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Sunshine in the forecast for the first half of the day in Glencoe, so the Pap was finally on the cards. The weather didn't quite turn out to be as good as hoped, but at least the cloud was off the summits. The path starts off fine but quickly becomes quite unpleasant - loose and eroded, with some boggy and poorly drained sections.
Good views across the glen throughout...
...but the highlight has to be the exceptional views down to Loch Leven, for the whole walk.
A rare shaft of sunlight behind Bidean nam Bian:
Beinn a' Bheithir got the best of the weather this morning:
Further up the ground was a bit drier, and the gradient eased as we approached the bealach between the Pap and the Aonach Eagach. View ahead to the Pap:
Stags were having a party on all the surrounding hills, making an almighty racket. A few deer were quite close by on Cnap Glas to the right:
The last section to the summit was rockier and steeper - and increasingly windy. Aonach Eagach from the final climb:
Garbh Beinn, upper Loch Leven and finally the rest of the Mamores began to peek out to the north-east:
Views over Ballachulish and lower Loch Leven from the top:
The panorama was enjoyable but the wind wasn't - and rain was forecast for the afternoon - so we soon headed back down. Perhaps one to put back on the list for a warm, sunny day...
