1He Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal
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THE SCOTTISH JWountatnmiitg Club Journal. Voi.. XVI. A pril 1923. No. 95. THE MITRE RIDGE—BEINN A’ BHUIRD. B y J a m e s A . P a r k e r . “ SU RELY not ? ” says the reader. “ Beinn a’ Bhuird is not supposed to have any ridges, and certainly none worthy of being named.” “ Wait and see,” replies the author, “ and if you are not then convinced that there is one, you had better go and try to make its first ascent.” This, of course, raises the question whether a ridge should be named before it has been climbed, and to this the writer would reply that the ridge in question is such a fine one that it deserves a name, whether it can be climbed or not. Beinn a’ Bhuird has the official reputation of being “ for the most part a featureless and somewhat uninter esting mountain.” * Seen from the west, a stranger asks, “ What is that long, flat hill ? ” From the east it is more striking, and shows two good corrics, the Coire an Dubh Lochan and the Coire nan Clach, with, to the left of the former, a conspicuous Chioch, and well to the left of that again a big patch of snow which usually survives long into the summer. The hollow which holds the big snow patch is locally called the Snowy Corrie ; but it really hardly deserves the name of corrie, as it is only a sort of high shallow * SJf.C.J., Vol. V III., p. 47. xcv. A 212 The Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal. valley between Bruach Mhor arid Carn Fiachlach. It, however, carries the big patch of snow, and is therefore so named. South of the Chioch there is a very small corrie, which on the new Ordnance Survey Map is called the Coire na Ciche, and on the north side of it stands the Chioch. This is a very large tor on the top of the buttress which guards the south side of the Coire an Dubh Lochan. The ascent of this buttress and the Chioch presents no difficulty, although it is not specially easy in winter with everything hard frozen and iced. The Coire an Dubh Lochan is a very fine one, and measures fully half a mile across. It contains the little Dubh Lochan, height about 3,075 feet, and is guarded on the south by the precipices running westwards from the Chioch. In these there is one steep chimney, or rake, which was climbed under winter conditions during the Easter (1908) Meet at Braemar. The head of the corrie is composed mostly of very steep screes, which in winter are usually covered with treacherous slopes of snow. A party of two, who essayed their ascent a few weeks before the above Meet, were carried down 400 or 500 feet by a very respectable avalanche. The north side of the corrie terminates in the fine buttress which separates it from the Coire nan Clach. This buttress gives quite an interesting climb, but is not difficult except under adverse weather conditions. It contains a short level ridge, which on one occasion proved impossible with a strong westerly gale and had to be turned by means of a somewhat sensational traverse across the east face into the head of a very steep and dangerous-looking snow couloir. The Coire nan Clach is surrounded by great scree slopes, and does not even boast a lochan. The most that can be said in its favour is that it thoroughly deserves its name. Then we come to the Cnap a’ Chleirich, the Priest’s Hillock, which dips down to the Sneck between Beinn a’ Bhuird and Ben Avon. The summit of the Cnap is not quite so featureless as the north and south tops of Beinn a’ Bhuird, and boasts a few prominent rocks. The The Mitre Ridge—Beinn a' Bhuird. 213' Sneck is quite interesting, having a number of most extra ordinary weather-worn rocks on the skyline, and besides it has the merit of being probably the highest well-defined pass in Scotland, its height being 3,196 feet. It is a very fine pass, and when seen by Alexander and the writer at the end of last June, was quite Alpine, the path on the north side dipping down into a big snow slope down which we had to cut a few steps with our axes. The Sneck stands at the head of one of the grandest recesses in the Cairngorms—the Slochd Mhor—which is enclosed on the one hand by the precipitous slopes of Ben Avon, and on the other by those of Cnap a’ Chleirich and Stob an t-SIuichd, and opens out northwards into Glen Avon. The innermost recess of the Slochd Mhor, to the west of the Sneck, is the Garbh Choire, lying between Cnap a’ Chleirich and Stob an t-Sluichd, and it is one of the loneliest corries in the Cairngorms—perhaps the loneliest. And on the south side of the Garbh Choire, near its head, stands the Mitre Ridge. The south side of the Garbh Choire (see Fig. 3) consists of very steep precipices running from 400 to 600 feet high, up which there are perhaps several possible routes, including one which should give an interesting and varied snow climb in winter. The upper part of this route is seen on the left side of Fig. 1, leading up to the skyline. As the rocks approach the Mitre Ridge they get steeper and very slabby and, to all appearance, impossible of ascent. The Mitre Ridge is 600 feet high (aneroid measurement), and is well shown on the three photographs which accom pany this article, although it is very much foreshortened in Fig. 2, which was taken from below and pretty close in. The rock is granite, weathered very dark. The east face, as stated above, consists of great unclimbable slabs, and the west face(Fig. 1) is just a great and almost vertical precipice, down which a stone thrown from the highest point falls five seconds before touching bottom. There are several conspicuous vertical cracks in the west face, most of which run up to the extreme edge of the ridge. The edge of the ridge is divided up into four well-defined pitches, best seen on Fig. 3. The lowest pitch seems to 214 The Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal. be about 375 feet high, and the rocks on its west side are fairly well broken up. When examined last June by Alexander and the writer, no difficulty was experienced in effecting a lodgment on the rocks which, on close acquaint ance, proved to be most unexpectedly broken up into gullies, ledges, and cracks. The point at which we got on to them is just above the lower visible end of the long snow slope seen on Fig. 1. We did not get very far, however, as it was not on our programme to make a serious attack, and we had no rope. It was evident, however, that a very strong party could gain the foot of, and might possibly force their way up, the black crack which leads up to the extreme edge of the ridge at a point almost directly above the end of the snow slope, which point is the small platform at the top of the lowest pitch. The second pitch, which is about 125 feet high, rises very steeply from the platform and becomes almost vertical, if not actually overhanging, at one part. The greater part is manifestly impossible, and the steepest part, as seen from below, presents the appearance of three great parallel vertical slabs with curious white markings. Help from above would certainly be required for this pitch unless the crack on the west face leading up to the top of it could be reached and climbed. Then we come to the second “ platform,” which is evidently a knife edge and is ornamented by one big tooth, seven small ones, and a hole. This knife edge leads to the foot of the third pitch, which is about 60 feet high and looks impossible, as it is almost vertical. At the top of the third pitch there is a second knife edge, much longer than the first, which has three well-defined teeth and leads to the final pitch, of about 40 feet, leading to the summit (height, about 3,700 feet). An investigation of the upper part of the ridge was made in July 1921, when Drummond and the writer descended the top pitch by means of some awkward rocks on the east face, with a somewhat risky traverse back to the inner end of the upper knife edge. This latter is very narrow, but there was no difficulty in climbing along Ju n e K)>> Fit;. 2 J. A. Parker THE MITRE RIDGE, BEINN A' BHUIRD Inly /92/ Fie. 3 J. A. Parker SOUTH FACE OF THE GARBH CHOIRE, BEINN A’ BHUIRD (Taken from near the Sneck) The Mitre Ridge—Beinn ci Bhuird. 215 it, taking all the teeth on the wav, to the extreme end where our venture came to an abrupt end. A small stone man was built on the top of the highest tooth, the outer one, and we regained the summit by the route we had descended by, H. Kellas kindly giving us the moral support of a rope for the most awkward step of the traverse. Whether the ridge can be climbed or not can only be decided by actual trial. If the trial be ever made, a strong party should be sent to the top of the ridge with instructions to reach the lower knife edge and lower a rope therefrom to safeguard the party which makes the attack from the foot.