Sump To Summit

Midges greeted us as soon as we opened the van door! We ate breakfast quickly and set off at a run along a track. The cloud inversion was superb as we began to rise above it. After around 5 km, we started to ascend Sail Liath, straight up the nose. This was extremely steep, but it meant we climbed the mountain quickly.

The view from the summit was awesome, and we could clearly see the pinnacles we’d be scrambling along. The scramble was a long, lovely stretch of rock, in awesome positions but never felt too exposed. We made it along quickly and summited our first Munro of the day – Sgurr Fiona.

We then summited our second Munro, Bidean a’ Ghlas Thuill. From here, the run down to Glas Tholl was amazing! Eventually, we hit a stream (which we were pleased about as we’d run out of water, and it was 24 degrees). The run down was a real highlight for me, as it was so much descent over such a long distance!

Just before meeting the road, we got caught in a tangle of rhododendron trees. Sam and I each went our separate ways and had to fight to get through the tangle! I opted to jump in a river and follow it downstream until it met the road. There were a couple of small waterfalls to contend with on this route, but it was quicker than the alternative! Back to the van, a quick coffee and wash in the river, and it was time to drive back down to Sheffield! This has been an awesome week in Scotland, with unbelievable weather, and certainly a trip I’ll remember!