If for nothing else I will remember these particular hills for the sting in the tail. Again started early, about 8-30, having parked in a lay-by near the point the munro book advises you to start. A nice, easy walk up a path following a stream moving direct towards the clearly visible western face of the hill. After a while the path begins to fade and then disappears and you have to make your way up grassy slopes which get rockier higher up. I notice that the revised book suggests following the main path round to the north face to avoid unpleasant boulder slopes. Don't understand this as the western slopes are quite easy with the boulders making for a fast climb. Mind you a few of them are a bit unstable so you have to be careful. In the end it is just an easy slog to the top for a juice break and photos.
It is an easy, pleasant stroll off Carn an Tuirc downhill to join a very visible path. This is rutted and is, or was, presumably used by 4x4s or carts. It winds its way along the crest and virtually all the way up to the top of Cairn of Claise, a quite rocky mountain. Doubt if there would be any problem in mist, even if the path was missed. Felt just a bit dissatisfied as the drop from Carn an Tuirc to this hill did not feel sufficient to justify munro status. Nice walk though. Looking over at Tolmount and Tom Buidhe I just could not believe these were munros and I had to check my map to make sure I actually was looking at them. Up here it is a wide plateau and these two hills looked simply like little bumps on the landscape.
Another very pleasant walk down from Cairn of Claise towards the peaty col mentioned in the book. Whatever I might think of the munro status of these hills I have to say that the walking is an absolute delight. Nice and easy and gentle and you are in an absolute wilderness miles away from towns etc, with nothing but hills and slopes everywhere around. It is quite a long walk between these two hills and some of the peat bogs need negotiating, but the nearer you get to the col the more Tolmount begins to look like a hill, but never a mountain. Once over the col it is the simplest of walks up a very gentle ridge or slope to the top. One of the easiest munros you could ever get. Time for Guinness and rolls but I was no sooner sat down than two guys appeared out of nowhere, the first people I had seen all day. They acknowledged my hello but were uninterested in conversation. Having stood up I bent down to adjust my sock and when I looked up they had gone - not even a cheerio. A small hill but lovely views over to Lochnagar and the Cairngorms, all looking majestic in the good weather.
I don't see how this hill and the Tolmount can be classified as munros. Because of the distance you must walk from Cairn of Claise to reach them it is perhaps feasible to consider one of the two as a munro but not both. There really is no distance at all between the two summits and the drop between them seems far too little. It is unbelievably easy gently walking down from the Tolmount and strolling up the ridge to Tom Buidhe. Four munros in a day and not a lot of energy expended. Quick stop at the top and quick walk down to the base of the hill walking towards Cairn of Claise. The book says you need to contour the flank of the hill at around 970m which initially puzzled me. However, there is a path from Tom Buidhe which leads up to Cairn of Claise. It is at places a bit intermittent but it slowly rises and eventually takes you to about 960m on my altimeter. From here you can see why you need the height, as to go lower would have involved many ups and downs and peat bogs and would have been longer. After I had reached what I
thought was the end of the Cairn of Claise ridge I misjudged the position and continued straight on, whereas I should have continued contouring at the high level moving northwest. I didn't go very far but where I had expected to see the Cairnwell and Carn Aosda in front of me, even if at a distance, all I could see were huge cliffs and hills and did not recognise anything. A momentary panic, mainly because I could not understand what I had done wrong. However, I knew I had no real problem as I could see Cairn of Claise, so I walked back up towards the hill to get a bit more height again. This led me onto the vehicle track mentioned in the book which eased my worries but I still couldn't see Carn Aosda. However, this became visible a few hundred yards on though it looked much further away than I had expected. I could also see the ridge, Sron na Gaoithe, which would lead back to the car, all of which was confirmed by a guy who was coming the other way. Sron na Gaoithe is very gentle in descent and I was aware on it that I was still over 900m up (even at the end of the ridge it was 800m) so still a long way to go down and I was now quite tired. A path most of the way on the ridge but as you get close to the rocky knob at the end this veers off to the right and disappears, leaving you with a fairly steep, but not difficult, drop on grass to the river and back to the car.
This hill, Tolmount, Cairn of Claise and Carn an Tuirc make a pleasant foursome but there is a sting in the tail. Coming off Tom Buidhe and climbing back up to the contour level at 960m is like climbing a fifth hill. Also the walk from Tom Buidhe to the car was considerably longer than I had expected. A good day though and lots of wild life. On the hills were lots of hares, cheekily sitting up about 20 yards away and vanishing as you approached, and I disturbed a group of Ptarmigans, the first I've ever seen.
