Eastern Mamores

The Mamores are a stunning set of hills in the Lochaber region of the western Highlands. After gawking at the eastern most of this range whilst on the Ring of Steall they were immediately added to the to do list, and with a short window of good weather approaching I once again made haste to the Highlands with a plan in mind.

I began by making my way up the old military road towards Mamore Lodge before breaking left into Coire na Ba and a chorus of rutting stag. The walk through the coire is undemanding and path easy to follow, with the eastern face of Am Bodach always drawing the eye. There is a rather long switchback required before reaching the col between Stob Coire a' Chàirn and Na Gruagaichean, which I suppose could be avoided by striking straight for the ridge if one were short of time. From here it's a steep climb up to what I mistook as the summit of Na Gruagaichean... until the cloud cleared and revealed the true summit. The traverse between the two involves steep ground and some scrambling.

The sweeping narrow ridges between Na Gruagaichean and Binnein Mòr are stunning and paths to the right of the crests provide an enjoyable walk between summits. The cloud was coming and going at this point masking the way ahead, until it finally cleared as I approached Binnein Mòr. Binnein Mòr is the highest peak in the Mamores and the summit is quite narrow and airy. The views all around are impressive and include the neighbouring Munro, Binnein Beag. Binnein Beag is the most remote peak in the range and wasn't in my plans for this trip.

Once I'd had my fill of the views, I continued back along the ridge line and this time took a left towards Sgor Eilde Beag. It's a short(ish) hike down to the summit cairn, from which a stunning view of the conical peak of Sgùrr Eilde Mòr can be seen, rising above a number of attractively shaped lochans.

The wind had dropped by the time I'd found a pitch for the night, and a calm morning followed. The Glen Coe hills and beyond looked splendid draped in morning sun light, with layers of mist making the whole vista worthy of a chef's kiss. Plan accomplished.