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Been reading Scrambles in Lochaber & decided to give Lagangarbh Buttress a go, it's the same grade as Curved Ridge so I thought it should be OK.
Was the first car in the layby although a couple of walkers appeared soon after, they were heading up the corrie so we split up at the fork in the track. It was just before 8:30 and there was low cloud/fog which meant the rock hadn't had a chance to dry out. Lagangarbh Buttress:
Since the rock was a wee bit damp I decided the best course of action would be to bottle it & do Curved Ridge instead
North Buttress with skyline boulders:
Curved Ridge/Rannoch Wall:
Met the other walkers at the top, fog/cloud was clearing now & I headed back down the corrie path. Went back for another look at Lagangarbh. Off the path & into the grass/heather first, then slabs, then made it across to the bottom right where there's a shallow gully going up to the left.
The way the rock lies, it's easier to climb up to the left then find a ledge and cut straight across to the right. Tried following the book but it's not always obvious where the 'heathery ledges' leading right are so I probably veered off course a few times, but it's not a problem. Shallow gully:
At one point I reached a tricky bit and realised I'd have to go back and try another way. Both feet choose this moment to start gradually slipping out of their holds so I looked down to see what was happening & realised there was quite a drop below. Other than that, everything was fine
. There's actually good grip on the rock, fortunately.
Down to the starting point:
Higher up there's a 'dripping wall' which can be bypassed to the right:
Higher summit wall is behind it:
Again, went to the right of it where there's a stepped corner:
After the corner, there's a short scramble to the top of the buttress:
Then it's a walk round to the summit on grass, scree and rocks.
Guy with an aerial transmitting from Stob Dearg:
Wasn't planning on doing the other Munro, but it was still earlyish so headed round. Back to Stob Dearg:
Stob na Broige and the descent path zig-zagging down: