Stob Ban & Mullach nan Coirean - our Maiden Mamores

[denfinella]

Day 2 in Newtonmore, but with unbroken sunshine across most of the West Highlands, who could resist heading towards Fort William? With fairly high temperatures we weren't looking for a particularly arduous day, so we headed for the western end of the Mamores: Stob Ban, Mullach nan Coirean and the ridge between them.

Stob Ban Mamores.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

We parked in the small car park where the path comes back down off Mullach nan Coirean, then walked up the road a few hundred metres to the Glen Nevis Lower Falls.

The path towards Coire a' Mhusgain goes up from next to the falls. Good views of Ben Nevis and Glen Nevis even from low down.

The path up to the bealach is pretty good, with flatter parts to get your breath back between the steep sections. Heading into the coire:

Stob Ban:

Back down:

Glen Nevis from the bealach:

Sgurr a' Mhaim, part of the Ring of Steall:

Stob Ban - what a fantastic mountain!

No scrambling today, but rocky and steep on the way up. As the path curves around the south side of the summit you get views across the Allt Nathrach towards Loch Leven:

Views from the summit down Glen Nevis:

Ridge ahead to Mullach nan Coirean:

The views of Ben Nevis and (below) the Ring of Steall are the highlight:

Scree and boulders at first on the way off Stob Ban, then a varied ridge - mostly broad and grassy, occasionally narrower and rocky - to Mullach nan Coirean. Looking back to Stob Ban:

Ahead to Mullach nan Coirean:

Back to Stob Ban and the head of Loch Leven:

Red rocks of Mullach nan Coirean, whites of Stob Ban:

Not to mention Ben Nevis beyond Coire Dearg!

Flat section of ridge:

Mullach nan Coirean & views of Loch Linnhe:

Descending the northeast ridge of Mullach nan Coirean starts off fairly gently but steepens lower down, with a short boggy section before entering the forest. There's a path throughout.

We were looking forward to the shade in the forest for the last stretch, but a lot of it has been cut down!

6.5 hours for the circuit, so plenty of time for some sightseeing afterwards: Neptune's Staircase, Corpach, Inverlochy Castle all looking gorgeous in the sunshine. Ring of Steall and the rest of the Mamores left for another trip

Newtonmore 2019
<< Previous day: Cow Hill, Fort William
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[katyhills]

Lovely report and photos. Glad you had a great day for them
It's a great walk round these two, especially that striking contrast in terrain between them.
The views from all The Mamores are glorious on a good day.

I did Stob Ban via it's north east ridge - the one you can see in your summit pic. It allows great views of the other hills [especially Sgurr a'Mhaim] as it's just a short steep section, then a high level walk. Good path all the way too.

[denfinella]

Thanks Katy! Yes, the two hills are very different from each other aren't they. Ben Nevis looked absolutely fantastic from them too - you can really get an idea of what a bulky hill it is.

Northeast ridge does sound interesting - I'm pleasantly surprised there's a path though!

[katyhills]

Yes - path is really good - quite minimal in places once you're up on the wider part of the ridge, but no difficulty in clear weather. From Sgurr a'Mhaim, you can see across to the whole ridge, and it's basically just that route

You can see it on the right of this pic - faint stalker type path - and it becomes very obvious once you reach the lumps and bumps on the ridge properly. I can thoroughly recommend it as an alternative to the usual route