Weather/Conditions: Steely grey light, clouded over and moving in with a weather front. Calm and settled, though.
Distance/Ascent/Time: 5.5km / 700m / 3h 15m
Accompanying: Ann-Louise

A day with a couple of sides. I spent the morning at Stac an Eich trying an E4 without success - too wet (and that's my excuse). Knowing that I had a hill plan with Ann-Louise I lowered off the route, left the gear and the rig in place for collection later on.



Beinn a' Chrulaiste is one hill I haven't been on in quite a long time. However it is a hill I drive past all the time. We stepped out of the car at lunchtime with just a few hours light left. But it isn't a long day, you gain altitude rapidly then the hill peters off to a gentle grassy walk to a summit trig point.



Positioned right on top of Altnafeadh, the Stob is a pretty impressive viewpoint. The Buachaille had a sense of unreality. The skies were grey with the incoming weather front, the first snows of winter had turned the summits metallic grey.

Today the air was still, and not very cold. We chatted our way to the top. Gently the summit pulled up and I took my first proper 360 from this hill. It was some view - all the Mamores and Nevis/Corries looking grim in their monochrome shades. Rannoch Moor looked bare as ever and Schiehallion a cone at the far end. I really like that emptiness still, but I suppose it also freaks me out less than it did in the past. I do think of the people that have come and gone from this land, as well as the deeper time too... And it still inspires me to look across the Moor to Glen Lyon and see the high tops traces in white edges against the sky.



Looking back to the Glen Coe was stunning too - puffs of cloud would build against the high summits telling of weather on it's way. For now we didn't see any threat and the lack of wind helped too.

We walked the same way back to the car, a nice trudge down.

We headed back to the house, and as it got dark I headed back to Stac an Eich by headtorch to retrieve the gear left in the morning!

360° Panorama

Beinn a' Chrulaiste