Liathach Traverse, Torridon.

Torridon has a unique landscape of sandstone monoliths topped by quartzite, reaching high into the clouds above a rough and desolate moor of bog and lochans. Of all the mountains here Liathach is possibly the most impressive and its traverse is up there with the best the country has to offer. I was fortunate to get the chance to join Sandy and Bryan up there yesterday to complete the traverse and in so doing tick a couple more Munros off the list.

Like the Aonach Eagach in Glen Coe, Liathach starts off with an unrelenting climb from near sea level to Munro height in a very short horizontal distance. Thankfully the path has seen some serious work in recent years and the climb is much helped by the steps. Reaching the ridge is a jaw dropping moment as the view down the other side is suddenly seen. Traversing the ridge from east to west allows the scrambling to build as you make progress. The first Munro, Spidean a'Coire Leith, is quite simple apart from the quartz blocks that require clambering over rather than scrambling. A descent off it's flank quickly got us to the main event, the Fasarianan Pinnacles.

Don't bother with the traverse path on the Glen Torridon side - it has some seriously exposed steps itself and the scrambling on rough sandstone is a delight on the ridge. It is very airy but never too hard although a strong gust of wind at the wrong moment could be unfortunate. After the last pinnacle a comfortable grassy path takes you up to the second Munro and more amazing views. Unfortunately we didn't see these views as the cloud had come down and the rain was starting so we dived down the unrelentingly steep path down to the glen. At least the path at this end has also seen a lot of work done to it!

​Well done Bryan and Sandy, brilliant job. Good luck with the remaining few Munros!