Has anyone done the Five Sisters start from Shiel Bridge and then gotten back into Glen Affric?
I can see several options including just turning north on the Bealach that you would turn south on for the traditional finish and heading down the Allt to Glenlicht house and then on up the Glen back into Glen Affric

Craig,

The Five Sisters ridge is a tough start to any Challenge but a very rewarding one if the weather plays ball. Clearly, the ascent involved is significant but if you're fit at the outset, the route has paths all of the way to Bealach an Lapain and there are no technical difficulties. A superb first day indeed.

I'll confess that I've never, personally, made the descent to Glen Affric but it shouldn't be too difficult. It'll certainly be trackless but if you're prepared for that, it won't be too much of a shock. Obviously, the most appropriate place to leave the ridge will be at Bealach an Lapain, as you've noted yourself. You might even find some traces of past passage, as you won't be the first to have done so.

Have you considered the braver option? If you're granted fine weather, you could plan to continue along the high ground, all of the way to Ciste Dhubh. That'd probably mean a high camp but the Bealach a' Choinich fits the bill and there is water available. I've camped there myself on the event and it was a fine ending to a wonderful day. Exhaustion and a good night's sleep are almost guaranteed.

Ciste Dhubh is a big add on, probably the next morning and, once again, I've never descended north from its top. As it's above Alltbeithe though, it likely gets some activity from there and there may well be some traces of a route down. If the hill doesn't look appealing, it's perfectly possible to circle round north east to reach the An Caorann Mor path heading north for Alltbeithe and Glen Affric.

Food for thought maybe?

Have fun planning.

Colin

thanks Colin, I will look at the higher option as well

Hi Craig,

I have done the Five Sisters - north down from Bealach an Làpain - on to the Glen Affric Youth Hostel in 2016. It was a very nice walk. I arrvied at the YH pretty late though and a bit knackered. That might also have been because on the second summit I discovered that I had left my little hedgehog on summit one and had to go back and fetch him.

The descent from the bealach was pathless and sometimes required a little foresight in navigation but was pretty straight forward. If I were to do it again, I would try to pick up the little path that shows on the map on the western shore of Allt an Làpain because the terrain on the eastern shore was full of scary bog holes. The ground was moving beneath me and looked like Swiss cheese. Ah, the fun times! :)

The "staying high" option also seems very appealing!

Thank you Sabine. Both look very "doable" if the weather cooperates I think we will try this route to the north