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Brian Howarth
wrote on September 21, 2013:
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Did this from the end of the Loch with the dam, having previously fallen in the river at the other end last December and retreated to the car. Its a trip of about 28km with a fair bit of wet sloshing and peat hag louping, whichever route you take from the dam. The ground between Meall an Torcain and Tom Ben Beag and Meall Coire nan Laogh is a drainage basin. Also worth knowing that the path shown on 1:50,000 map is no more than an Argo cat track - its fairly easy to spot and follow but dont expect a nice dry path all the way (and its about a 4-6km hike over rougher ground to get to it).
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Jonathan Small
wrote on May 28, 2013:
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I'd recommend taking a bike from Gascarnoch dam to the pumping station below Meall an Torcain, then walk up to Tom Ban Mor and follow the crest to the Munro, return by much the same route. This is a good alternative to the stream crossing and only 1 km longer, if using bike to get to the start. The first part is a bit wet, with no path to speak of. The peat hags on Tom Ban Beag make for slow going, but once on the crest it is a delightful high-level stroll to the top, surrounded by fabulous views.
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Gus Stewart
wrote on April 8, 2013:
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If this hill is on your radar for this year - do it SOON! On this occasion, the infamous bog was solid due to the recent cold spell, and the equally notorious stream was so low that it was a simple case of walking straight across. The climb to the top presented no
difficulties with any little snow which remained taking a stud. Crampons were not required. The best walking day of the year to date with sunburn more of a problem than the cold!
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Nick Bulbeck
wrote on April 16, 2009:
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Did this one on 19th April, with the (sunny) forecast proving accurate! Good thing, too, because I got the impression that Am Faochagach would be a bit of a treadmill without the views. Which are fantastic - the Deargs look tremendous from this direction, and Ben Hope (40 miles) and the Cairngorms (60 miles) were visible.
My tip for the Abhainn a Gharbhrain - bring an old pair of trainers, a plastic bag (to carry them in) and a small towel. Lightweight and foolproof. Mind you, it won't warm the water up any...
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Michael Howell
wrote on March 5, 2009:
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Of course a way to avoid crossing the river is to start from the dam at the east end of the loch. It adds a 4 km hike along the loch in both directions, but you keep your feet dry. We ascended in poor visibility and were grateful to have a moving map GPS to keep us on track. A rather pathetic pile of stones (in place of a cairn) greeted us at the top. The implication is that this is a less travelled Munro - and judging from the return/effort ratio, we can understand why. 7 hours of bog and snowdrift dodging took its toll and conversation grew progressively less lively as the day wore on!
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Mike Watson
wrote on October 8, 2007:
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Abhainn Gharbrain only ankle deep where we crossed so dry feet for the rest of the walk. Rest of the walk is fairly easy with an obvious path most of the way.
No views from the summit , another incorrect weather forecast but compensated though by a fanastic fogbow instead.
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David Nichols
wrote on July 25, 2007:
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Did this one 14th July 2007 with my son Ellis. It had been raining on and off for some time and the river was fast and swollen. We crossed about 400m up-stream just before the loch where there is a wide section, even so the water was waist high (we had taken shorts and tevas just incase!)Made for a great day on what is otherwise a bit of a mound! No views on top just more rain, oh we did see a pair of Dottrel!
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David Harbottle
wrote on November 16, 2006:
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Crossing the Abhainn Gharbrain (river) presented no problems in early Nov. It had been fairly dry though. Took shoes and socks off, waded the boulder strewn river - max depth about knee height.
Chilly though.
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Roger Vander Steen
wrote on February 8, 2006:
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August 2, 2004
I was fortunate to meet the laird at Strathvaich Lodge and he gave permission to park. The ascent on Meall na Glaic Bàine crossed a tedious peat bog. Fine high level descent over
Tom Bàn Mor but the track shown on the 1:50000 map is often non-existent and little more than an indentation in the ground at best.
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Kathleen Haddow
wrote on November 3, 2005:
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Thought it prudent to climb this from the south as there had been loads of rain in the past few days and we'd heard about the imfamous bogs! Plus there is a track (of sorts) most of the way from Black Bridge so we thought we'd be okay. It was very wet and very boggy... all the way to the summit. It was however compensated for by the amazing views of Bein Dearg and Suilven to the north of us. Fantastic.
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Bryce Mcculloch
wrote on May 2, 2005:
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We climbed this in a large group of 10 people as it was Joe McCullochs last Munro. The day started of overcast and threatening but quickly cleared up before we startd the ascent. The Abainn a' Gharbhrain wasn't to difficult to cross, upstream from where it splits there are cairns on either side of the river, this is where we crossed with little difficulty. The ascent was reasonably steep until we reached the ridge and from then it was an easy walk onto the summit. Some ptarmigan were seen on the way. At the summit we celebrated with whisky and some tunes from the bagpipes. Easy relaxed descent.
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Teuvo Neuvonen
wrote on October 1, 2004:
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I climbed with my nephew from Loch Glascarnoch (the mast) to the bealach between Meall Coire and Tom Ban Mor. The ascent was surprisingly strenuous, partly because we already had 1 munro behind us on that day (Ben Wyvis) and because we had our tent, sleeping bags and other accessories to carry along. On Tom Ban Mor the darkness fell upon us and we had to camp. In a thick fog in the following morning we reached Am Faochagach.
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Steuart Ferguson
wrote on April 28, 2003:
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Climbed 19/4/03. A longish but fairly easy climb. Superb views to Bienn Dearg & Coire Ghranda. This was done during a period of exceptionally dry conditions so the infamous bogs were almost dry and I didn't even get my boots wet at the river.
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Terry Thomson
wrote on October 15, 2002:
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Climbed 15/10/02 over wet terrain. A long but rewarding route with fine views all round. 5 hours in/3 1/2 hours out. Good navigation required on the higher ground in low cloud base.
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