Glen Tilt Three (Bein a Ghlo) plus the Corbett
Statistics
Area: Pitlochry to Braemar and Blairgowrie
Munros: Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain, Carn Liath (Beinn a’Ghlo), Carn nan Gabhar
Corbetts: Beinn Vuirich
Date walked: 02/05/2010
Distancec: 29km
Time: 7hour 30mins
The Route
Introduction
I was looking for a good walk this weekend and had hoped to get out on Saturday. However the forecast was not very good so Saturday was off however Sundays forecast was looking very good untill the late afternoon, so I decided to give the SE Glen Tilt munros a go.
The Walk
So up early and on my way to Blair Atholl by 0515 and arrived at the car parking area next to Loch Maraig at 0630. I was already kitted out for walking so after donning and adjusting my kit I was away by 0640 heading of up the road towards the hills.
After about 100m I passed through a gateway, after opening the gate of course and closing it afterwards.I walked along the track for just under 2km where I left the main path at a small run down building. I could quite clearly see the path meandering its way up Carn Liath and its very easy to follow. It is a bit of a slog though but I arrived at the sumit in a good time. The path continues all along the ridge descending to the Bealachs and climbing to each of the next two summits. There are steep valleys either side but the ridge is broad enough to ensure no feelings of panic as I briskly make my way.
There are lovely views to either side and the sun was trying to come out but there was a cold northerly wind blowing which made my nose and ears freeze a little when I stopped. There was a light dusting of snow and I am sure it started to snow again but stopped just as abruptly.I soon reached Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhaigain and stopped for a little lunch but the cold wind had me packed up soon enough and I was on my way again.
After a short while I reached the first cairn of Carn Nan Gabhar. There are two cairns on each end of the summit of Carn Nan Gabhar about 300m apart with a trig point equidistant between them. The highest point on the map is not the trig point but the North East cairn which is apparently 9m higher so I made sure I visited it in any case. This summit is a boulder field and I did not like the underfoot conditions one little bit. I have made good time and decide now that I will strike out in the direction of the Corbett Ben Vuirich with a view to sacking it at a suitable point if I dont feel up to it.
So backtracking my steps I am soon descending Carn Nan Gabhar’s South West face down to the Bealach. I have decided to descend the East slope of Airgeod Bheinn. I have checked th map contours and it seems to be a fairly steep bouldery slope but the contours are regular and don’t seem to hide any nasties. There is however a large snow patch which is ice underneath so I have to skirt around it and then start my descent. The slope is not so steep after all, I have ascended and descended steeper, and after a while I am down to about 550m. I cross a single track path here and decide that this is the path I will be coming back to to do the long walk out. Obviously there are no paths on this decent and I would only recommend this descent to experienced fit walkers. In fact there are no paths for the rest of the journey to the top of Ben Vuirich. This made the walk extremely tough and tiring. Its now 3km of hard walking ascending 300m and crossing peat hags and swamps. The last 100m up the west side of Ben Vuirich is damn hard. My legs are tired and I am having to stop every 20m for a quick rest. However I eventually arrive at the summit. I am pleased because I had to work hard for this one.
Its now the walk out, however I still have three km’s of heather and peat hags to walk before getting back to the path at the 550m point. Once on the track my legs can get a bit of rest as I saunter along effortlessly haha. However I know this track adds a couple of km to walk so after 2km I have to descend another km throught the heather and cross the river to finally get on the othertrack out. Its now the final 6km push back to the car.
