First Outing of 2010

This was the second time that I was to take the trip near to Crainlarich to try Meall Glas, 957m / 3158ft. The other attempt was last March that I managed to complete the other Munro in that area, Sgiath Chuil. The signs weren’t good as I hit a patch of black ice on the drive up and nearly spun off the road. Some weren’t so lucky and did leave the road and although they were fine the cars looked anything but!

The track up to the open moorland from the farm was icy and quite treacherous in places so it was a good test for the new boots. The moorland is quoted in the guide book as being featureless and this certainly is the case. It was made all the more difficult by soft snow and ice in places. My idea was to ascend to Beinn nan Imirean, a Corbett first, then move onto the bigger Munro. Conditions worsened at 600m onwards and navigation became reliant on map and compass skills. Luckily I had come across another walker who was also ascending the Corbett. He also had a GPS system that cut down a lot of the uncertainty in finding the summit of Beinn nan Imirean at 847m / 2795ft. I decided for safety reasons to leave Meall Glas to another day so it looks like it’ll be third time lucky for this elusive Munro.

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