Stob Ban & Mullach nan Coirean
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 1:12 pm
We arrived at Ballachulish at 10.30pm on Friday night and met up with our friends who were coming with us for the hike the next day, we had our hearts set on doing the Ring of Steall day but weather reports in the few days leading up to it had been rather rubbish to say the least - a 20% chance of cloud free munro's and likely to be rain for a significant portion of the day. Determined to give it a bash we got to bed and planned to get up early to go up to Glen Nevis and go for it.
Alarm went off at 6am and we struggled downstairs for breakfast in the hotel, to fuel ourselves up for the day ahead. We set off to drive up to Glen Nevis soon afterwards and the weather was already not looking too good with quite low cloud cover.
IMG_5843 by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Arriving in Glen Nevis, we parked up at the top car park, got our boots and packs on and headed off along the trail towards the infamous wire bridge and the Steall falls. On the way up the trail it was obvious that the Water of Nevis was seemingly in spate conditions, fast flowing and turbulent, no doubt because of the significant rain fall and snow melt from the last few days - we wondered if we would even be able to cross the water at the Steall falls. We arrived at the wire bridge and two in our group crossed to go and assess the situation at the Steall falls. My wife and I were both less sure about crossing the wire bridge, particularly as she had an injured ankle and we searched around for an alternative way to get over the water. Of course, given the depth and speed of the river, even in the parts where it flattened out it still would have been a dangerous crossing. Ultimately a decision was made for us to all return next year in the summer to give it a bash under better and safer conditions.
So we went to our alternative plan and returned back down to the car park and drove down to Achriabhach where we set off to walk Stob Ban and Mullach nan Coirean instead.
Coire a' Mhusgain by Tim Allen, on Flickr
A little dismayed at having to drop our original plan we set off up the path up toward Coire a' Mhusgain, all the while telling ourselves that it was for the best, as the forecast hadn't been good and visibility was likely to be poor up high we thought it best that saving RoS for a cracking day would be the best option anyway. Soon we began to rise higher past the Allt Coire a' Mhusgain and the stunning cliffs of the east face of Stob Ban came into view, it seemed like a reward for us and it reminded me to remain positive and appreciate every mountain day for it's own unique characteristics.
Cliffs of Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Looking back down Coire a' Mhusgain by Tim Allen, on Flickr
The weather was good and bad, the cloud seemed to be lifting from the tops but the rain was also coming and going with some ferocity and we soon realised our waterproofs were not performing very well at all. After a brief lunch stop, brief because of the wet and cold chill factor, we donned some extra clothing and pressed on higher up toward the bealach.
Stob Ban & Ring of Steall Panorama by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Stob Ban & Ring of Steall Panorama 2 by Tim Allen, on Flickr
We topped out onto the bealach between Sgurr an Lubhair and Stop Ban around 1pm and were greeted with some fantastic views all around as miraculously some extremely rare sunshine burst through the clouds and began to illuminate the final munros of the Ring of Steall, as well as shining on down onto Fort William below. Thankfully the forecast had improved from what was expected (cloud base around 750-900) and we had been fortunate to have the clouds lift right up to around 1000 to allow us some clear vision to appreciate the views and pick our route clearly along the ridge up to the summit.
Looking South from The Mamores by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Great Mountain Days with Friends by Tim Allen, on Flickr
The walk up to Stob Ban was delightful with views opening up all around to show us parts of Glencoe and out to sea but as we began to approach the top, the clouds dropped back down a little to restrict our view. We stopped for 5 minutes on top to snap what we could in the way of pictures before cracking on down the north ridge and following the path along the top of Coire Dearg toward Mullach nan Coirean.
Sgurr a' Mhaim from Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Bealach between Stob Ban & Sgurr a' Lubhair by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Summit of Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Boulder Fields by Tim Allen, on Flickr
North Ridge of Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Mullach nan Coirean from Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Stob Ban North Ridge by Tim Allen, on Flickr
The Devils Ridge from Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
My wife had suffered a bad sprained ankle a few months ago and had torn her ligaments so picking our way down the boulder fields from the top was a bit of a challenge for her but she managed it fine and we soon got down to the main path and made our way to the top of Mullach nan Coirean. The top was finally reached in the clouds and we didn't hang around as it was getting cold and we wanted to get down ASAP.
A view down to Glen Nevis by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Autumn Sun by Tim Allen, on Flickr
The descent path along the NE ridge toward Sron Riabhach was good until we reached some extremely boggy sections further down closer to the forest. As we got into the trees we needed to put on head torches to see our way but that was OK, we were very nearly at the end at that point.
Head Torch Friends by Tim Allen, on Flickr
We made it back to the car around 5pm and changed into some clean, dry clothes before heading to Fort William to grab a bite to eat. It had turned out to be a tiring day but we were very much rewarded with some fantastic visibility and even a spot of sunshine which was completely unexpected. Every mountain day turns out to be an adventure. We will return to do The Ring in better weather next year!
Alarm went off at 6am and we struggled downstairs for breakfast in the hotel, to fuel ourselves up for the day ahead. We set off to drive up to Glen Nevis soon afterwards and the weather was already not looking too good with quite low cloud cover.
IMG_5843 by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Arriving in Glen Nevis, we parked up at the top car park, got our boots and packs on and headed off along the trail towards the infamous wire bridge and the Steall falls. On the way up the trail it was obvious that the Water of Nevis was seemingly in spate conditions, fast flowing and turbulent, no doubt because of the significant rain fall and snow melt from the last few days - we wondered if we would even be able to cross the water at the Steall falls. We arrived at the wire bridge and two in our group crossed to go and assess the situation at the Steall falls. My wife and I were both less sure about crossing the wire bridge, particularly as she had an injured ankle and we searched around for an alternative way to get over the water. Of course, given the depth and speed of the river, even in the parts where it flattened out it still would have been a dangerous crossing. Ultimately a decision was made for us to all return next year in the summer to give it a bash under better and safer conditions.
So we went to our alternative plan and returned back down to the car park and drove down to Achriabhach where we set off to walk Stob Ban and Mullach nan Coirean instead.
Coire a' Mhusgain by Tim Allen, on Flickr
A little dismayed at having to drop our original plan we set off up the path up toward Coire a' Mhusgain, all the while telling ourselves that it was for the best, as the forecast hadn't been good and visibility was likely to be poor up high we thought it best that saving RoS for a cracking day would be the best option anyway. Soon we began to rise higher past the Allt Coire a' Mhusgain and the stunning cliffs of the east face of Stob Ban came into view, it seemed like a reward for us and it reminded me to remain positive and appreciate every mountain day for it's own unique characteristics.
Cliffs of Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Looking back down Coire a' Mhusgain by Tim Allen, on Flickr
The weather was good and bad, the cloud seemed to be lifting from the tops but the rain was also coming and going with some ferocity and we soon realised our waterproofs were not performing very well at all. After a brief lunch stop, brief because of the wet and cold chill factor, we donned some extra clothing and pressed on higher up toward the bealach.
Stob Ban & Ring of Steall Panorama by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Stob Ban & Ring of Steall Panorama 2 by Tim Allen, on Flickr
We topped out onto the bealach between Sgurr an Lubhair and Stop Ban around 1pm and were greeted with some fantastic views all around as miraculously some extremely rare sunshine burst through the clouds and began to illuminate the final munros of the Ring of Steall, as well as shining on down onto Fort William below. Thankfully the forecast had improved from what was expected (cloud base around 750-900) and we had been fortunate to have the clouds lift right up to around 1000 to allow us some clear vision to appreciate the views and pick our route clearly along the ridge up to the summit.
Looking South from The Mamores by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Great Mountain Days with Friends by Tim Allen, on Flickr
The walk up to Stob Ban was delightful with views opening up all around to show us parts of Glencoe and out to sea but as we began to approach the top, the clouds dropped back down a little to restrict our view. We stopped for 5 minutes on top to snap what we could in the way of pictures before cracking on down the north ridge and following the path along the top of Coire Dearg toward Mullach nan Coirean.
Sgurr a' Mhaim from Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Bealach between Stob Ban & Sgurr a' Lubhair by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Summit of Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Boulder Fields by Tim Allen, on Flickr
North Ridge of Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Mullach nan Coirean from Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Stob Ban North Ridge by Tim Allen, on Flickr
The Devils Ridge from Stob Ban by Tim Allen, on Flickr
My wife had suffered a bad sprained ankle a few months ago and had torn her ligaments so picking our way down the boulder fields from the top was a bit of a challenge for her but she managed it fine and we soon got down to the main path and made our way to the top of Mullach nan Coirean. The top was finally reached in the clouds and we didn't hang around as it was getting cold and we wanted to get down ASAP.
A view down to Glen Nevis by Tim Allen, on Flickr
Autumn Sun by Tim Allen, on Flickr
The descent path along the NE ridge toward Sron Riabhach was good until we reached some extremely boggy sections further down closer to the forest. As we got into the trees we needed to put on head torches to see our way but that was OK, we were very nearly at the end at that point.
Head Torch Friends by Tim Allen, on Flickr
We made it back to the car around 5pm and changed into some clean, dry clothes before heading to Fort William to grab a bite to eat. It had turned out to be a tiring day but we were very much rewarded with some fantastic visibility and even a spot of sunshine which was completely unexpected. Every mountain day turns out to be an adventure. We will return to do The Ring in better weather next year!