SCOTLAND · WESTER ROSS · 57.55°N 5.51°W · SHOULDER · MAY–JUN & SEP
Torridon Giants
Liathach, Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin in five days — three sandstone giants that were old before the Alps existed, with airy ridges, quartzite caps and a rest-day walk into the country's finest corrie.
THE ROUTE, CHARTED
The elevation profile
GPS-logged. Camps and key points marked; the shape of the route is the honest version of the brochure.
THE SHAPE OF THE TRIP · 5 DAYS
The itinerary
Alligin and the Horns
Arrive, settle into the Torridon base, and warm up on Beinn Alligin — 985m of jagged sandstone with the Horns scramble to finish, or a walkers' line beneath them. Day two takes on Liathach's traverse, the most serious undertaking of the week.
The low day
A deliberate breather: the coffin road to Diabaig over the moor, a swim for the brave at the pier, and an evening looking across Loch Torridon at what you have climbed and what is left. Legs thank you on day four.
Beinn Eighe
The quartzite giant by its full western circuit: into Coire Mhic Fhearchair beneath the Triple Buttress, up the stone shoot to the crest, and along the pale scree ridge to Ruadh-stac Mòr, 1,010m. Final night celebration; depart after breakfast.
WHY THIS ROUTE
The expedition
Torridon's mountains are built differently: horizontal terraces of three-billion-year-old sandstone stacked like hulls, each one rising alone from sea-level moor. We climb the three great ones from a lochside base — Beinn Alligin with its Horns, Liathach by the exposed Am Fasarinen pinnacles (a path bypasses them; most people try at least one), and Beinn Eighe's grey quartzite crest, dropping into Coire Mhic Fhearchair where a triple buttress stands over a black lochan. The middle day is deliberately gentler. Honest note: these are big single-day mountains — 1,000m up and down each time on rough, occasionally hands-on ground — and the grade reflects the accumulation, not any single move.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Liathach's pinnacled crest — with an honest bypass path
- The Horns of Alligin scramble
- Coire Mhic Fhearchair and the Triple Buttress
- Comfortable lochside base, no camp carrying
- Sea-to-summit ascents on ancient sandstone
- September departures catch the first stags roaring
STRAIGHT ANSWER
Is this for you?
You should be able to say yes — honestly — to all of these:
- You have real multi-day experience and can handle big consecutive days — this is honest grade 4 ground.
- You have a steady head for exposure — there is hands-on ground here, protected where it matters.
- You would rather be told the truth about a hard day than sold an easy one.
Grade 4 means grade 4. If you're not sure, ring us — we'd rather lose a booking than carry a struggle.
THE LEDGER
What £620 covers
INCLUDED
- Wildtrace guide (Rhona MacAllister) at a max ratio of 1:8
- All accommodation and meals as described
- Group safety kit: inReach satellite comms and expedition first aid
- Pre-trip video call, training plan and the real kit list
- Minibus transfers from the nearest railway station
NOT INCLUDED
- Travel to the meeting point (we help with train times)
- Personal insurance — BMC or equivalent recommended
- Sleeping bag — bring your own or hire ours (£30/trip)
- Lunches and drinks on travel days
PACK THIS, NOT EVERYTHING
Kit, previewed
The items that matter most on this route. The full list — with honest notes on what not to buy — lives in the kit room and is sent on booking.
Broken-in boots matched to the terrain. Broken-in is the load-bearing phrase.
Waterproof jacket and trousers you actually trust.
A day pack that fits — 30–35L covers almost every trip.
Headtorch plus spare batteries. Early starts are a feature.
Grippy gloves for cabled or rocky sections; a helmet where needed is provided.
2L capacity plus purification where the trip notes say so.
A proper insulated jacket. Evenings are where trips are enjoyed or endured.
WHO'S TAKING YOU
Your guide
Rhona MacAllister
MIC · FOUNDER · WINTER LEADFounded Wildtrace after fourteen years with Keswick Mountain Rescue. Runs the winters and everything Scottish. Has slept in every bothy north of the Great Glen and ranks them, seriously, by draught.
HOW WE RUN IT
Max 8 walkers. inReach satellite comms carried and checked daily. Escape routes planned before we sell a single place. And the weather rule that built this company: we turn back. That's the deal. Full detail on our safety page.
NO PAYMENT AT THIS STAGE
Ask about this trip
Send this and a guide rings you back — Tuesday or Thursday evening, usually. Fifteen minutes, honest questions both ways, no hard sell.
IF THIS, THEN ALSO
