Monday, June 11, 2018

Assynt Traverse, 27-28 May 2018

50 miles, 21,000 feet, 27 hours

The wilds of Assynt hold a special place in many mountain lovers’ hearts and I am one of them.  Boasting only two solitary Munros, the lack of lofty mountains is more than compensated by a complex landscape of rocky knolls, a myriad of lochans, rivers and pools and shapely mountains that rise above, with the Western sea shimmering on those precious days of sun.  So when Tony Wimbush reported his inaugural Assynt Traverse in 2010, a seed was sown, and opportunity, resolve and a weather window finally came together eight years later in May 2018.

Whilst not the longest mountain run, at under 50 miles, the Assynt Traverse packs a punch that belies bare statistics.  For the most part it is trackless and rhythmless – a heady cocktail of sandstone towers, ankle twisting tussocks, angular stones, committing river crossings and heather bashing – but lest this description deter you, it is also a mountain connoisseur’s delight of sharp ridges, geologic history and lonely places.  So after 8 years, I finally headed North to have a go.

Story of My Traverse
Images from The Traverse
Route Details (Gofar web site)