![\"Beach](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oyston.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/P1040995.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>Beach at Glen Brittle<\/p><\/div>\n
There were no other cars in the parking lot. We walked past the beach in a light drizzle, the mountains covered in mist. We admired the hardiness of the people who were camping in this remote spot in the rain.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Approach to Sgurr Alasdair (peak in center of frame)<\/p><\/div>\n
It was cool and the peaks were covered in mist most of the time. We walked on fairly easy trails until we got a view of the first lake, then on steeper trails by a waterfall to Coire Lagan. We saw no-one, which was a bit disturbing as we were doing a difficult hike in unfamiliar surroundings in marginal weather. It would be nice to have company. Was there some memo we did not get? A severe weather warning or something?<\/p>\n
<\/a>Waterfall below Coire Lagan<\/p><\/div>\n
Below Coire Lagan. Great Stone Chute at left, summit in clouds on right<\/p><\/div>\n
At this stage, we did not know if we would get any view from the summit. We finally saw other hikers, a man with his 12 yr-old son, who were ahead of us, and beginning to ascend the scree.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Francis eating lunch by Coire Lagan before ascent of Great Stone Chute<\/p><\/div>\n
The path up is following the pale\u00a0line in the middle of the scree slope, then entering a narrow, steep gully with more scree\u00a0hidden to the right. The stones are about fist sized and fall back as you put weight on them. It is a tough climb, but we persisted. Reading other accounts we were lucky to do it in cool weather and without any other hikers around us to kick stones down at us.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Francis having a snack before pushing on to summit<\/p><\/div>\n
Suddenly the agony was over, and we got to a high pass. with fantastic views to the east. It was a pleasant spot to contemplate the view and to consider the hazards of both the way up and the way down….<\/p>\n
<\/a>Panorama from ridge<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>“A short and airy final pull up a narrow ridge.”<\/p><\/div>\n
We thought the final push of about 120 feet of ascent would be easy, as we were now on firm rock, but the summit was unlike anything I have ever seen. There is nothing smooth or rounded about it; it’s just a collection of armchair-sized boulders thrown one on top of another, with no clear path, and a 3,000 -ft drop in all directions.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Francis at summit of Sgurr Alasdair<\/p><\/div>\n
We finally made it to the miniscule summit, which only had enough space for one person to sit down at a time. For a few moments, there was an excellent view in all directions, but a mist quickly rolled in from \u00a0the west and started closing in on us rapidly. Time to beat a hasty retreat while we could still make out the route.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Descent in gathering mist “If you thought coming up was scary, then coming down is doubly so.”<\/p><\/div>\n
With no sign of a path to guide me on the rocks, I overshot the mark and almost started to descend down the wrong side of the mountain, but I stopped myself, and Francis, who was behind me, guided me back to the top of the pass.<\/p>\n