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The lost valley and more.

The lost valley and more.


Postby admiral » Wed Jul 20, 2016 11:28 am

Route description: Lost Valley (Coire Gabhail), Glen Coe

Date walked: 19/06/2016

Time taken: 8 hours

Distance: 4 km

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Beinn fada on left and The Great Aonach on the right.
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Imelda above the River crossing.
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The Lost Valley
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Top of Red Scree Gully
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Mystic figure of The lone Climber
June of this year saw myself and Imelda return to one of our favourie spots,Glencoe. Here on a nice morning we arrived with the intention of doing The Lost Valley Walk. Our last attempt at this a few years ago saw us get to the river crossing but then were halted by the raging waters. This year the weather had been good during the previous two weeks so crossing shouldnt be a problem. At around 10am,Sunday 19th june we set off from the car park. Following the obvious track we made our way to the Metal ladder,descended and duly crossed the wooden footbridge that begins the climb into the glen. Its a steady ,gradual ascent with Beinn fade to our left and the Great Aonach on our right. It did not take us too long to reach the crossing area. Today the river was low and the stepping stones clearly visible. To date we had not seen anyone else on the trail,despite it being a nice morning. . We crossed over and continued upward. I was very surprised to find ourselves at the entrance to the valley in no time at all. All of a sudden,there it was,stretched out in front of us a large flat plateau surrounded on three sides by towering mountains. What a fantastic sight it made. there seemed to be alot of stones/rocks of various sizes strewn all over the floor. In the distance we could make out a lone figure coming towards us. As we continued we came across another couple who were resting idly by taking in the view. They were from America and were amazed at the valley. They did not intend going any further. Continuing deeper into the valley we met the lone figure we had spotted earlier. He told us he had camped in the valley overnight. His only gripe was the ferocity of the midges. We bade him farewell and continued deeper into the valley,eventually stopping beside a boulder and taking refreshments. Looking around me I marvelled how anyone could get cattle up here. It was difficult enough for a two legged creature to make it up here never mind a four legged one. As I mused over this ,Imelda directed my gaze towards the entrance to the valley. Two others had entered and were moving towards us. They passed to our left and continued up the valley. It looked like they were heading to the top of it. Our intention originally had been to see the valley and then return. However,the day was nice and we had plenty of time so we decidec to continue. We started off again and followed the trail as it ascended the valley headland. We could clearly see the couple ahead of us in the distance. We strolled along at a very sedate pace stopping regularly to admire the views. As we climbed and got higher we became aware of the presence of fog on the upper part of the mountains. Not something we wanted to see . . . but there it was. Meanwhile we had lost sight of the couple ahead of us. They had obviously dis - appeared into the mist,. We continued until the path peters out and the climb becomes more acute. Just a short distance ahead of us we could see the dense fog getting ever closer to us. A rather disturbing picture. We sat down and took stock of our position. It looked like we were going to be halted by mother nature. To go on or not. As we pondered this who should appear out of the gloom only the couple we had lost sight of earlier. The dense fog had made them abandon their attempt to continue to the top. I asked him how far more he reckoned was to go. Checking his GPS unit he stated about 180mts to the top, he didnt say to the top of what. It seemed in the interest of safety we too should head back. We dallied for a while thinking this over. As we watched the couple descent somrthing else caught my eye. There was another couple moving upward followed by a solitary figure. As we waited the couple reached us. Thinking we were on the way down they enquired about conditions further up. Told him we hadnt reached it because of the fog. He was from Venezuala and she from Germany. Asked us if we intended going on. Told him we would like to. He repliied with three short words that could have come straight out of a John Wayne film. He said :"Lets do it." . . And we did. With the route co - ordinates mapped out on his GPS he led and we followed. A short while later we were all on top of Red Scree Gully with a blanket of mist all around us. Another factor now entered the equation. It began to rain. Looking down the gulley the mystic figure of A Lone Climber approached in a ghost like manner. We did not wait around but continued to our right and upward. The Venzualain continued to lead. Even under worsening conditions he seemed to dance his way around those many tricky boulders. All of a sudden he came to an abrupt halt. He found himself on top of a rocky summit with no where else to go. Two steps further and its likely he would have been shaking hands with his ancestors. By now The Lone Climber had caught up with us. Seeing our predicament The Climber indicated that we go around it and not over it. Underfoot conditions were now getting worse. Fog,rain and wind. We had to keep moving. The Lone Climber now took the lead. The Climber had done this route before but not in several years. From time to time The Climber refrenced map and compass. Its hard to tell just how long we walked for but eventually we came to the top of the mountain ,which I would later learn was called Bidean Nam bian. We didnt stop. There was no point. Nothing could be seen. Descending carefully we stopped at the point where the mountain begins to rise again. According to The Lone Climber we now had a choice. To Climb again and cross the next mountain after which the ridge flattens out and a track leads down to the Pass. Or try and descend from where we were. Conditions were bad. Climbing again was not a good idea. If possoible we should descend without delay. We all agreed upon this decision. Had we been able to see just how steep the descent was we may not have tried it. However,between Them they fashioned a route down through a series of zig zag movements. Myself and Imelda were now moving at a much slower rate. The Venezualan realizing this would stop from time to time till we caught up with him. Despite our care Imelda was to slip three times on that wet scree the last of which was quite a heavy fall. Nonetheless we made it down safely and rejoined the path we had come up. We still had some ways to travel but at least now we were on safe ground,much lower down and sheltered from the wind. As for the fog it was still there on the upper mountains. A nod to The Venezualan told him he should continue and catch up with his partner. Meanwhile in the distance just as appearing The Lone Climber vanished into te void. Some time later myself and Imelda reached the pass weary and tired but safe.Imelda was to suffer with back pain for the next week or so. However this girll is made of stern stuff and three days later we were on our way to the Isle of Ske . . . and the famed Trotternish Ridge. However thats another story for another day.
admiral
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Re: The lost valley and more.

Postby dogplodder » Wed Jul 20, 2016 12:15 pm

Well done you two, that sounded quite scary in the mist! Hope Imelda's hurt back is now fully recovered. The Lost Valley is quite an atmospheric place but I've not been as high as you went - will have to go back! 8)
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Re: The lost valley and more.

Postby admiral » Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:13 am

dogplodder wrote:Well done you two, that sounded quite scary in the mist! Hope Imelda's hurt back is now fully recovered. The Lost Valley is quite an atmospheric place but I've not been as high as you went - will have to go back! 8)


Thanks for yor kind comment. It sure is a very unusual place. After a week or so Imeldas back was much better.
admiral
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