free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Corbetts: Garbh Bheinn.
Grahams: Sgorr Mhic Earcharna, Beinn Bheag.
Date: 10/06/2018.
Distance: 12 km.
Ascent: 1340 m.
Time: 6 hours, 40 minutes.
Weather: Overcast, warm, still.
Link to previous dayWe woke in Essan to another calm but overcast morning, with a typical infestation of midges outside to greet us. Last night we had discussed routes for Sunday and decided that Garbh Bheinn would be a good bet if the weather was looking half-decent.
Essan 
Loch Eilt from above Essan The boats were where we'd left them - no flooding overnight! It didn't look that likely that the flood waters would ever reach the level of our boats but that was exactly what had happened to a family
last October.
Fortunately no flash floods last night 
Leaving Essan A brief respite from the midges as we paddled back over was followed by a scrabble to get the boats folded away and into the cars. Then down the road to the loop of old road at the mouth of Coire an Iubhair.
Back to the car 
Hugh on Loch Eilt Again I felt lazy, and would've settled for a quick up and down of Garbh Bheinn despite knowing full well that it wouldn't do the mountain justice. I kept quiet about that as I knew things would be fine once I was on the hill. This was another circuit I had done with my dad in the distant past - 1995 I think. I remember bits and pieces from that day; it was hot and sunny, there were big drops between the summits, a bit of a scramble up the back of Garbh Bheinn, and we cycled back to Ballachulish afterwards. That third bit of knowledge was useful, as it reminded me that an anti-clockwise circuit would be easier for route finding.
Sron a’ Ghairbh Choire Bhig It's a pathless beginning up Druim an Iubhair, but with the ground being particularly dry just now, it was fairly easy going.The broad ridge goes on a bit, but eventually we were on the final ascent to Sgorr Mhic Earcharna, where you really do get a grandstand view of Garbh Bheinn. I've seen it enough times before, but still....so much rock! The weather over Glencoe and Glen Nevis didn't look especially bad, but we seemed to have better here.
Firth of Lorn and Lismore 
On the way up Druim an Iubhair 
NE face of Garbh Bheinn 
Hugh on Sgorr Mhic Earcharna 
Summit of Sgorr Mhic Earcharna This next bit did stick in my mind. Beinn Bheag looks like an easy wander from here, but the closer you get to it, the bigger the drop between the two hills appears, until you are back down below 500m again. The north ridge and east face of Beinn Bheag is an impressive sweep of slabs right to the floor of Glen Gour, although you don't see too much of that on the ascent. Probably one worth exploring from that direction sometime
.
Beinn Bheag from Sgorr Mhic Earcharna 
Garbh Bheinn It was most definitely liunchtme on the summit of Beinn Bheag - even the lack of sunshine couldn't ruin this day out
. Rum and Eigg emerged to the west looking much clearer than yesterday. Despite taking far too many photos, I don't seem to have picked them up at all.
A glimpse of Loch Sunart 
Hugh on Beinn Bheag 
Back down Coire an Iubhair to Loch Linnhe The ridge west made for very pleasant walking, narrowish in places (although not very arête-like), then the steep descent to Lochan Coire an Iubhair. This was possible to do mostly on steep grass, avoiding the extensive loose rock and scree on the face.
Along the summit ridge of Beinn Bheag 
Bealach Feith n’ Amean 
Garbh Bheinn 
Sgurr nan Cnamh and Ben Resipol Now for the fun bit, which we had been looking at on our descent. We opted for a steep watercourse which turns into a gully higher up, at which point we moved out onto easy rocks to the left. This took us fairly sharply into the little corrie high up on the back of the hill, where we had a quick breather. Following a bouldery run to our left, we popped out on the north ridge of Garbh Bheinn, from where a few easy scrambly moves took us to the summit. The rock was bone dry and really grippy, and I suspect some decent scrambling could be had lower down on the ridge. While we probably could have found our way down this side of the hill, it was much easier to have come up it.
Our route up Garbh Bheinn 
The back of Garbh Bheinn 
NE Buttress of Garbh Bheinn 
Lochan Coire an Iubhair 
Beinn Bheag and Sgorr Mhic Earcharna 
Sgurr nan Cnamh 
Looking back to Beinn Bheag Although still a bit grey on top, you can't argue with views like this! A couple of lurking midges put paid to us stopping too long though.
Summit of Garbh Bheinn 
In the back corrie of Garbh Bheinn 
Back down the corrie to Sgurr nan Cnamh 
Fiaclan Garbh-bheinn 
Down Coire an Iubhair with Loch Leven in the background 
Fiaclan Garbh-bheinn 
Appin and Loch Linnhe On the way down, we passed a couple of climbers high on the South Wall of Garbh Bheinn. As their rucksacks were nearby, they appeared to have walked all the way up here to do some shortish routes high on the mountain. Probably a sensible move given the midges!
Climbers 
Climbers on Meghini on the South Wall of Garbh Bheinn Crossing over Sron a' Gharbh Choire Bhig, you get a great look at the main crags on the hill, but lower down, there is less to see. That certainly made the case for the full circuit
. We kept losing and re-finding the path on the way down, until eventually we were on the final descent where it became a bit of a trench.
Garbh Bheinn NE face 
Crags of Garbh Bheinn 
Garbh Bheinn from Sron a’ Ghairbh Choire Bhig 
Glencoe peaks from the final descent 
Inversanda and Loch Linnhe Another fantastic day in one of my favourite parts of the country
. Cheers to Hugh for suggesting the weekend in the first place, and picking some great hills. As a bonus, when flicking through facebook and some walk reports later, it appeared that just about everywhere else in the Highlands (including Glencoe, which hadn't looked too bad) had experienced extremely heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. We didn't see a single drop of rain in the entire time we spent west of the Great Glen
.
