Ben Mor Coigach

Introduction

This mountain is first seen from the road north of Ullapool as a long high ridge forming an impressive backdrop to Ardmair Bay. The western end of the ridge falls steeply into the sea near Culnacraig with the crest running at 700m for 3 km to the pointed top of Speicin Coinnich. The mountain continues for a further 5 km eastwards as a series of heathery slopes running towards the road junction at Drumrunie. When viewed from the north the ridge is dominated by The Fiddler (Sgurr an Fhidhleir), a great pointed cliff that should be included as part of any ascent of Ben Mor Coigach. The steep and rocky climb onto the long and narrow ridge above Culnacraig had put us off an attempt of the traverse for some time but when we did venture up the hillside we were rewarded with a fine, high and narrow ridge walk.

Routes of Ascent

The easiest route for climbing Ben Mor Coigach start from the road end at Culnacraig - the complete round can be readily achieved. However this is a long way round from the main road and unless you are already based on the peninsula an ascent from the east is often preferred (although we have never tackled them). These routes either take in the ridge of Beinn Tarsuinn, or start slighly farther west at the head of Loch Lurgainn and follow the Allt Claonaidh to Lochan Tuath, from where it is a steep climb up a grassy gully beside the cliff of The Fiddler. An alternative route starts on the south side, at the car park at Blughasary in Strath Kanaird. From here a track not shown on the map runs as far as Loch Eadar dha Bheinn, from where you can strike up to the top of Speicen Coinnich. An alternative route is given that starts on the A835 main road one and a half kilometres north of Strath Kanaird, cutting due west to take advantage of an isolated bridge over the River Runie - a path that will undoubtedly be boggy underfoot as it crosses the valley.

A traverse of the Ben Mor Coigach ridge from Blughasary seems plausible on the map, using the ascent outlined above and taking advantage of the return path shown along the coastline. However this path is extremely hard going (we have done a bit of it at the southern end); in fact there is no path to follow for much of the way and there is alot of up and down. This return leg involves some 7km and could take about 3 hours to cover - not recommended as part of a mountain traverse.

Our Ascents

Our first climb of Ben Mor Coigach in 1993 bypassed the long ridge, preferring to climb the steep heather slopes above Culnacraig (as hard as ever) and following the Allt nan Coisiche to the south of The Fiddler. It had been a wet holiday and we had stayed on an extra day to the Saturday in the hope of getting up at least one top in the area. We had started late in the day, 1:00pm, under the mutual reassurance that the weather was improving. We were caught by a very heavy shower and low cloud whilst sheltering by the stream under the ridge and decided we would have been much better off packed and on our way home. We pushed on to climb the steep slope and in our anxiety to get to the top quickly we took far too direct a line - we found ourselves on loose sand and stones struggling to make effective progress. The better line would have been to swing round farther to the north east and pick up the grassy slopes to the ridge, then loop back to the summit cairn.

However we got there in the end and shelterd in the cairn with the cloud just skimming the tops - from here we could see that the ridge out to the west would be well worth a visit. We salvaged some sense of achievement by dropping back down over the grassy slopes and taking in the adjacent top of The Fiddler (Sgurr an Fhidhleir). From there we trudged back over the heather hillside and toiled down the last two slopes back to the road at Culnacraig.

It was two years before we were back in Coigach with a decent day for the ridge. It had been a hot and sunny week and it was 11:30 by the time we were kitted up and left the car at Culnacraig. Climbing the two steep heather slopes above the road doesn't get any easier despite the practice but this has to be achieved before cutting right across to the foot of the main ridge, keeping well above the gorge the stream has cut for itself. The foot of Garbh Choireachan is reached at 400m and took us an hour to reach from the road. The way ahead appears steep and rocky but it proved to be an easy clamber either over the rocks or picking up paths on the loose crumbled sandstone - a welcome change to the heather slopes below. Lunch was taken on the first buttress high up on the ridge.

From here the route climbs to over 700m over several buttresses and then continues as a long narrow ridge interspersed with pinnacles. There are several tops and the views both to the north and the south are expansive - although a bit hazy in the summer heat on our walk. It is easier to take the ridge direct rather than the slightly lower path cutting across the steep grass slopes of the northern side. After one and a half kilometres the ridge drops slightly before broadening and rising to the comparatively wide and grassy summit of Ben Mor Coigach. We continued along the ridge to the final top of Speicen Coinnich thus covering the entire 3km length of the high ridge. From here you can see the clear path that continues east over BeinnTarsuinn towards the road to the north. We met several parties most of whom had ascended by this route. One party of students had climbed from the road end at Blughasary and were continuing with the full traverse of the ridge - they faced a long and arduous trek along the coastal path back to their starting point.

We turned north to descend the slopes towards The Fiddler, this time choosing to give the top a miss so contouring round to meet the faint path running westwards. The descent to Culnacraig through the thick heather was as difficult as ever; we got back to the car just after 5:00pm and retired to the bar for a couple of pints to replace the fluids lost during the day. As a ridge walk the outing is highly recommended - take in The Fiddler as well if you have not visited it before.

References

• Wild Walks includes a full traverse from Culnacraig to the road near Drumrunie, taking in The Fiddler and BeinnTarsuinn.
• Ralph Storer also includes Ben Mor Coigach in his 100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains, this time choosing a circular walk from the eastern end of Loch Lurgainn and also taking in The Fiddler.
• The view of Ben Mor Coigach across the bay from Ardmair is now cluttered by static caravans and a camping site. If you want to see what the bay was like before this development turn to The Best of Poucher's Scotland for a view that turns the clock back.