Don't give in to the sun in Glen Coe

[Bensc01t]

The three of us at the start

Climbing the ski lift slope

Our lunch spot

At 12:48 I dropped off the bus and into the entrance the Glen Coe Ski Centre driveway. Joining me were two newcomers to munro climbing, my university coursemate Sam and his flatmate Gregor, who were both looking to try out a munro. With Meall a' Bhùiridh and Criese in our scopes, the three of us had a just over 7 hour window before the bus back to do a 5-7 hour walk. We began down the driveway for the Ski Centre and started up the slope alongside the ski lift. While wind levels were low, the sun was quick to wear at us a bit, especially on the first ascent when our legs had not adjusted.

The Meall a' Bhùiridh summit

Views towards the Mamores and Nevis range (Ben Nevis in the centre of it)

The Schiehallion

We reached the plateau at 13:44 and had lunch, setting off towards the ridge shortly afterwards. Gregor, feeling worn by tiredness and heat, chose to fall back halfway up the ridge, intent on either turning back or making a slower summit of only Meall a' Bhùiridh. Nevertheless, me and Sam continued up the increasingly rocky slope to the munro's summit, which we reached at 14:45. Views extended over to the Crianlarich and Dalmally hills, the Lawers range and the Schiehallion, the Ben Alder hills and the Mamores, the Nevis range and beyond. Patches of snow remnants could also be seen on the side of both of today's munros. Clouds were also periodically obscuring the sun, though that relief was exchanged for many midges.

The ridge to Criese

Snow on the side of Criese

Nearing the Criese summit

The Criese summit

Luckily for us, Gregor had somewhat recovered and caught up with us ten minutes later, choosing to continue with us to Criese again after getting a look at the ridge towards it. We set off down the ridge after another ten minutes, breaking into a partial scramble at points going down the rocks. The reascent almost made Gregor pull out again, but we all ultimately made it up to the main Criese ridge at 15:46 (time coordination going well) after a short scramble. After another short stretch, the three of us made it to the Criese summit at 15:59.

A cool bridge

Back down the ski lift slope

Waiting for the Citylink

Having made our two summits as planned, the three of us made our way back down from Criese and across the ridge back to Meall a' Bhùiridh. Going back down the ridge, we made it to the top of the initial ski lift around 17:45, where we ate at the picknick tables by the toilets. Making a final push down the first slope, we got to the Ski Centre cafe at roughly 18:30 and ended our walk with a pint and a view of Buachaille Etive Mòr, a nice celebration as Sam and Gregor had done their first two munros. Replenished, we returned to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Glasgow.