Meall Greigh, Meall Garbh & An Stuc

[Dunfie]

You wait ages for a good Saturday and then two come along at once. Last week we tackled Buachille Etive Mor in perfect conditions so we weren't expecting another day that was quite as good as yesterday.

We were on our way for 8:30am from Ben Lawers Hotel and walked down towards the horn carvers house to pick up the path.



It is a pleasant enough walk up the path through the woods until you get to the open hillside. We were tackling this walk anti clockwise but managed to miss the right hand split in the path and ended up down at the wee bridge which leads to Lochan nan Cat. However as the day was so clear we were able to just alter course and head up around Sron Mhor to Meall Greigh. It is a bit of a slog up the hill but the views across the corrie to the Ben Lawers and An Stuc open up so its not all bad.

Lawers and An Stuc


An Stuc


The long hard pull up the hillside is fuly rewarded with amazing views across to the Glen Lyon Horseshoe and Schiehallion.

West Side of Glen Lyon Horseshoe


East Side of Glen Lyon Horseshoe and Schiehallion


Cameron on Meall Greigh with Ben Lawers and An Stuc in the background


The path is better between Meall Greigh and Meall Garbh with a fairly steep section up beside an old fence. We got to the top and took the cairn photo when a walker with a golden lab came up from the other direction. It was one of those "I know his face" type moments you often get and then it dawned on both of us. We had walked the WHW on the same schedule last month and had walked sections on the last couple of days together. It was such a pleasant surprise to have a blether at the cairn for a few minutes before we headed off on opposite directions. I still have no idea how he managed to get the labrador down An Stuc!

Cameron on Meall Garbh with An Stuc in background


The walk down Meall Garbh is fairly steep so car needs to be taken - especially when you have an eye on An Stuc and trying to work out the best route up. In the end it wasn't too bad although we did manage to get to one dead end (it might have been okay if it hadn't been icy) so we dropped a few meters and took another route. It was good fun and certainly got a bit of adrenalin pumping.

Cameron in An Stuc


Ben Lawers and Beinn Ghlas from An Stuc


On the summit of An Stuc we bumped into a chap who we met last week on Buachille Etive Mor. I thought the highlands were supposed to be a vast wilderness - not for us yesterday as we kept recognising people.

That was our three tops for the day so we dropped down between An Stuc and Ben Lawers to the Lochan nan Cat. Again there didn't seem to be a very clear path down the grassy hillside so we employed a posterior sliding technique to get us down the steeper parts a bit quicker.

Lochan nan Cat


An Stuc across Lochan nan Cat


It was just a case of walking along the edge of the loch and then down the side of the burn until drop down into the gorge and past some schielings and then retracing steps to the Ben Lawers Hotel. It was good to get to the hotel for some refreshments before travelling back home.

A very still Loch Tay

[Ranger]

Always interested in these accounts of the east face of An Stuc, chickened out and did it from its west ridge but think i'll need to check it out on a return visit - The eiger north face of the Southern Highlands?

[canofirnbru]

Done this one in September last year and the walk out past Lochan nan Cat was horribly boggy and seemed to go on for ever!

[Dunfie]

Always interested in these accounts of the east face of An Stuc, chickened out and did it from its west ridge but think i'll need to check it out on a return visit - The eiger north face of the Southern Highlands?

I can imagine it being a bit treacherous in a wet and windy day but as long as you take your time and keep to the left then it isn't too bad.

Done this one in September last year and the walk out past Lochan nan Cat was horribly boggy and seemed to go on for ever!

It was a bit boggy and my boots did sink in a couple of times. It has been relatively dry lately so I'm sure it gets a lot worse at times. The views back up the valley were really nice.

[skuk007]

Nice photos Dunfie, am hoping to do these in July, also hoping I get the clear views you did.