Stob Ghabhar & Stob a'Choire Odhair

[clivew]

There is a God after all..... after the crap weather in Edinburgh on Thursday and Friday I wasn't expecting to be able to get out far on Saturday but the Mountain Weather forecast said differently and promised good weather around the Bridge of Orchy area. So after a 6.00am start from Edinburgh that's where I headed, once again the forecasters came up trumps and were spot on with the forecast. Stopped off at the cafe next to the Green Welly for a coffee and bacon roll, it's always a good start to a days walking after an early start from home.
Followed the minor road over the bridge at the Bridge of Orchy hotel and towards Victoria Lodge, parked the car up and got booted up only to realise I had stopped driving a little too early and was actually parked by the Inveroran Hotel, I couldn't be bothered to drive on to the Victoria Bridge car park so started walking from here instead.
The last time I was on this road was this time of year 5 years ago when I did the West Highland Way, it bought back happy memories of walking the West Highland Way with my 4 brothers and our night at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel.
I crossed Victoria Bridge and turned left by the Lodge House to follow the track alongside the Abhainn Shira; the sun was shining and it was great to be out in the hills, spotted a few deer crossing the river ahead of me.

The view from Victoria Bridge looking along the Abhainn Shira

Deer crossing the river

The track leads directly to the old green hut at Clashgour and the turn off towards Stob a'Choire Odhair is directly adjacent to the hut. The path from here is great, a nice steady incline just enough to get the legs and lungs working before the steeper climb ahead.

The old green hut

The path alongside the Allt Toaig

As I climbed towards the start of the first steep section leading to Stob a'Choire Odhair I could see a group of 3 walkers ahead of me on the zig zags; I later met up with them on the summit. It's a good steady climb from here nothing too difficult and again a very easy path to follow which takes you directly to the top although there is a section of boulders just below the summit.
Reached the first summit in a little under 2 hours and stopped for coffee and a sandwich and a chat with the three walkers I had spotted earlier on; they had been on holiday for the past week and generally with one or two exceptions hadn't been bothered by the weather.
The views from the summit were great particularly looking across to my next Munro Stob Ghabhar; it was easy to pick out my route it was so clear.

Stob Ghabhar from Stob a'Choire Odhair

View from the summit looking West

Loch Tulla

The imposing Mountains to the North of Stob Ghabhar

The three people I met on the summit were heading back down which left me to head towards Stob Ghabhar on my own. The route down to the bealach along the west ridge was easy enough to follow and in the distance you can just about pick out the path heading up toward the ridge of Aonach Eagach.
You start off heading towards Coirein Lochain on a very good path as you reach the Lochain the path turns left and starts to climb very steeply towards the ridge.

The Coirein Lochaine from the start of the climb to the ridge of Aonach Eaggach

The summit of Stob Ghaabhar from part way up to the ridge

Although this part of the climb is very steep the path for the lower two thirds is very easy to follow and fairly firm under foot, its only when you get to the top section it becomes very loose under foot and you have to choose your route with care. It was made a little more difficult by the amount of snow around. The view back down to the Lochain was fantastic and I stopped for a while part way up to take it all in.

The start of the ridge to the summit of Stob Ghabhar

The walk along the ridge was fairly straightforward and the path is easy to follow even in snow; when I reached the final climb to the summit I left my pack tethered to a fence post and climbed on to the top this was simple as you follow the fence posts directly to the summit. It was great from here with fantastic views in every direction, well worth the effort.

The summit of Stob Ghabhar

View from the summit

The view back along the ridge

From the summit the route is very easy to follow all you need to do is follow the fence posts and they lead you all the way to the track above the green hut, the final part of the descent is alongside the waterfall which is a bit slippery in places but apart from that an easy descent

Looking back to Stob a'Choire Odhair from the summit of Stob Ghabhar with Rannoch Moor in the background

The line of fence posts along the Stob Maol Ridge

I returned to the car exactly 6 hours after I had started after another very enjoyable days walking; I had to stop off at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel for a swift pint before heading home, I think I deserved it.

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