Pap of Glencoe
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 7:47 pmThe picture below was taken on the evening of Saturday, 19th March, just a few hours after Karl and myself had arrived in Kinlochleven, where we were staying for a few days. Clearly, the Pap is a hill that demands to be climbed! 
Next day we did the Ring of Steall (see TR). Monday was a rain-sodden and blustery write-off, which consigned us to the gear shops and cafes of Fort William. Tuesday promised to be slightly better but still not good; suitable, perhaps, for a shorter walk. So, not very early on Tuesday morning we checked out the skies. A ceiling of grey cloud was down over anything approaching Munro height, but the wind had dropped and we noticed that the Pap was clear. It was the obvious choice. Short drive, short walk, hopefully some views and, icing on the cake, a Graham tick. Great!
When we got to the parking spot at the start the clag was down on the Pap. Oh well
We decided to go up the direct path and down via the usual col route.
Luckily the clag had lifted off again.
Somehow this 'direct' path seemed to be taking us too far towards the col; maybe we'd taken a right branch instead of a left one somewhere So we just struck off left and picked our own way up through the heather and outcrops. The rock, being damp and lichenous, was quite slippery in places.
It was interesting finding the line of least resistance, winding between the craggy bits. If anything, the weather seemed to be improving. The summit was clear when we reached it and the views were superb
We took the path down to the col, which turned out to be more of a scramble than the way we came up!
The weather had been better than expected, and the forecast for Wednesday was promising. So we were optimistic about the possibility of doing another Munro or three before going home.
The Pap had been well worth doing - so much better than another day in Fort Bill!
- Pap of Glencoe from the grounds of the hotel in Kinlochleven
Next day we did the Ring of Steall (see TR). Monday was a rain-sodden and blustery write-off, which consigned us to the gear shops and cafes of Fort William. Tuesday promised to be slightly better but still not good; suitable, perhaps, for a shorter walk. So, not very early on Tuesday morning we checked out the skies. A ceiling of grey cloud was down over anything approaching Munro height, but the wind had dropped and we noticed that the Pap was clear. It was the obvious choice. Short drive, short walk, hopefully some views and, icing on the cake, a Graham tick. Great!
When we got to the parking spot at the start the clag was down on the Pap. Oh well
We decided to go up the direct path and down via the usual col route.- Across Glencoe to Fionn Ghleann
- Classic view out to Loch Linnhe from lower slopes of the Pap, with Beinn a' Bheithir (pronounced 'Byn Vair') on left,
Luckily the clag had lifted off again.
- A foreshortened view up the Pap from somewhere not on a path
Somehow this 'direct' path seemed to be taking us too far towards the col; maybe we'd taken a right branch instead of a left one somewhere
So we just struck off left and picked our own way up through the heather and outcrops. The rock, being damp and lichenous, was quite slippery in places.- Across Glencoe to the big boys
It was interesting finding the line of least resistance, winding between the craggy bits. If anything, the weather seemed to be improving. The summit was clear when we reached it and the views were superb
- View from the summit, looking out to Loch Linnhe
- Looking up Loch Leven
- Loch Leven and Garbh Bheinn
We took the path down to the col, which turned out to be more of a scramble than the way we came up!
- Towards Bidean again
The weather had been better than expected, and the forecast for Wednesday was promising. So we were optimistic about the possibility of doing another Munro or three before going home.
The Pap had been well worth doing - so much better than another day in Fort Bill! 
