Koala - High Sunny Mountain Rock

Back in December 2019 on our trip into Braeriach we checked out some ice lines in Garbh Choire Dhaidh. With this came the discovery of some very clean looking rock and a three star VS in the guidebook called Koala. The seed was planted and 6 months later Dave, Katie and myself were cycling towards the Larig Ghru. The forecast was great although it was thankfully a cloudy morning which spared us the sun during out long approach. 

On the Main Corner Pitch (Photo K.Bowen)

We cycled as far as White Bridge before continuing northwards on foot. As the morning went on the landmarks passed us, The Devils point, Corrour, Garbh Corrie bothy until finally we entered Garbh Choire Dhaidh. As we got close the sun came out and we realised how much of a good choice this had been. Topping out around 1250m, It must be the highest south facing three star rock route in Scotland and we had perfect conditions for it on a day that it would be uncomfortably hot low level cragging.

Heading up into the Larig Ghru

After a soggy scramble we found ourselves at the foot of a fantastic looking corner system. Dave led on up the first pitch in the sun soon followed by Katie and myself. He belayed at the foot of the main corner pitch. It looked immaculate and it was my lead. I led up the fantastic pitch to where the route breaks right. This was the crux which I found tricky, this was apparently easy with a handjam although the thought of doing one never crossed my mind! After the moves I continued up some broken corners to a large ledge and set up a belay.

Garbh Choire Dhaidh. Falls of Dee on the Left and our Climb was on the right

Looking up at the final pitch our expectations were minimal. It looks like typical broken easy ground. Dave led up to the top and we followed on. To our delight this pitch turned out to offer fantastic sustained interest at around Severe and was a joy to climb. A fitting end to a brilliant route.

Dave Leading the First Pitch (Photo K.Bowen)

We took the scenic route back heading around the rim of An Garbh Coire. Impressive sights were had around Garbh Choire Mor. The coire still held an impressive volume of snow with the whole apron and Great Gully being complete. Passing the top of Great Gully showed snow in the region of 10m deep. Pretty impressive for late June!

The Top of Great Gully

Passing the summits of The Angel’s Peak and Cairn Toul we headed back down the path past Corrour and then rejoined our line of approach down the Lairig Ghru to the bikes. A pretty long day with around 42.5km and over 1400m of ascent.

Corries of Braeriach