ALLT ORAIN

This is a wee trib of Loch Tulla: off the beaten track a bit. Descents in early 2006; don't know if it's been done before.......

Turn off the main road at Bridge of Orchy, and cross the bridge. Head up towards Loch Tulla, and some amazing views across the loch. You reach a large car park on the left just before a stream and a hunting lodge. This is the Allt Orain. Walk up the river right bank. You will cross a wall, where a deer fence crosses the river. Keep going past some slabs, and get on wherever you like. It flattens off further upstream.

Needs a lot of water to be worthwhile. We did this when the Allt Kinglass burst it's banks and it was still raining. Check the level at the bottom: if the last drop in the trees looks watery, it'll be OK. Any lower and it'll feel bony.

3/4/4+. Nothing desperate, but some big grippy holes at the base of natural ledges.

  • DESCRIPTION/REPORT

A fun run with nothing too nasty. The whole run is probably a kilometre long: ideal for a wet evening. From the get-on, small drops leads to a larger multi-stage slide on an S-bend. Don't get stuck in the hole at the bottom, or in the undercut on the right. Yet more slabs and ledges carry the gradient downhill. Soon you reach the deer fence and debris gate across the river. If there are a few of you, you can try to lift this up to run the big rocky drop below. Portaging is easiest on the left.

The next drop is a bit steeper then the rest, but goes just fine. The grade and gradient keeps going until you near the road and the copse of trees where you parked. One last set of drops marks the end of the run. Get out either here or at the bridge just below. You probably won't get under the bridge, and there are a few thorn bushes to avoid. Try not to get any of your kit eaten by the deer, and don't get shot during the stalking season!!!!

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