Clients often ask us for advice about accommodation, camp sites and how to get around the North West Highlands. It is a vast area and it can be tricky booking the right places near the many key areas for mountaineering and climbing. Our clients are often looking for a combination of days on Skye, Torridon and the Fisherfield (An Teallach) and Ullapool areas. Well, here's a great idea that may suit some people who want comfortable nights with the added flexibility of being able to move around the area without pre-booked accommodation. Albacampervans offers a rental service with well-equipped vans and they are able to meet people at their point of arrival in the Highlands. Prices start from £400 per week. See the Albacampervans FAQ for more.

Here is another unusual view in the Fisherfield Wilderness. This picture was taken on a long trail run looking West from high on the Achnegie track. The shot looks straight down the magnificent Strath na Sealga with An Teallach on the right and Beinn Dearg Mhor on the left. One of the most striking features in the area - Loch na Sheallag - can be seen nestling between both mountains. The river Abhainn Strath na Sealga runs to the loch with the excellent trail and track on the north bank.

Here are a couple of pictures from our latest outing on An Teallach. Best conditions yet for a classic traverse of the whole ridge.


Part of the scramble along the Corrag Bhuidhe buttress.


The Corrag Bhuidhe buttress from Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill. The first Munro on the traverse is Sgurr Fiona - the peak on the right of this picture.

Robert and his two sons - Magnus and Calum - had their second day with gofurther Scotland this week. They wanted to do as many climbs as possible while practising the skills they learned on their previous visit. We chose two sport climbing venues near Poolewe where we had a packed day climbing on seven routes.


Robert and Magnus both managed their first ever lead climbs during the session. These pictures were taken at Grass Crag - developed by gofurther Scotland's Paul. It has a fantastic range of climbs and is particularly good for people moving from beginner grades to the next level.




Robert and Magnus completing climbs at Grass Crag.

June to early July was the busiest month we can remember. Overall, we organised tailored guiding for more than 25 people over nearly as many days.

The month kicked off when Eric reached the summit of the Old Man of Hoy with Paul on the 3rd of June. Eric developed a passion for sea stacks last year when he joined us for several rock climbing days during which we tackled the Old Man of Stoer.

As well as a series of other rock climbing days, we also ran scrambling days out on Liathach (twice), An Teallach (twice) and Stac Pollaidh. Thirteen-year-old George (pictured left high on the flanks of Sail Liath) traversed both munros on An Teallach as well as the Corrag Bhuidhe pinnacles.

We ran four separate expeditions to Skye over 10 days. Hamish completed the whole ridge over two days, Mary and friends tackled their last Munros on the Island and another group of four managed all the Cuillin munros in just four days.

Other highlights of the month included rock climbing as part of the Wild About Gairloch festival, rock climbing instruction at Jetty Crag near Dundonnell and a traverse of all six of the Fisherfield Munros over two days.

Please get in touch if you are interested in any of these activities.


Alistair learning to abseil on June 5th for a sea-stack attempt.

Mary, Judi and Kay had a bit of luck with the weather on Skye in mid June
and took the chance to do a few scrambles they have been keen to do for a while. On Sunday we climbed up to the summit of Am Basteir and then scrambled over the tricky ground to get the view from the Bhasteir Tooth. We abseiled off and carried on over to Bruach na Frithe and headed down the NW ridge back to the Sligachan for a well earned cup of tea.

On Monday we had dry, misty, atmospheric conditions on Pinnacle Ridge. The mist lifted before we reached the fine summit of Sgurr nan Gillean from where we had wonderful views of the whole Skye Ridge. Mary was especially pleased with herself for this was her final Skye Munro. It was champagne rather than tea in the Slig that evening.

Five years ago we guided Mary and Jude on their first Cuillin Munro, the Innaccessible Pinnacle. Mary was not sure she would ever get to the top of the other Cuillin peaks but she has been back several times and now she has completed all the Skye Munros. That leaves her around a hundred Munros to go, which has got her thinking, why not take the chance to raise money for some charities by 'Doing the Last One Hundred'.

Watch this space, knowing how determined Mary is she will do her best to meet the challenge I am sure she has already inwardly set herself.

Last weekend Gil set out to reach all of the Fisherfield six Munros over two days with go further Scotland. On day one we walked in and tackled four of the Six - Beinn a Chlaidheimh, Sgurr Ban, Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair and Beinn Tarsuinn (over 6,300 feet ascent and 17 miles). On day two we did the two most remote peaks - A Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mor - and walked out (over 4,800 feet ascent and 15 miles). Arguments rage about whether there are any real wilderness areas in Scotland. Over-grazing by deer means that areas that are wild in character don't have the natural ecology that would exist if there was a top predator. Fewer deer would lead to more varied and widespread tree-cover for example. But even so, if Scotland doesn't have an authentic 'wilderness' then the vast Fisherfield area brings you closest to a wild landscape that is truly remote. If wilderness does exist on the UK mainland then this is where it is to be found.

The Fisherfield and Letterewe area is enormous covering well over 500 square kilometres and includes major lochs such as Loch Maree, Lochan Fada, the Fionn Loch and Loch Na Sheallag. It boasts seven Corbetts including a few of the most sought after - Beinn Dearg Mor, Beinn Dearg Bheag, Beinn Airigh Charr and Beinn Lair. In addition to the 'Fisherfield Six' Munros in the centre of the area there are three more - two on the An Teallach massif and Slioch to the south on the shores of Loch Maree. In short - the Fisherfield area is a wild landscape unmatched in UK. And the reason why it doesn't have the celebrity status of the Lake District or Glencoe is the reason it is special - it doesn't have any roads through it. Instead, the A832 loops around three of its sides with the Fannich range of mountains to the east. There is therefore a chain of mountains unbroken by any tarmac running from Poolewe in the West through the Fisherfield area and the Fannich mountains and Kinlochluichart near Garve some 45 miles to the East.

Access to the Fisherfield Six is only possible for long expeditions on foot. Swift progress can be made on good tracks and these can be combined to for low-level walks and trail runs of any distance. The Six are normally tackled via Dundonnell in the North, Incherill in the south or Loch a Bhraoin in the East. They can be tackled over several trips or by camping in the heart of the area.

We camped at Shenaval as our base. We took these pictures on the first day.


The view from Shenaval mid-morning. Beinn Dearg Mor.


An unusual view of Beinn Dearg Mor - from the North West shoulder of Beinn a Chlaidheimh (hill of the Sword).


Another unusual view. This time of the south face of An Teallach. The Shenaval bothy and camping area is situated in the area of bright green above the river running from bottom right to Loch na Sealga. Expeditions to this area require a lot of planning as both these rivers need to be crossed at the start and end of each day. This is impossible after heavy or prolonged rain.


Loch a Bhrisidh - on the ridge at 500m between Beinn a Chlaidheimh and Sgurr Ban.


Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair (left) and Beinn Tarsuinn (right) with Slioch in the distance and the Torridon and Mountains beyond.


The Fisherfield Munros need a lot of stamina. If you are interested in a guided trip the give us a phone and we'd be happy to talk to you about the options.

Thirteen-year-old George and his Dad, Steve, completed a full traverse of An Teallach last week including the pinnacles and the 'Bad Step' on the Corrag Bhuidhe buttress - one of the best scrambles in the area.
These pictures were taken between the end of the Pinnacle Ridge and Lord Berkeley's Seat just before a fierce hail shower passed through. The day was mostly dry but the temperature has been well below average lately with hail and snow showers frequent on the highest tops.

Paul (in Yellow) with the team and Phil Packer in 2009.

Two years ago go further's Paul Tattersall was part of the team that helped Phil Packer realise his dream of climbing El Capitan to raise money for injured service personnel and the wider disabled community. Phil Packer was injured in Iraq. El Cap in Yosemite is one of the worlds most sought-after multi-day rock ascents. To mark the anniversary Phil has launched BRIT - the British Inspiration Trust, an organisation dedicated to providing opportunities to enthuse young people who face adversity.

Launching BRIT Phil Packer said:

"Two years ago this month I completed my El Capitan climb in the United States of America. The climb was both an ending and a beginning for me. In a sense I came full circle. By the time I completed the climb I had finished the three big challenges I had set up in order to raise £1.3 million for our wounded. After my injury and during my recovery I needed something positive to focus on and the germination of the idea for the challenges came after being inspired by elite athlete Paula Craig to complete the London Marathon in a wheelchair and my visit to the Help for Heroes office. That was the time when I put the two things together and decided to raise the funds. I fully recognized that on one level it was selfless, on another it gave me a focus which was selfish as it helped my transition into my new life and come to terms with my injury.
 
The climb was the culmination of the challenges and so many people helped out along the way. The climb, however, allowed me to connect with an amazing group of men who not only worked together to help me, but became great friends. It is no secret that before the climb I was not particularly fond of heights, but in order to raise the necessary funds to reach my goal I needed to challenge myself as well as others.  Andy Kirkpatrick, team leader, is an experienced climber, who is calm, laid back, meticulous, and hilarious. 
 
Andy was joined by some of Great Britain’s best climbers; Ian Parnell, Paul Tattersall and Ben Benedict-Pritchard. To be fair, taking a novice climber up a sheer rock face the magnitude of El Capitan is not for the faint hearted. As experienced climbers they knew better than me the risks we might encounter and the inherent danger of such a climb. Yet they never said, “no, you can’t do it”, instead they focused on finding solutions to each issue we encountered. There were numerous logistics to work out along with their doing their utmost to insure safety for the entire team. One of the unique hurdles we faced was actually getting me up the mountain in such a way that my back would be supported. The guys came up with the idea of using a paragliding chair and we tried it out on an indoor rock wall before deciding it would work.
 
Working together with Andy, Ian, Paul and Ben was a wonderful experience for me. They encouraged and were my inspiration to get up that mountain. I achieved a personal and fund raising goal yet more importantly it solidified in my mind the value of working together as a team. As I mentioned earlier in this piece the climb was the culmination of my fundraising, but also the beginning of the British Inspiration Trust. During the long hours hauling myself up El Cap, I had time to reflect on my journey and started thinking about the many young people and their families that had spoken or written to me. Many of them were looking for inspiration to get beyond the dark stages in their lives. I wondered how different my life would have been had I been injured in my teens and would I have had the resources to successfully transition. That was when I made the tough decision to leave the military, a job I truly loved, for the unknown, setting up BRIT to help those young people and use inspiring people to allow them to regain their self-belief.
 
I am so glad I did the climb. I developed the idea for BRIT and made lifelong friends, who showed me that we can achieve so much more and get over any hurdle if we work together.  Wherever Andy, Ian, Paul and Ben are right now – thank you.  I haven’t forgotten you and will never forget our climb. It changed my life and so did you."

go further had a great weekend on Skye last week with David, Colin and their friends who wanted to do all 11 Skye Cuillin Munros over 4 days. After the first day of changeable weather the summer arrived and the team had three further days of cold but bright and dry walking and scrambling. These pictures were kindly forwarded to us by Neil who claimed the Inaccessible Pinnacle was his first Munro! (but only because he touched the very top - something he refuses to do on every other hill he climbs.)


Descending Skye's Innaccessible Pinnacle on the first day. After this the team went on to do three more Munros - Sgurr na Banadich, Sgurr a Ghreadaidh and Sgurr a' Mhadaidh.


Approaching the Northern end of the Ridge. On this day we climbed Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Bastair and Bruach Na Frithe.


On the summit of Bruach na Frithe.


Most of the team - descending west from the ridge after a long day and three Munros.


We had beautiful sunsets every evening.

This year's Tollaidh Triathlon (full report of the event here) was featured on BBC's adventure show last night and is available on BBC iPlayer here. The six minute feature includes shots of the climbing, cycling and running with interviews with go further's Paul. The feature also includes some footage of the amazing scenery around the Poolewe and Slattadale area. This year's event was organised by go further's Paul and Angela in April.


Triathlon winner David Wilby with his trophy.


Paul at the end of the cycle.


Angela at the crag.

Jetty Crag is one of the best and most accessible rock-climbing venues in Wester Ross. The range of routes make the venue an ideal place for crag instruction on some classic routes.
These pictures were taken on Sunday during a go further session at the venue with Ken and Alistair who were getting in some practise ahead of a tackling a sea-stack. The most sought-after route at the venue is Anthrax Flake which takes an stunning line up into a scoop before pulling out on enormous holds up the line of a large arrow-head shaped flake. The route then finishes up less steep ground on smaller holds to a spectacular belay stance overlooking Gruinard Bay and Gruinard Island.

Both Ken and Alastair finished the day having tackled their first outdoor VS climbs with plenty of instruction in safe abseil technique.


Anthrax Flake - the classic of the crag.


Ken on the crux, heading up the left-hand side of the flake.


Ken on Charlie's Corner - another excellent VS with a delicate start and a sustained section above this obvious corner.


Abseiling from the top of Jetty Buttress.

Fionn Loch (the white or bright loch) is a spectacular and large freshwater loch in the Fisherfield and Letterewe area of Wester Ross. Most often is visited from the east looking west from Carnmore and the causeway between it and the famous Dubh Loch (black loch) which nestles at the foot of A' Mhaighdean - probably the most remote Munro.
But this picture was taken during a trail run at the northern tip of the Fionn Loch looking south-east to Meall Mheinnidh and Beinn Lair. The Fisherfield Wilderness is one of the best places in Scotland for remote trail runs and the area can be accessed by a range of easier paths and Landrover tracks. It doesn't take long to get to areas that feel very remote.

Walks on the Melvaig Peninsula

Some of the best views in Wester Ross are from the series of peninsulas - Applecross, Melvaig, Scoraig and Coigach - looking north along the coast to the mountains that stand in a line towering over the Minch. This picture was taken earlier this month from the Melvaig Peninsula on the high ground near the summit An Cuaidh at 296m. It looks north east to the mountains of Dundonnell.



The walk the drops steeply down into a ancient birch forest (below) before turning west to the dramatic beach and bay at Camas Mor. From there it is a short but rough walk to the Rubha Reidh Lighthouse. At around 5 miles it isn't too ambitious but it is varied and occasionally very rough make it an ideal adventure for families and groups looking for something that combines hills, coastal views and somewhere very beautiful for lunch! One of the best lower-level walks in the area for groups of any age.

First in a series of crag profiles for 2011: Creag nan òrd (Crag of the Hammer), Dundonnell

Latest in a series of outcrops in Wester Ross equipped for sport climbing, Creag nan òrd is a sweep of clean Torridonian sandstone situated a mile or two east of the Dundonnell hotel. With a north-facing aspect it is ideal for days that are too hot or midgey for lower south-facing crags such as Goat or the crags around the Gruinard area. The longest routes are a full 30m making substantial climbs with a great atmosphere and fantastic views over Little Loch Broom. The crag also catches the late afternoon and evening sun at this time of year.


Developed by local climbers, first ascents were in 2008 with the latest this year. There are now five routes in total (more to follow) with steep starts, bulges, slopers and sections of rippling steep slab. The crag has seen a lot of traffic this year. Here are a few shots from some of our visits there in April during the long hot spell at the end of spring.


On the crux of An Sinnoch Mor (the big fox) 6b. Local climber Josh (17) on belay.


Paul on An Sinnoch Mor.


Siostan (the hunter) - 6c.