LIATHACH

This article by Richard Happer - a fearless copywriter plying his wares in Edinburgh. Email him at rhapper@hotmail.com

Pronunciation: leeahach
Translation: Grey one

This is a hill that doesn't mess around. Here's the carpark, there's the path, up you go. Straight up. The first hour or so is a steep pull alongside a cascading stream (much appreciated on the roasting summer day we chose for our ascent), before the path zig-zags its way into a rock-strewn corrie. Enjoy your views up and down Glen Torridon because here things get seriously steep. In fact, as you ascend the wall of the corrie towards the top of the col it becomes a full-on scramble.

But this is why you're here, right? I know that when I finally clambered up the last stretch of shattered, tumbled boulders to reach the saddle I felt like I was flying. This was fuelled partly by the exhilaration of beating the exponential gradient, and partly by the sheer joy of the magnificent views unfolding before my eyes. (If you climb Liathach on one of the 300 odd days when the summit is wrapped in its cloudy shawl, you'll have to make do with the exercise bit.)

And this is just the start of the fun! It's a fairly easy (although longer than it looks) clamber to the first of the munro peaks, Spidean a' Choire Leith. But it's as you descend from there that you get your first view of the pinnacles of Am Fasarinen. This ridge is like a giant slab of ancient Cheshire cheese: grey, crumbly and potentially hazardous to your health. My climbing companion Greaves is as nimble, fearless (and odiferous) as a mountain goat, and he was up and over the first pinnacle like a shot. I however took my time, the better to enjoy the sheer drops on either side and make the most of the frequent "crawly bits" that forced me onto all fours.

The pinnacles extend for quite a stretch, and going up and down them all is a venture in itself. So I was relieved when after 3 or 4 of them, goat-boy Greaves skipped down the wrong path and we found ourselves on the track that wraps itself round the southern shoulders of the pinnacles.

I rejoiced too soon, for this is goblin country. Just as sheer on the pinnacles to the north, the path is a twisty-turny mixture of rock and mud. How I envied goat-boy's hooves.

The push up to the second munro of Mullach an Rathain is a positive saunter and every step should be relished, for the views and the exhilaration again, but also because the descent's a bugger. Dropping from 3,000ft + down to virtually sea level in what seems like a few hundred yards of distance is a real knee-cracker, especially given the mixed terrain of rock and heathery mud. Keep a Mars Bar in reserve!

Oh, and when you hit the road, I recommend you stick your thumb out. A kilometre of boring tarmac should not be your abiding memory of Liathach. Now stop messing around on that bloody computer and get out there!

Route Summary:
Just E of Glen Cottage climb steeply up the craggy hillside into the Toll 'a Meitheach. Higher up the corrie continue NE over steep ground to the col on the main ridge. Follow the ridge NW then west over two tops to the cone of Spidean a' Choire Leith. Descend SW to a level grassy section. Continue over, or around, the pinnacles of Am Fasarinen. An exposed path avoids the difficulties on the S side. Beyond the pinnacles it's an easy stroll to Mullach an Rathain. From the summit the descent back to Glen Torridon is via the SW ridge, although a slightly quicker descent to Glen Torridon is via the corrie of the Allt an Tuill Bhain.

Map: OS Sheet 25
Access point: A896, 800m east of Glen Cottage
Distance: 12 km
Approx time: 6-8 hours
Grade: Strenuous hill walk