We left the car park and decided to tackle these hills clockwise meaning we did Stob Ban first as we had read that the bottom of Mullach nan Coirean could be quite boggy (which it was).
We enjoyed a nice steady climb up the obvious path towards the Coire a' Mhusgain where the impending views of Stob Ban really opened up.
- Headed up towards the Coire a' Mhusgain
- Stob Ban, our first destination
- Great views....looking over towards Starav and Cruachan
- Me with the Ben in the background (I wish the weather was as nice when I did the Ben!)
The hills were quite busy and we saw a few fellow walkers throughout our day. One such fellow walker passed us on our way up as we stopped to take in the views (ok stopped to catch our breath!). We met this same walker on the summit of Stob Ban whereby he had told us that this was his 250th summit of Stob Ban. He was local retired history teacher Iain Thomson who had climbed many of the local hills with his collies.
Iain collates his own personal diary containing pictures and names of groups he meets on the hills and has a unique way of remembering names....he uses acronyms! When talking to us, he asked our names.....Andy, Stuart, Donny, Alan....ASDA was the way he would remember our group.
- Views over towards Mullach nan Coirenan
- Iain was kind enough to take our picture at the cairn on Stob Ban - ASDA!
- And just to prove Iain was there......
- Grand view of the Ben (if you look close enough you can see the RAF helicopter either on a rescue or training mission
- Ben Nevis, Carn Mor Dearg and the Aonachs
We met Iain again on the summit of Mullach nan Coirenan before losing him on the descent back to the car park.
- Walking the ridge over to Mullach nan Coirenan
- Views into the Coire
- Alan enjoying a breather....the harder bit is getting back down!
- At the summit of Mullach nan Coirenan
- Views back towards Stob Ban
Great day out and some spectacular panoramic views with the Ben directly across the glen and Ben Starav and Ben Cruachan away in the distance.
- Great views + great weather for March...cannae whack it!
- Me and Andy at the cairn
- Chopper out on Nevis again
Couple of points which may help other walkers who have not completed these hills, when coming off Stob Ban, keep north (high ground) and look for a cairn before starting to descend. The path is not obvious until you lose some height. On a clear day you can easily see the path but on a typical Scottish day it may prove harder to find!
Also, when coming off Mullach nan Coirean, ahain follow the obvious path down keeping the LHS of the deer fence. You will eventually come out in the forest (after the style) and turn left and follow the road until you see the cairn which takes you back to the main road and back to the car.
- On the way down we saw a Hercules C-130 (I think!)
- and again....just missed a great shot!
