Buachaille Etive Mor in Glorious Sunshine
Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 6:42 pm
Note - resizing and compressing the pictures for WH has caused a loss of some colour and contrast. They look far better on flicker - Here
Having first experienced walking in Glencoe the previous week with the two Munros on Buachaille Etive Beag we decided to head back as soon as possible. The weather forecast being at least passable according to MWIS we opted for Buachaille Etive Mor. The weather on arrival was far better than predicted, the cloud base was well clear of the tops, due to there being no cloud at all!
The route for the walk follows the standard walkers route to the summit, though I fully intend to come back and explore the cliffs and ridges Stob Dearg.
The route starts out by crossing the river on a footbridge and passing what must be the most photographed cottage in Scotland. From here is follows the burn up and into the coire. There are many paths that can be chosen that stick to either the left side of the burn or in the gorge itself. The pools and little waterfalls looked very attractive indeed in the strong sunshine and soon any clothing that could be lost was packed away, not to come back out again.
Once in the coire height is gained rapidly and the views behind you begin to open out. Soon the last patches of snow clinging to the Mamores and Ben Nevis could be seen.
The gully at the headwall of the coire was filled with very soft and wet snow, not wanting to soak ourselves trudging through it we tracked slightly left over bare ground and onto the bealach.
From the Bealach the Climb up Stob Dearg is fairly quick and easy and there are fantastic views over the rest of the ridge and over to glencoe.
At the top of the climb up Stob Dearg the ridge narrows slightly and carries on for a few hundred yards to the summit. From here you can see the whole ridge with both tops and the (very distant looking) munro at the far end. This was also the point where we met a pair of mountain bikers. The thought of bouncing your tyre off a rock and falling down onto Rannoch moor in more than enough to keep my cycling to ground level.
Once you reach the summit the views open out in all directions. Across the vast flatness of Rannoch moor Schiehallion and the Lawers group can be seen. The Aonach Eagach and Bidean loom over glencoe. Creish and Meall a' Bhuiridh are seen un-scared by the ski tows and runs that dot it's slopes.
After returning to the bealach the ridge widens and is dotted with small pools and a few small lochans.
The ridge starts to narrow very slightly as it climbs up Stob na Doire and the climb is fairly steep if very short lived. This top gives fantastic views both back to Stob Dearg and on to the rest of the ridge.
The drop down from Stob na Doire is rocky and the path is loose in places. The second top is very quickly ascended.
It is only a short and fairly level walk to the Second munro that stands proud over Glen Etive.
The descent through coire Altruim is steep and in places slabby. It may or may not require the use of hands in places depending on the weather and how confident you are in the grip of your boots. After what feels like an age of going down steep path the river in the Lairig Gartain is reached and crossed. This was very easy and I suspect would be easy in all but the wettest of conditions. The path on the other side is very well built and certainly eases the 2km walk out.
After the walk out along the Lairig Gartain comes the most dangerous and death defying part of the entire walk, dodging tourists driving at 120mph along the A82. If you survive this then you'll probably find a last picture of Stob Dearg as hard to resist as I did.
Having first experienced walking in Glencoe the previous week with the two Munros on Buachaille Etive Beag we decided to head back as soon as possible. The weather forecast being at least passable according to MWIS we opted for Buachaille Etive Mor. The weather on arrival was far better than predicted, the cloud base was well clear of the tops, due to there being no cloud at all!
The route for the walk follows the standard walkers route to the summit, though I fully intend to come back and explore the cliffs and ridges Stob Dearg.
The route starts out by crossing the river on a footbridge and passing what must be the most photographed cottage in Scotland. From here is follows the burn up and into the coire. There are many paths that can be chosen that stick to either the left side of the burn or in the gorge itself. The pools and little waterfalls looked very attractive indeed in the strong sunshine and soon any clothing that could be lost was packed away, not to come back out again.
Once in the coire height is gained rapidly and the views behind you begin to open out. Soon the last patches of snow clinging to the Mamores and Ben Nevis could be seen.
The gully at the headwall of the coire was filled with very soft and wet snow, not wanting to soak ourselves trudging through it we tracked slightly left over bare ground and onto the bealach.
From the Bealach the Climb up Stob Dearg is fairly quick and easy and there are fantastic views over the rest of the ridge and over to glencoe.
At the top of the climb up Stob Dearg the ridge narrows slightly and carries on for a few hundred yards to the summit. From here you can see the whole ridge with both tops and the (very distant looking) munro at the far end. This was also the point where we met a pair of mountain bikers. The thought of bouncing your tyre off a rock and falling down onto Rannoch moor in more than enough to keep my cycling to ground level.
Once you reach the summit the views open out in all directions. Across the vast flatness of Rannoch moor Schiehallion and the Lawers group can be seen. The Aonach Eagach and Bidean loom over glencoe. Creish and Meall a' Bhuiridh are seen un-scared by the ski tows and runs that dot it's slopes.
After returning to the bealach the ridge widens and is dotted with small pools and a few small lochans.
The ridge starts to narrow very slightly as it climbs up Stob na Doire and the climb is fairly steep if very short lived. This top gives fantastic views both back to Stob Dearg and on to the rest of the ridge.
The drop down from Stob na Doire is rocky and the path is loose in places. The second top is very quickly ascended.
It is only a short and fairly level walk to the Second munro that stands proud over Glen Etive.
The descent through coire Altruim is steep and in places slabby. It may or may not require the use of hands in places depending on the weather and how confident you are in the grip of your boots. After what feels like an age of going down steep path the river in the Lairig Gartain is reached and crossed. This was very easy and I suspect would be easy in all but the wettest of conditions. The path on the other side is very well built and certainly eases the 2km walk out.
After the walk out along the Lairig Gartain comes the most dangerous and death defying part of the entire walk, dodging tourists driving at 120mph along the A82. If you survive this then you'll probably find a last picture of Stob Dearg as hard to resist as I did.