if you have any doubts about your ability to navigate through, and descend, very difficult terrain, you should descend by the ascent route. The featured route heads WNW to a small pond on a shallow saddle (845m, 90140 62320). Turn sharp right (NE veering ENE) down grass slopes to reach a gully (775m, 90370 62520) just before you reach the N ridge of Garbh Bheinn. Descend carefully, on grass beside the boulderfield, NW down the gully and keep to the right of the burn that appears further down the mountain. Aim for the obvious grassy saddle on the ridge on your right, then go about 50m left (E) to the top of a gully, marked by a small (easily missed?) cairn (690m, 90140 62820). Descend the gully, bypassing difficulties on the left, to the saddle separating Garbh Bheinn and Beinn Bheag (2hr 45min, 535m, 90050 63070).