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This photo of Ladhar Bheinn, from the east side of Barrisdale Bay, was taken the morning after "Sgritheall across Barrisdale" and "Evening Sun in Knoydart" during the long walk out back to the car at Kinlochhourn. Again the autumn colours of Knoydart are exhibited to good effect. Ladhar Bheinn is a large and impressive hill in the north-west of Knoydart, built of magnetic igneous rocks, it can cause the compass to suffer similar disorientating effects to the rocks of the Black Cuillin which lie just a few miles to the west across the Sound of Sleat. The main summit of Ladhar Bheinn is at the back right of the photo with the subsidiary top of Stob a' Choire Odhair on the north-east ridge infront and just to the right of it. In the centre of the picture is Coire Dhorrcail, bounded by impressive crags and high ridges, and at the back left of the coire is Stob a' Chearcaill whose steep slopes provide tricky sections on both its north-east ridge and south-east slopes towards the Mam Barrisdale. When Gavin and I climbed the hill on this trip in 2005 we walked into Barrisdale during the afternoon and then, as darkness gathered, ascended into Coire Dhorrcail via the path on the west side of Barrisdale Bay. We camped in the coire to the accompaniment of the stags mournful rutting roars before, in the morning, climbing east onto Druim a' Choire Odhair and thence via the fine ridge of Stob a' Choire Odhair to the summit of Ladhar Bheinn before heading south-east towards the Mam Barrisdale and Luinne Bheinn. We had hoped to climb Meall Bhuidhe on this trip as well but found we had overloaded ourselves in training for our forthcoming trip to Chile and carrying very large sacks over the heights of Ladhar Bheinn scuppered our plans (this led to me having to repeat the killer undulating traverse along the south side of Loch Hourn once again in April 2007 to "tidy up" the munros of Knoydart. Unfortunately that walk was hampered by fairly typical Knoydart weather and I spent 19 hours enveloped in the mist and rain above the Mam Barrisdale when climbing to Meall Bhuidhe [including an overnight camp]).

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