Among the biggest hills north of the Great Glen, A' Chralaig and Mullach Fraoch-choire are a grand high-level ridge walking traverse. Fans of challenging days might want to rope them into a larger round with neighbouring Sgurr nan Conbhairean, but the two-Munro standard route covered here gives you the best bit of the range in a more manageable hit, building to an airy finish on the narrow South Ridge of Mullach Fraoch-choire. This short pinnacled ridge provides some engaging scrambling - all avoidable in summer, when most walkers will opt instead for the very obvious (though still briefly quite exciting) flanking path. In winter this path can sometimes bank out, and if so it will feel hairy. In heavy snow cover or icy conditions the South Ridge is elevated from an exposed walk to a grade I climb, and there are times when non-mountaineers might sensibly opt not to go all the way.
8.82 miles, 14.20 km, 1,120m ascent, 6 – 7 hours. Kyle of Lochalsh
I remember one pleasant early spring day on these hills, following what I assumed were fox tracks along the South Ridge of Mullach Fraoch-choire and being puzzled as to what a fox would be doing at that height. I can't imagine the hunting would have been very good.
If you’ve the energy is worth doing the short out and back to the North east top of Mullach Fraoch-choire. It’s a nice viewpoint and gives a different perspective on the route.
We did this route the opposite way round (heading first up the glen) and then saving the best (the ridge and summits) for later. We saw no foxes but quite a few midges left their 'footprints' on us on the top of the Mullach - that's a still day in August for you!
It’s quiet common to see fox prints in the snow at height along ridges; apparently they patrol the boundaries of their territory for signs of intrusion.
Interestingly I once saw a grey creature the size of a fox/ large cat at height on the northern ridge I of these hills dropping to Affric. I wasn’t close enough to ID but prints confirmed it to be canine rather than feline. Research at home suggested that it was likely a grey fox which were historically termed ‘Dodds’.
Last year I did a nice anticlockwise traverse of these two hills from Strawberry Cottage in Glen Affric. Descent was via A' Chioch, a top that had hitherto eluded me on previous visits from the Cluanie Inn side.
