“Bummer”
“Wanna just go now?”
“Sure”
And so it seemed that David was crazy (or stupid) enough to go along with one of my mental plans

We arrived at just before 1 and booted up quickly (the wee beasties were out


We headed off down the path, a wee bit of slipping and sliding as we got used to walking in torch light. Meeting the track we turned right before finding the path down towards the bridge. There was no wind so we had to keep walking in order to keep the midgies at bay

It was a good path as we headed upwards. I was trying to take it easy to not aggravate my ribs but it was so difficult to walk slower than my usual pace when I was concentrating on other things

Despite being the middle of the night it was incredibly warm and muggy and I was not regretting wearing my shorts. We negotiated the awkward sloping slab crossed over the river (interesting in the dark

As we reached Coire nan Lochan the skies were starting to become light enough to think about photography….David was very patient as I attempted to keep my camera still enough to get some pictures….
Stob Coire nan Lochan

We had looked at the wee snow gully on Stob Coire nan Lochan and I’d thought it might be a possible route up (it wasn’t really a serious suggestion

I hadn’t but we heard what I initially thought was an animal running across snow, falling through ice and then….fireworks…..



The moon popped out from behind the clouds just before it dipped behind Stob Coire nan Lochan (cue more camera stops


We finally made the ridge (and found the path


Ben Nevis

Now on the ridge were enjoying a bit of hands on and the sheer size of some of the rocks! And also some of the drops


The ridge was a joy and we reached the top of Stob Coire nan Lochan without incident. Bidean itself looked unassailable from here


We followed the path down towards the bealach where we found some snow to walk across….

The moon just hanging over the ridge

Looking ahead to Stob Coire Sgreamhach

Early morning light over the Glencoe hills

Looking back to Stob Coire nan Lochan

We were both dripping with sweat as we headed up the final ascent to Bidean. It was a lot easier without the snow


We were nearly there but this view back the way was awesome….

And we were at the top!! It was such a fantastic feeling to be there, pre-dawn and to have the whole mountain to ourselves




The moon over Loch Etive

Loch Etive, Beinn Trilleachean, Beinn Fhionnlaidh, Sgorr na h-Ulaidh & Beinn Maol Challuim

The continuation of the ridge and Beinn a’ Bheithir behind

Our route ahead

The Glencoe hills


I voiced my conundrum – it was just after 4; do I eat my sandwiches or something more breakfast? I settled for my flask of tea and a fruit bar

Then…against all the odds, David noticed a wee bit of light in the sky






Ben Nevis



With the sun up, the haze lifted a little and the views down Loch Etive improved so that we could start to see Ben Starav and Ben Cruachan



Ben Cruachan

Ben Nevis behind Stob Coire nan Lochan

Ahead

We figured we may as well get going, so headed off down the ridge….

Beinn Maol Challuim

Some awesome light over the Bookles


Looking back up towards Bidean

Ahead to Sgreamhach

Approaching the Hidden Valley entry we could see snow blocking the route, but could see a possible way down to the right.

Stob Coire nan Lochan from the bealach Dearg

Starting up Sgreamhach the amazing light had got even better!

Looking down the Hidden Valley


Sunlight hitting Beinn Maol Challuim with Loch Etive and Ben Starav behind

The sun reaches the Hidden Valley

The twin…err.. peaks of Bidean nam Bian and Stob Coire nan Lochan


It was an easy climb to the top of Stob Coire Sgreamhach and the views down the ridge of Beinn Fhada looked awesome with the sun hitting the Blackwater Reservoir

Ben Nevis and the Mamores

Wee Bookle, Big Bookle and Creise & Co

The light hitting Beinn Mhic Chasgaig


Looking down the Beinn Fhada ridge


The Aonach Eagach

Loch Etive


Panorama time


The light hitting Creach Bheinn near Beinn Sgulaird

Glen Etive much clearer now

The Mamores

Ben Cruachan

Ben Starav

Sgorr na h-Ulaidh

We waited around for ages but eventually figured we ought to get going….Looking back to Bidean

Time for a photo before we headed down…

It was very steep, the small rocks were loose and the larger ones slippery. It was clear how much concentration was required as we were both virtually silent, other than the odd “Whoooaaahhhh”

Once down the worst bit we were onto a vague path which was still tricky to walk on so I suggested making for the snow patch to get us down the steep bit.

The top section was quite icy and required a lot of concentration, but the rest was lots of slippery fun


From there it was a lot better underfoot and we soon picked up an actual path which we couldn’t find until we stepped onto it


Looking back up


Now on the path it was easy walking but it was even warmer now



In fact it was so warm that David had to stop and turn his trousers into shorts


It was a relief when we hit the shade!

As we crossed the base of the Hidden Valley we could see a tent pitched near the big rocks. It was shortly after 7, so we joked about going to wake them up although the amount of noise the birds were making was probably doing the job better than we could


That’s some ridge


There was a wee bit of ascent to take us out of the valley (our legs were definitely feeling it


Once out of the jungle we were back into the sun




We made our way over the bridge and up the metal ladder (the sheep rustlers were way ahead of their time

Gearr Aonach & Aonach Dubh looked impressive

Looking down Glencoe

What a mountain


Taking the boots off felt amazing, as did a change of t-shirt. We watched a lot of folk set off up hills - it was 8.15am




