Beinn Eighe

Although the walk from the parking area to the usual take off area is short, there’s no denying it is rather brutal, requiring 2500ft of ascent in 2.4km! The path is well marked and leads up past the plantation into Coire an Laoigh. Once in the coire proper the way up is obvious and it tackles the steep western slopes of the coire directly, before emerging onto a col that separates the spur of Stuc Coire an Laoigh from Spidean Coire nan Clach (993m), one of the main summits of the Beinn Eighe ridge. This col is grassy and forms a quite small, but still excellent, area from which to launch in either a south west or south easterly direction.

Beinn Eighe is one of the more spectacular peaks that defines the North West Highlands of Scotland. With its great expanses of bare scree catching the sun, the south face of Beinn Eighe, makes it an obvious target for those seeking a dramatic mountain environment in which to take to the air.

Beinn Eighe is most commonly flown in very light southerly, or nil wind conditions. Although the take off point on the col above Stuc Coire an Laoigh does not allow a launch facing due south, it does enable a pilot to launch in either a south westerly or south easterly facing direction. Because, at various points on a sunny day thermals will have a tendency to be drawn up either face, it’s normally just a case of waiting a short while to get a feel for the conditions before launching. It is also quite common to experience a breeze blowing along the glen from Loch Torridon, in which case the south westerly facing (slightly less committing) launch will be preferable. Once in the air, beware of scratching too close to the rocky slopes and, if flying in the bowl of Coire an Laoigh keep a watchful eye out for a change in wind direction if a sea breeze does start to develop.

Takeoff altitude: 840m