Weather/Conditions: Very nice and sunny late summer weather.
Distance/Ascent/Time: 2.6km / 210m / 54m
Accompanying: Alone

I headed north from Lochaber to Skye on the Saturday with the intention of climbing the InPinn with Uncle Steve on the Sunday. As usual, the weaher was rubbish on our intended day but beautiful the day before. With time to kill before Steve and Gordon arrived in Kintail, I headed for the Mam Ratagan pass.



Sgurr a' Bhraonain is a pretty anomoymous little hill sandwiched in by the pass. But it gave me something to chew on for the afternoon. I spent some time debating whether to move at all, then as usual decided to switch the brain off and just go, which is always a good call. But my legs were feeling pretty leaden, even on this tiny walk.

With my high starting altitude, views opened up abruptly to a sun-dappled Kintail and a view through the hills to a western horizon, crowded by the Cuillin summits. The location of Sgurr a' Bhraonain is located out ot the west of most of the Kintail mountains, so there was a coastal element to the scenery here; Glenelg down in one direction, Eilean Donan Castle on the edge of Loch Duich, and the more distant hills of Applecross and Torridon to the north.



One thing that I'd never appreciated quite so, was the way Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan rises high over the top of A' Ghlas-bheinn - or even that you can see it from a roadside at all. Viewed from here makes this giant mountain seem very close to the west coast.

I went over the north top to Sgurr a' Bhraonain's anonymous summit. There is no cairn here, and I spent some time on top. It's also been ten years to the day since I climbed Beinn Narnain and The Cobbler. I wouldn't attach much significance to anniversaries typically, but that day was the first time I ever did a Munro in 90 minutes. It became a standard pace that still holds for me today, and it really means I've been on the hills for ten years straight. That summer of 2007 was when I really got going and over the next couple years especially, I learned a lot about the mountains. And now I was passing that ten years here on this little hill in Kintail.



In spite of the lethargy on the climb up, I pelted it down to the car. I always find running down the hills easier than going up. I bypassed the north top on the right, joined the road at the pass summit, and walked around the corner to find my car. No sooner than I'd got back I realised I'd left the passenger window wide open. Anyone could have had my wallet lying on the passenger seat. But though folk had passed, all my stuff was lying as I'd left it, which was just as well!

Afterward I went to the Kintail Lodge Hotel for a couple drinks and Wifi, meeting Emma and John. I got in touch with Steve and Gordon who'd booked themselves into Ratagan YH, my first time there. The following day was the InPinn, which in the end wasn't to be with the weather!

360° Panorama

Sgurr a' Bhraonain