Tim versus the mountains: Schiehallion

12th June 2010

Schiehallion (Scottish Gaelic: Sìdh Chailleann) The Fairy Hill of the Caledonians, 1083m

Some time last Autumn I made my first visit to Schiehallion with my nephews Hamish and George. Although we started off in good weather by the time we got to the boulder field the cloud had come down and the wind picked up. The boys weren't too happy so we turned back. So I've had this one on my list for a revisit throughout the winter. After Thursday's long walk above Loch Tay Schiehallion seemed just the job for today.

I got to the car park at about 10:45, I was expecting there to be quite few people around as it is a popular mountain. However the car park was full! I ended up parking on the side of the road. Looking up to the mountain I could see the quite a number of folk making their way, ant like, up the mountain.

I'm not really sure why Schiehallion is such a popular mountain. Sure it's got a great profile that has adorned many Scottish Tourism publications, but you don't see that when you're on the footpath. It's quite an isolated peak with no other munros immediately neighbouring. The path up to boulder field is excellent, thanks to the hard work of the John Muir Trust, who own half the land. After that it's really quite an unpleasant hike across an extensive boulder field. Reminds me of Scafell Pike, only longer. Once at the top there isn't much option but to go back down the way you've just come.

Still, it does have an interesting history. The mountain was used in an 18th century experiment to determine the density of the Earth. Interesting fact for all the map geeks out there is that as part of this experiment it was first place to be mapped using contour lines.

Anyway, the hike up the path was quite enjoyable with extensive views behind to Loch Tummel. It was pretty steep in places and the legs were still tired from last Thursday, so I broke it down into 50m climb chunks. Every 50m elevation gained (checking on my old running GPS) I would stop and take a break. Within an hour I had reached the top of the path and the beginning of the boulder field. I then picked out a route across the rock strewn plateau to the first big cairn. This was as far as we had got last time. Looking ahead I realised that there was still quite a way to go to the summit, so the decision to turn back last year was a good one.

The trek to the summit felt like Princess Street on the last Saturday before Christmas. Once at the top groups of people were changing into their charity t-shirts ready for the group photos, other people were sat beside the summit cairn on their mobile phones; "We're at the top of Schiehallion, did you remember to turn the iron off? blah, blah" etc. I took a few snaps looking across Ben Lawers and it's neighbours, but didn't hang around. The walk back across the boulder field seemed easier on the way back and I was soon back to the main path. The down was quick and I was back in the car park within 3 hours.