![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Glen-Affric-11-960x640.jpg?resize=640%2C426\")
Soon the start of the real climb would begin and Peter Evans and I looked for the start of a path between two burns. It\u2019s a vague line but it does just about exist! We managed to make our way up to a more obvious crossing point of the Allt Coire Mhic Fhearchair, from where the path became somewhat easier to follow.<\/p>\n
It even climbed higher than we had anticipated, aiming for the high ground behind the crags of An Leth-chreag before a pathless stretch up a protrusion that leads to the bealach below Sron Garbh.<\/p>\n
Across Gleann nam Fiadh, we looked across to Sgurr na Lapaich again. This 1036m (3400ft) mountain was on Sir Hugh Munro\u2019s original 1891 list of mountains over 3000ft \u2013 the Munros \u2013 but has subsequently been demoted to a mere mountain \u2018top\u2019.<\/p>\n
Why it was demoted baffles me. By any accepted definition of a Munro, Sgurr na Lapaich fits the bill perfectly. Its height is not in question, meaning its demise comes from whether there is \u201csufficient separation\u201d from neighbouring hills \u2013 a term open to any number of interpretations, though the character of the hill and the time taken to travel between it and its nearest peak are taken into consideration.<\/p>\n
An accepted level of separation has been deemed to be 30 minutes walking time using Naismith\u2019s rule. My rough route plan had the summit over 3.5km away from Mam Sodhail and with 170m height gain to be negotiated, meaning the walking time would be more than an hour.<\/p>\n And as for character, this original Munro is a prominent landmark in Glen Affric and in my view deserves its place back on the list! Perhaps it suffers from the fear of confusion with its namesake a few miles away in Mullardoch.<\/p>\n Whatever its status, we intended climbing it anyway. But that would come later \u2013 first we had to gain the ridge that leads sharply up to Sron Garbh. From the bealach, it\u2019s a rocky scramble that leads straightforwardly to the top \u2013 or it would if it weren\u2019t for the dusting of snow adding an element of doubt as to the security of every step.<\/p>\n The views now led our eyes in all directions, taking in the Mullardoch hills to the north and the western Affric tops ahead of us. From Sron Garbh\u2019s cairn, the ridge stretched beautifully ahead over the subsidiary tops of Stob Coire Dhomhnuill and Stob a\u2019 Choire Dhomhain to Carn Eighe.<\/p>\n With nooks and outcrops, the narrow but never nerve-wracking ridge offers some potential scrambling fun but we took the bypass path to the left of the most appealing bit, as soft patches of wet snow made it awkward.<\/p>\n At Stob a\u2019 Choire Dhomhain the ridge bends sharply left, dropping slightly before the final climb to reach Carn Eighe. We pondered the out-and-back baggers\u2019 route to climb Beinn Fhionnlaidh (Peter may be a Munro compleater but I\u2019ve not done that one yet) but decided our route was far enough for an autumn day if we wanted to get back in the daylight.<\/p>\n Instead we dropped south-west down to the bealach then straight back up the wintry-looking north ridge to Mam Sodhail, with its prominent cairn.<\/p>\n What happened next was one of my more surreal experiences in the mountains. Two women approached the summit and we got chatting, as you do. Somehow the subject of singing in the mountains came up and Peter then put on his finest Welsh twang and bellowed out some notes across the glens. It was some competition for those mighty stags!<\/p>\n From our second Munro of the day, we now had the long ridge walk to complete the horseshoe, ending in our unofficial Munro of Sgurr na Lapaich, which offered us fine views over Gleann nam Fiadh to the route we had taken earlier in the day.<\/p>\n Heading down the south-east ridge, Loch Affric was lit in the late-afternoon sunshine, with occasional showers drifting across the glen as we descended. Lower down a slog across the moor \u2013 tough going after such a big day \u2013 eventually led us to the corner of a track which headed to Affric Lodge, from where we turned left along the road back to Chisholme Bridge.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Glen-Affric-3-960x640.jpg?resize=640%2C426\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Glen-Affric-5-639x960.jpg?resize=639%2C960\")
![\"Peter](\"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Glen-Affric-10.jpg\" "\\"Glen")
<\/a> <\/a> <\/a>