free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Sunday 2nd August
Weather: constant drizzle on ascent, pretty dry at top, low cloud in surrounding glens, not warm for August 2nd!
With the Bankfoot Junction still a no-no for me, I headed west to Glen Coe. I hadn't done any Munros here, the nearest being the Blackmount a few weeks ago, so I thought I would take it reasonably easy for a first time. The weather was forecast to be cloudy in the morning and clearing in the afternoon but I wanted a reasonably early start hoping the cloud might have lifted by midday
. I arrived at the excellent (new, I think) carpark at the start of the Lairig Eilde about 10am in fairly constant drizzle - not enough to put one off, but enough to dampen spirits.
The initial path as part of the Lairig Eilde is excellent but soon it must be left to head fairly directly up to the bealach between the 2 Munros. The lower section was very damp but, just as I was about to abandon the "path" and head straight up to the summit of Stob Coire Raineach, a fabulous new looking path materialized heading up to the col. This was a big morale boost in otherwise uninspiring conditions. I gained height quickly on this well made path and was soon at the col (about 1h 15m, not rushing). Just before this, I had passed many bags of stone and soil and a notice about path construction from the NTS. I realize the NTS can sometimes have a bad rep amongst walkers but this is clearly excellent work being done and, when the whole route is finished, this will be an excellent improvement on what must have been a very boggy hill.
At the col (now not raining) I had some lunch and decided to head first to Stob Dubh as that meant heading into the weather in the dry, if it rained later on the return it would be at my back. I passed 2 other walkers on the ridge between Point 902 and the summit of SD - the only others I saw on the hill. This would probably be an enjoyable ridge in clear conditions, but although I could see where I was headed, there was no real sense of awe due to the low cloud in the Lairigs Eilde and Gartain.
The summit of SD was reached about 45mins after leaving the col. The low whispy cloud did at least allow for some arty photos.
I left the summit after another piece and headed back along to the col. From there it was a short and simple climb to the summit of the 2nd (and one of the newest) Munro. The cloud had lifted a little and I could see Blackwater Reservoir and Loch Leven.
I managed to lose the path on the way back down to the col and found myself on some awkward scree (and I thought I was having an easy day
) but negociated my way safely enough. From there it was a simple march back to the car via the route of ascent.
All in all, I found this a fairly easy and short day (4 hours) and a good intro to Glen Coe for an east coast lad!