Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Munro 2007 - Day 19: 4th May
Friday 4th May
Buachaille Etive Mor
Stob Dearg 1022 m (Munro 30) (Naked Munro 21)
Stob na Doire (Top) 1011 m (Munro Top 13)
Stob Coire Altruim (Top) 941 m (Munro Top 14)
Stob na Broige 956 m (Munro 31) (Naked Munro 22)
Distance: 15.5 km
Ascent: 1180 m
Time: 5:46 hours
Mountain name: Buachaille Etive Mor Pronounced: Booerchullah Aytchyer Moar
Translated: Big Herdsman of Etive
Mountain name: Stob Dearg Pronounced: Stob Jerrack Translated:
Red Peak
Mountain name: Stob na Broige Pronounced: Stob na Brogg-yer Translated:
Lively Hill
Weather: In the morning there was mist down over the hills with a uniform blanket of
cloud at about 400m. By the time I reached about 800m I came out of the mist, which was
filling the valleys, into bright sunshine. During the afternoon the cloud lifted so there
were sunny intervals, but it was mainly cloudy. There was only a light wind.
Nature notes: It was very noticeable how black is the plumage of the black and white Pied
Wagtail. This bird has a number of sub-species with the White Wagtail which is the main
European species of Pied Wagtail having a grey and white plumage.
On the descent towards Lairig Gartain I saw a couple of small mammals which I believe
were the Field Vole (also called Short-tailed Vole). They both quickly disappeared into
burrows when I came along.
The only birds seen on the ridges today were Ravens.
Buachaille Etive Mor: Buachaille Etive Mor appears as a huge conical mass of rock as a
driver approaches Glen Coe from Rannoch Moor. It has a great concentration of quality
rock scrambles and rock climbs and is well known for its winter climbing. Being easily
accessible from Glasgow its buttresses were the training ground of most of the climbers
who developed Scottish Climbing and went on to put up new routes in the Alps and
Himalayas. Its buttresses look formidable, but the quality of the rock means that there
are some relatively easy scrambles to the summit of Stob Dearg.
The Route: From Altnafeadh I followed a rough, but maintained path up Coire na Tulaich
onto the main ridge and then headed up the boulderfields to the summit of Stob Dearg. It
was then an easy walk along the ridge (with a path) to Stob na Doire, Stob Coire Atrium
and Stob na Broige. I then had to retrace my steps to the col between Stob na Broige and
Stob Coire Atrium from which a rough path dropped steeply down to the River Coupall
which was crossed on boulders. There was some path maintenance on the lower part of the
descent. Then it was just a matter of following the path downstream to the A82. This path
could be very boggy in normal conditions, but after the dry spell it was very easy going.
There was then a short walk along the A82 to return to starting point.
Personal notes: Conditions in the morning with the mountain tops poking out of the cloud
filled valleys are almost magical. I met two men from Northern Ireland when I reached
the ridge and walked with them for a bit. They were fairly inexperienced in the mountains
and were over in Scotland for long weekend. When I got back to the col I had lunch with
four members of a Holiday Fellowship group. They were spending a week at the Holiday
Fellowship Centre at North Ballachulish were I had had a two week holiday 35 years ago.
In those days Holiday Fellowship provided cheap walking holidays, but now they seem to
have moved up market and were charging £550 for a week’s holiday.
There was a Mountain Rescue Helicopter flying around the Glen Coe mountains. I
assume it was just on a training flight since it seemed to be exploring the area fairly
aimlessly.
I descended with an Englishman who was on a day-trip from Kilmarnock (20 miles
south of Glasgow) where he had lived for 20 years, and a youngster from the Czech
Republic.
Overnight: I returned to the same site as last night at the head of Glen Etive.
Buachaille Etive Mor
Stob Dearg 1022 m (Munro 30) (Naked Munro 21)
Stob na Doire (Top) 1011 m (Munro Top 13)
Stob Coire Altruim (Top) 941 m (Munro Top 14)
Stob na Broige 956 m (Munro 31) (Naked Munro 22)
Distance: 15.5 km
Ascent: 1180 m
Time: 5:46 hours
Mountain name: Buachaille Etive Mor Pronounced: Booerchullah Aytchyer Moar
Translated: Big Herdsman of Etive
Mountain name: Stob Dearg Pronounced: Stob Jerrack Translated:
Red Peak
Mountain name: Stob na Broige Pronounced: Stob na Brogg-yer Translated:
Lively Hill
Weather: In the morning there was mist down over the hills with a uniform blanket of
cloud at about 400m. By the time I reached about 800m I came out of the mist, which was
filling the valleys, into bright sunshine. During the afternoon the cloud lifted so there
were sunny intervals, but it was mainly cloudy. There was only a light wind.
Nature notes: It was very noticeable how black is the plumage of the black and white Pied
Wagtail. This bird has a number of sub-species with the White Wagtail which is the main
European species of Pied Wagtail having a grey and white plumage.
On the descent towards Lairig Gartain I saw a couple of small mammals which I believe
were the Field Vole (also called Short-tailed Vole). They both quickly disappeared into
burrows when I came along.
The only birds seen on the ridges today were Ravens.
Buachaille Etive Mor: Buachaille Etive Mor appears as a huge conical mass of rock as a
driver approaches Glen Coe from Rannoch Moor. It has a great concentration of quality
rock scrambles and rock climbs and is well known for its winter climbing. Being easily
accessible from Glasgow its buttresses were the training ground of most of the climbers
who developed Scottish Climbing and went on to put up new routes in the Alps and
Himalayas. Its buttresses look formidable, but the quality of the rock means that there
are some relatively easy scrambles to the summit of Stob Dearg.
The Route: From Altnafeadh I followed a rough, but maintained path up Coire na Tulaich
onto the main ridge and then headed up the boulderfields to the summit of Stob Dearg. It
was then an easy walk along the ridge (with a path) to Stob na Doire, Stob Coire Atrium
and Stob na Broige. I then had to retrace my steps to the col between Stob na Broige and
Stob Coire Atrium from which a rough path dropped steeply down to the River Coupall
which was crossed on boulders. There was some path maintenance on the lower part of the
descent. Then it was just a matter of following the path downstream to the A82. This path
could be very boggy in normal conditions, but after the dry spell it was very easy going.
There was then a short walk along the A82 to return to starting point.
Personal notes: Conditions in the morning with the mountain tops poking out of the cloud
filled valleys are almost magical. I met two men from Northern Ireland when I reached
the ridge and walked with them for a bit. They were fairly inexperienced in the mountains
and were over in Scotland for long weekend. When I got back to the col I had lunch with
four members of a Holiday Fellowship group. They were spending a week at the Holiday
Fellowship Centre at North Ballachulish were I had had a two week holiday 35 years ago.
In those days Holiday Fellowship provided cheap walking holidays, but now they seem to
have moved up market and were charging £550 for a week’s holiday.
There was a Mountain Rescue Helicopter flying around the Glen Coe mountains. I
assume it was just on a training flight since it seemed to be exploring the area fairly
aimlessly.
I descended with an Englishman who was on a day-trip from Kilmarnock (20 miles
south of Glasgow) where he had lived for 20 years, and a youngster from the Czech
Republic.
Overnight: I returned to the same site as last night at the head of Glen Etive.
Lagangarbh,
Buachaille Etive Mor
Buachaille Etive Mor
Stob na Doire
Ben Nevis
Bidean Nam Bian
Stob na Doire
Summit, Stob Dearg
Buachaille Etive Mor
 |  |
| |
Summit, Stob Dearg
Summit, Stob na Broige