Sgurr na h-Ulaidh to Beinn Sgulaird from Etive

Getting there

• On the A82 that travels from Tyndrum to Fort William, just before approaching Glencoe and just after the turn off for the Kingshouse hotel, there is a single track road that heads south down Glen Etive. This area is a favourite with canoists, so can be busy when wet ! Head down this road for 11km to where a bridge crosses the Allt Charnan, just before which there is off-road parking for a few cars.

Sgor na h-Ulaidh

• By the bridge, a recently bulldozed track heads around the back of Invercharnan. Head up this for 3km, into the de-forested land and to where the track takes a sharp turn right . If you're cycling in, leave bikes here.
• Sometimes there is a small cairn here to mark the start of a mucky and fainter track heading of left (GR NN121488). Follow this path heading of left (nnw) to the deer fence enclosing the remains of the forest
• Now on wet ground, follow a faint path across gradually rising grassy ground on the east side of the Allt nan Gaoirean.
• The path eventually disappears - just continue northwards towards Bealach Clach nam Meirleach.
• You'll come across a line of fence-posts , follow these until you see an obvious worn path heading uphill over grass and some scree on your left (north).
• Head up this and climb uphill. There are a couple of bits of easy scrambling on the way and some crags can be avoided by keeping slightly to the left (west). Rejoin the line of fence-posts to follow to the summit Sgor na h-Ulaidh's summit cairn is perched above quite a dramatic drop northwards and fine views are to be had in most directions.

Beinn Fhionnlaidh

• Return to Bealach Clach nam Meirleach by the route up, then follow the fence-posts down to the wet ground at the watershed .
• Particularly in wet conditions, don't follow the fenceposts directly up Beinn Fhionnlaidh's north-eastern shoulder - crags and rocky outcrops will hinder progress.
• Instead begin to head south from the watershed and gradually gain height by following the baseline of a rough rockface.
• There are two options from here, at around c600m, turn west up very steep grassy ground around the rocks, heathery further up, and rejoin the crest of the north-eastern shoulder. The line of posts continue to a minor top (marked 841m), from where a path heading west down to a bealach is followed.
• Alternatively, an easier route is to keep to the 500m contour aiming southwards following a faint trod and pick up a path south-east of the minor summit (841m), which then heads directly to the bealach with the line of fence-posts.
• At the bealach the posts take a sharp turn south-west downhill - leave them and continue west along crest of Beinn Fhionnlaidh on the path up some scree then grass.
• A couple of tricky, but relatively easy moves are required to negotiate two rocky 'bad steps' (there are alternatives to the left), after which the summit is only a few minutes further on. Fine views from the trig point.

Beinn Sgulaird

• From Beinn Fhionnlaidh's summit return east to the bealach , then aim south over pathless and grassy terrain following the line of fence-posts.
• Down to a watershed, over a slight rise, head down to Lochan na Fola .
• It's a fair trudge over more grassy and pathless ground to reach Airigh nan Lochan . Head around the southern shores of this where an ATV track can be picked up and followed for a bit, but as it reaches the Allt Coire Leacaich , it turns southwards and needs to be left behind. Find a suitable place to cross the Allt Coire Leacaich (tricky in spate).
• Beyond the Allt Coire Leacaich, the ground gradually steepens and any faint paths disappear into the grass. Higher up, a small lochan is met as the minor summit of Stob Gaibhre is contoured around.
• Into Coire nan Tulach, keeping just to the north of the burn coming down, terrain gets a bit rougher and looser higher up. Begin start turning southwards and reach the crest of Beinn Sgulaird on a minor summit marked (marked '909' on OS Explorer maps) . From here, scramble over some rock, descend slightly, then pick up a path for the short distance to Beinn Sgulaird's summit .

Return

• Retrace your steps back to cross the Allt Coire Leacaich and descend the ATV track and reach the Airigh nan Lochan .
• You should be able to find a faint path cutting through the grass heading eastwards, follow this to the edge of forestry and into a fire-break surrounding the Allt a'Bhiorain .
• The faint path can be traced through the forestry to cross the Allt a'Bhiorain around 1km further on where a temporary looking gate in a deer fence leads to the rough remains of a track, which in turn leads to another gate in the deer-fence .
• Through this gate, you'll find yourself on a fine forestry track that drops down to Glen Etive from where the road can be picked up to follow back to Invercharnan.

Beinn Trilleachan

• On your way to Beinn Sgulaird, Beinn Trilleachan on your left looks quite intimidating, particularly the Trilleachan Slabs. It is however a fairly straightforward detour to bag this Corbett's summit.
• From Beinn Sgulaird, retrace your steps back to cross the Allt Coire Leacaich . Keeping on the east bank of this burn, you should be able to pick a route uphill on grassy terrain for the most part.
• The north-east crest of Beinn Trilleachan is reached around 500m from the summit and a path can be picked up and followed to the cairn on the top.
• To return, retrace your steps along the crest , a faint path then heads north-east over Meall nan Gobhar to meet up with the edge of the forest. It's a final mucky descent down to the roadside !

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