go further scotland

guided hill walking and climbing in the North West HIghlands

Early Summer Adventures

go further has had one of its busiest summer seasons so far and here is a selection of some of our best shots from recent trips.

Ben Mor 09 Ridge
In May Zoe and friends (pictured below) took a break from their running holiday to tackle a tough traverse of Ben More Assynt and Conival in the Inchnadamph area. This route starts at Inchnadamph and reaches Conival via the beautiful and narrow Gleann Dubh. From Conival there is a rough ridge walk (pictured here) to Ben More. From there we took the exciting south ridge that includes some exposed scrambling before dropping down to the spectacular Dubh Loch Mor.

Ben Mor 09 Party

Ben Mor 09 Corrie

We rested by Dubh Loch Mor for a long spell before tackling the long walk back to Inchnadamph. This long traverse is one of the most challenging in the area but variety and complexity of the scenery makes the long day worthwhile. This picture shows the burn running from Dubh Loch Mor with the imposing South Ridge of Ben More Assynt behind.


Cul Mor 09 Brad
As we keep finding out, some of the best mountain days in the North West are to be found on the ‘Corbett’ tops - those mountains between 2,500 and 3,000 feet in height. Several are to be found on the fabulous Coigach Peninsula just north of Ullapool. In May, we had several long spells of bright and cool weather and one of those coincided with this visit to one of the most accessible of Coigach’s mountains - Cul Mor. This picture is taken from the summit ridge looking south west to one of the most visited mountains in the North West - Stac Pollaidh.


Cul Mor 09 Larry
This picture is also taken from the north west top of Cul Mor looking north towards Suilven - one of the most spectacular and remote of all Scotlands ‘Corbett’ tops.

An Teallach 09 Jill
Despite some brilliant weather in May and June, we did see some very late snow and one of those flurries coincided with a complete traverse of An Teallach by Jill and friends (pictured).

An Teallach 09 Ridge
Here, two of our group can be seen nearing the end of the pinnacled ridge a short distance before one of the main Munro tops which was in cloud.

An Teallach 09 Traverse
The day started brightly but became overcast as the party reached the main ridge where we took this stunning picture of the full ridge.

Beinn Eighe's Black Carls

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Here’s another picture of Beinn Eighe’s Black Carls with Stuart looking back east from the main ridge. This picture was taken on Easter weekend when there turned out to be good walking conditions, flurries of snow, but mostly dry and breezy with lovely spells of sunshine. The air was very clear giving spectacular vistas as far north as Foinaven and south to Ben Nevis.
The forecast for the week ahead looks good for Wester Ross and the North-West. Easterly winds, the Spring spell we all wait for, dry,dry,dry...

Scrambling on Beinn Eighe - Torridon

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Scrambling in the North West is normally associated with mountains such as An Teallach, Liathach and Stac Pollaidh but there are many other venues where the scrambling is just as good or better. Torridon’s Beinn Eighe for example has some great scrambling on the Eastern end of the main ridge. These pictures show Sara and Paul practising their scrambling skills on the Bodaich Dubh (Black Carls) in fresh, windy weather in mid-april.











New for 2009

We’re gearing up for the start of the Spring and Summer season 2009 with new pages to our website, new pricing arrangements and more information about sea stack climbing.

Check here for more pages about activities on Skye.
We revamped our page on sea stack climbing with more information due soon.

For the coming season we’ve also reduced our prices for groups. For example, our group rate for mountain walking for three people is now £60 each and for four people £50 each. For groups rates for other activities check the individual pages.

Full Traverse of An Teallach



There are many ways to tackle An Teallach but the best way to experience the scale of the massif is to start from Corrie Hallie and walk South West to the steep east-facing slopes of Sail Liath. From there, a long haul onto the main ridge means you can traverse both munros and most of the tops travelling north to Dundonnell.

CorragBhuidhe
In July this group (left) tackled the ridge in perfect conditions for the exposed scramble before the first munro. The roped scramble over the Corrag Bhuidhe pinnacles takes a direct line up three pitches of steep climbing. The climbing isn’t hard, but it takes a serious line in an exposed situation. From top of the first assent the route stays on the crest of the ridge for some excellent scrambling on perfect rock including an easy chimney and a sharp ridge traverse. This picture looks south from the top of the Corrag Bhuidhe into the Fisherfield Wilderness.

From this section of the ridge the scrambling eases over Lord Berkeley’s Seat (which overhangs Loch Toll an Lochain) and on to the first munro - Sgurr Fiona at 1059m. The ridge then turns to the North East towards Bidein a’ Ghlas Thuill which overlooks the second of the two stunning corries.

AnTeallach
This picture (left) shows the group on Bidein with the Corrag Bhuidhe in the distance. From Bidein, there are a number of options. Sometimes we drop down to the northern beallach and then north to Dundonnell Hotel. Alternatively, we can drop into the corrie and back to Corrie Hallie or traverse the central ridge east to Glas Mheall Liath and out to Corrie Hallie. On hot days a return to Corrie Hallie means we can dive into a beautiful pool under a waterfall 15 minutes from the road.

See our page on An Teallach for more information or call us if you would like to discuss route options.

Stunning day on Liathach

Liathach 9th July 2008-0
Sometimes mixed conditions can make mountain day unforgettable. Liathach in Torridon is a great castellated ridge that jumps to well over 3,000 feet from sea level inside 1.5 kilometres. Its steepness is given even more drama by its sandstone tiers and pinnacled ridge. On Wednesday last week the day started cold and misty with the cloud base at about 700m. After making it onto the summit ridge we traversed west and by midday we could sense the cloud getting thinner and breaking in gusts. By 1pm the sun was occasionally slicing through the mist and, when the wind dropped, conditions became warm and humid. As we tackled the scrambling on the pinnacles (left) the cloud was tumbling over the summit ridge in great white waves. It was an exhilarating spectacle as we climbed over the last section of Am Fasarinen towards the second munro.
Liathach 9th July 2008-1
This is the view of Meall Dearg - Liathach's northern pinnacled ridge - taken from the main ridge about one kilometre East of Mullach an Rathain.









Liathach 9th July 2008-2
Here you can see the cloud breaking over the Eastern section of the main ridge. On the right of the picture you can just make out another party emerging from the mist onto the summit ridge.









Liathach 9th July 2008-3
This picture looks north down to the floor of Coire na Caime some 400m below.

Check our our pages on Torridon and Scrambling for options for guiding. Janet (pictured above) and Stuart chose our 'Torridon Munros' course - six munros and eight 'tops' over three days including Liathach.

June Rain

Bruach na Frithe
Karen, Judy, Mel and Karen proving it is possible to have fun in torrential rain in the Cuillin. This picture was taken in late June at the summit of Bruach Na Frithe.
This is usually a straight-forward peak manageable from the Sligachan but at the end of this day the burns you can normally skip over were raging after seven hours of downpour.

Skye Action

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The gofurther team has enjoyed bright and dry conditions on most days on Skye over the past few weeks. The top picture shows Paul with Christine, Rory, James, Gair, Calum, Alistair and Pat after an ascent of the Inaccessible Pinnacle on Sgurr Dearg. Here, the group has descended down the steep slabs from the Pinnacle for a breather on an airy outcrop before we climbed back onto the main ridge for an ascent of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich.
The other picture shows Colin with the same group on the Western Buttress of Sgurr nan Gillean. This section is the most technical part of the buttress with scrambling over, and between, a series of small pinnacles. The group went on to the summit of Am Basteir which you can seen in the distance.