Pap of Glencoe

[Started_late]

Hello folks , I’m thinking of climbing the Pap on Sunday

2 points we need help with , parking ?
Is there a easy path to follow or will I be better buying a map ?

[jmarkb]

Parking - see https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/fortwilliam/papofglencoe.shtml and accompanying map, though there is space for 1 or 2 cars at the start of the track.

It's an obvious path, so you don't really need a map. Just make sure that you leave the summit the same way as you arrived - it is very rocky and there are other traces of paths going in different directions.

[The Rodmiester]

There is a small parking area on the East side of the back road to Glencoe village. Many no parking signs along this road. Good path for most of the way checkout my report on this hill for details and views. This weekend supposed to be ok weatherwise. It took me under 2.5 hours but I was pushing on a bit.

[Started_late]

Thanks guys , I’ve checked a few posts from people who have already climbed it

Looks ok for a group of over 50’s

[Arthurs Eat]

The events on Ben McDui the other day are just a reminder that we should ALWAYS take a map, compass and at least one person who knows how to use them competently. Bearing in mind one of those other paths does lead up to the Aonach Eagach Ridge.

[helenw]

Hi Started-late

Just to emphasise Arthurs Eat's comment - you really do need to take a map and compass on this route. We've had people contact Walkhighlands to say how difficult and dangerous this route is and that the path was very hard to find - everyone's experience and perceptions are different, but it is a route that definitely requires a map and navigation skills.

Keep checking the mountain conditions as well, first cold snap of the winter due.

Have a great walk on Sunday.

[Caberfeidh]

Hello folks , I’m thinking of climbing the Pap on Sunday

2 points we need help with , parking ?
Is there a easy path to follow or will I be better buying a map ?

You need to ask if you need a map? Have you checked the weather forecast or even looked at the route on a map? Read this carefully... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-45977104

[Robinho08]

It's an obvious path, so you don't really need a map. Just make sure that you leave the summit the same way as you arrived - it is very rocky and there are other traces of paths going in different directions.

Should always take a map.

[jmarkb]

Should always take a map.

OK, I going to try and defend myself here. As with all things in this game, its a matter of judgement. For the vast majority hill walks I would definitely recommend a map, but would you really need one to climb hill such as Dumyat or Tinto or Ben Vrackie where there's a very well marked path and the return is by the same route? Thousands of folk manage quite happily without. You might argue that the Pap is at the upper end of such routes, but personally I would be totally comfortable about doing it without a map.

As I suggested in my original post, the only place where a map and compass might be useful is to make sure you leave the summit in the right direction, but if you are careful to note where you came from when you arrive, that shouldn't be a problem. Helen mentions that folk report navigation difficulties on this route. I can only think that this is because the path is hard to follow through the rocky terrain near the summit and it's easy to stray into scrambling terrain. Since the OS maps don't mark the path and don't really adequately show the rocky nature of the terrain on the south side of the summit, I would argue that they aren't going to help much for this sort of micro-navigation.

[magicdin]

It isn't really a hardship just to stick the map AND compass in the sack even if you don't have to use them. Apart from the navigation,safety point of view I think a map of the area makes the walk more interesting,identifying surrounding hills etc

[Caberfeidh]

would you really need one to climb hill such as Dumyat or Tinto or Ben Vrackie where there's a very well marked path and the return is by the same route?

Mist, snow or darkness will affect navigation, on any hill, no matter how easy it seems. And as Magicdin points out, a map is a bonus for interpreting surrounding features. Many of us on this site read maps for entertainment as others read magazines...

Maps ~ essential viewing

[jmarkb]

It isn't really a hardship just to stick the map AND compass in the sack even if you don't have to use them. Apart from the navigation,safety point of view I think a map of the area makes the walk more interesting,identifying surrounding hills etc

I completely agree! The only times I don't take a map are on routes with good path that I know really well, or on the very odd occasion where I find myself somewhere without the relevant map.

Mist, snow or darkness will affect navigation, on any hill, no matter how easy it seems. And as Magicdin points out, a map is a bonus for interpreting surrounding features. Many of us on this site read maps for entertainment as others read magazines...

Yes, I'm a serious map addict too. My point is that for this particular route it is not essential and not much help.

Suppose you found yourself on top the Pap in poor vis armed with the 1:50k map below and a compass - what initial bearing do you walk on and why?

[davekeiller]

Not being familiar with the route, I'd probably head on a bearing of about 150 degrees to aim for the saddle. You've then got decent handrail features in the water courses to get you down. It also avoids the craggy terrain to the north.

To return to the OP, if in doubt you need a map and compass. On a clear day you might barely use them, but if you make a mistake or have an accident it could be the difference between self-rescue or a potentially hours long search by mountain rescue. For the same reason, it's a good idea to have a whistle, head torch, survival bag and spare warm clothing.

[Sgurr]

Went up Graystones in The Lakes the other day. Took a map and compass. The guidebook says this is a hill you cannot possibly get lost on. Total clag. Followed the wall all the way up, then a really wide path went through it, and we remembered that since Wainwright's time another summit had been discovered SE of Wainwright's summit, so followed it. In the clag, it soon stopped looking so obvious. Blundered round and found about 3 tops, one with a small cairn on, blundered back to the wall and carried on and found another (original Wainwright) cairn? Husband furious that when we had left our sacs at the bottom, I hadn't put GPS in pocket. Only luck that subsequent comparisons with other photos prove we found both correct cairns, but were very tempted to carry on blundering beyond the Wainwright cairn. Cannot believe, after all these years, I could be so stupid. In really thick clag, map and compass alone are sometimes not enough, as I sometimes can't tell if I am going up or down, nor can I see the well trodden bit of path stretching out before me as clag condenses on my glasses. We would have been safe, since the wall was never more than 100m away, but very annoying if we hadn't achieved our objective.

[Sunset tripper]

I've been up the pap a few times and agree with jmarkb that unless you are an expert at micro navigating the best way to get off the summit area is by taking note of the way you came up - it's a kind of spiral. I would take a map and compass though because in poor conditions once you are off the summit it may be needed to locate the way down.

Davekeiller - heading direct from the summit to the bealach would take you in to scrambling down climbing terrain but probably doable. The easiest way is to head initially towards the campsite Caolasnacon and then circle round the summit to the bealach.

I wouldn't do the pap unless it was a nice day as it is a fantastic viewpoint and a shame to miss it.

For parking if you drive through the village heading towards the pap just before the old humpback stone bridge there is parking on the left hand side. Its a nice short walk from there alongside the river to the start of the walkhighlands route up the hill.

All the best