Petestack Blog

Quite a tough weekend in Torridon, supporting Robin Deroeck on the closing run of the very tough Celtman! Extreme Scottish Triathlon on Saturday and making a complete traverse of Beinn Eighe yesterday…

With Saturday starting seriously windy even at sea level (causing problems enough for the swimming and cycling legs!) and deteriorating with the arrival of forecast rain to ‘survival’ conditions on the mountain, the race organisers took the sensible decision to close the ‘high level’ course over Beinn Eighe with just 11 of 125 (?) starters through and divert everyone else to the ‘low level’ alternative round the back of Liathach. But this was still ‘character-building’ enough with the heavy rain arriving just as we made the Torridon road after a pleasant run on easy track/trail from Achnashellach via the Coulin Pass and Lochs Coulin and Clair, and Robin did well to hang on through atrocious conditions on quite ‘un-Belgian’ technical trail for an excellent 21st place.

Now, what a difference a day makes… and what better way to follow up a tough trail marathon than the traverse of Beinn Eighe (sole member of the Torridon ‘big three’ I’d never done) in conditions as good as the previous day’s were bad? So, after attending Sunday morning’s prizegiving to see my runner and his support-crew family (father, mother and wife) with whom I’d spent most of Saturday driving round the 202 km cycle route, I left my van near the T2A race checkpoint and made an unrecommendable beeline for the summit of Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe (dodging much of the scree via heather tongues till it became purgatorially continuous towards the top) before heading out over the Black Carls to the deleted Munro Top of Creag Dhubh and back to traverse the ridge all the way to Sail Mhor, back to the reigning peak of Ruadh-stac Mor (also taking the bad step of Ceum Grannda in both directions when it might have been better to reverse the peak order here) and down by the stupendous Coire Mhic Fhearchair, where I could hear but not see climbers somewhere on the Triple Buttresses. And that was that, with tired legs and feet tempting me home for a break from ‘van’ living when my original plan had involved staying for a repeat traverse of Liathach to mop up the tricky and rarely-done Top of Meall Dearg. But not to worry when it’s been there for thousands of years and should still be there for me ‘next time’ with Torridon not really so very far up the road! ;-)

[Sorry no photos from Saturday’s rain!]