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Forecast was for mist & fog till noon, but Glen Coe webcam showed it was clear at ground level but low cloud higher up. Was first to the parking spot around 9am, had a look at the ridge up Starav:
Down, over the bridge and got to the gate. Hill path sign posted up the side of fence:
Took direct route rather than follow river, then crossed burn:
I had done the descent route before, going up Albannaich:
Path continues up towards ridge:
As forecast, cloudy at top:
Looking up River Etive towards Glen Coe:
Nice ridge walk leading into cloud - visibility was actually OKish further up:
Getting craggy, bit of scrambling on boulders. I tripped & skinned a finger but bravely soldiered on
Trig point & cairn at the top of Starav. Met a guy here who had been camping down at the river, he was thinking of doing the 5 but fortunately I'd already done the other 2 so could have an 'easy' day.
Followed path on to south summit and Stob Coire Dheirg, scrambled over rocks on the arete but there's a path to the right too:
Optional extra: Beinn nan Aighenan. Looks easy from here!
Weather clearing now, this is probably where I started to get sunburnt
Down to the col, there's a cairn marking the start of 2 paths to Beinn nan Aighenan. I went the lower route:
Then more easy descent. There had been a lot of easy walking to here from the summit of Starav so it's a bit of a shock to start ascending again. Looks steep but there's a clear path with a wee bit of scrambling. Had been passed by a couple of guys at this point so they offered encouragement as they descended
Great views from the top. At this point I realised that beer, fags & kebabs isn't ideal training for hills
Starav clear of cloud now, and the route to Glas Bheinn Mhor:
Tried to find a short cut, but returned the same way. Looking back to Beinn nan Aighenan:
Another summit which I tried unsuccessfully to find a shortcut around:
Views opening up now:
Finally reached cairn:
Looking back to Starav:
Then a bit of craggy scrambling on the descent path to the bealach. Looking down from here:
And back up to craggy scramble:
These are great hills with mixed terrain (bit boggy at the start/finish but not too bad) but could be a struggle if you've been a couch potato for 3 weeks before