Alan Rowan takes cover on a hot day
THE twin Munros of Sron a’ Choire Ghairbh and Meall na Teanga dominate the skyline above Loch Lochy, demanding the attention of anyone travelling along the Great Glen.
There are two main routes, each with their advantages. The northern approach from Kilfinnan is the gentler – and probably the quicker – and had been the choice on the last couple of ascents.
This time, however, facing the relative rarity of a hot, still day in the Scottish mountains, we opted to come in from the Loch Arkaig side. The Mile Dorcha – the Dark Mile – certainly lives up to its name: a passage in deep shade, trees crowding in
from either side, rocks and walls long colonised by and buried under thick mosses.
But the main attraction is the Eas Chia-aig, the picturepostcard waterfall with a series of drops into a sheltered and shallow pool offering the perfect cooling-off point after a hard, hot day on the hill.
You can’t escape the sound of the water on the initial climb through the forest, a constant companion whispering in your ear. Even when you reach the ground above the falls, the water of the Abhainn Chiaaig is still your guide north by track and path, sticking closely until the turn east to catch another path for the pull up to the bealach.
It’s worth taking a minute or two here before the serious work starts to experience the calming effect of gazing down on the miniature cars whizzing by hundreds of metres far below.
With this circuit, it’s better to tackle Sron a’ Choire Ghairbh first. A zig-zag path gains height steadily with the minimum of effort, the large summit cairn soon being reached with fine views north-east to the Corbett pyramid of Ben Tee and down the right-hand ridge over the fine top of Sean Mheall to the head of the loch.
Meall na Teanga is the lower of the two Munros, but the ascent always seems to take more effort. From the bealach, the path skirts over the side of Meall Dubh then heads straight up rougher and looser ground to the summit.
The continuation leads over a fine narrow and rocky ridge to Meall Coire Lochain with the spectacular sight of a dark, inkwell lochan cradled in the bowl beneath, before curving round to the final top of Meall Odhar.
There are some crags to be aware of but there’s no real concern, and a direct line west leads across the shoulder of Meall Breac and down easy slopes to emerge on the inward path just above the forestry.
We hotfooted it down through the trees, our water bottles emptied and sunscreen long dried out, the lure of the waterfall not too far away.
The one big plus was that it appeared to be too hot even for the midges.
We didn’t need further invitation when we hit the pool – with the water all to ourselves, we took the plunge.