The plan for today, our final day of the holiday, had been to climb the last of the Grey Corries as I’d previously missed one (because I was tired and not munro bagging). However, with the route being a long trudge out and largely pathless (or else taking in the whole of the trio) neither of us were feeling overly enthusiastic at the prospect as we’d woken up tired after walking for four consecutive days. The other option, Ring of Steall, was not high on my list due to the very long day and level of concentration required so we decided to go for a walk we’d done before, settling on the ‘big’ Buachaille, Buachaille Etive Mòr.
Parking Hazard
We were happy to get the last space in the lay-by as the car park at the start of the walk is a nightmare! Huge potholes and dips, we’ve previously seen someone ground their car there so would be reluctant to take the chance! This was hopefully a good omen for the day.
Coire na Tulaich
Last time we did these munros was back in the early days of hill walking and I recall being somewhat terrified as we made our way up the coire, refusing to take a photo of Bruce as I was struggling with the exposure. I’m still not a massive fan of exposure, but today I had no idea why it had previously bothered me here! There was nothing to concern me at all; I even wondered if they’ve built a new path as aside from a couple of brief sections that ran closer to the bank the majority was very safe.
Higher up the coire we had to pass through a boulder field. Fortunately it was dry although the cloud had not yet lifted to reveal the views. We climbed into the cloud with only a vague notion of what lay ahead.
Stob Dearg
The first of the two munros, Stob Dearg, is highest. Having reached the bealach we turned left and began to follow the wide ridge to the summit. Shrouded in cloud, we couldn’t quite determine where the summit was but kept climbing higher and passing over what could have been the top until we reached the highest point, marked by a cairn and with no option to go higher.
We met a few folks there who, like us, were hoping that the cloud would break to give us some views. There had been little hints it may with the sky brightening at times. We chatted amiably, the cloud became wispier and at times parted to reveal the views below, including Rannoch Moor.
I found a kindred spirit in an Austrian chap who told me it was his first munro and he didn’t like exposure so was quite glad of the cloud! This made me smile; I can relate to that, although with the knowledge I’d been here before I was quite happy.
Finally the cloud cleared pretty much completely! We celebrated with a wee nip from Bruce’s hip flask. He then kindly poured a wee thimble full for our new companions who decreed that it was a very fine dram. Invited to guess what it was, one lady got ‘Islay’ correct but couldn’t get the exact distillery, although in fairness, does anyone know? They were all amazed and delighted in equal measure to hear it was Lidl’s Ben Bracken (Islay Single Malt); there may well be a surge in sales in Fort William tonight!
Stob na Bròige
It was then a long walk to the next munro, Stob na Bròige. We retraced our steps back to the bealach, continuing on rather than going down. We then had the long climb up to Stob na Doire and across Stob Coire Altruim, before finally hitting the ridge that would take us to the second summit for the day. Again, this had it’s head in the cloud as we approached but it cleared when we got there. Although long, the walk between the tops was easy with a good path to give a clear route.
We met the Austrian folks on their way back and got chatting with a guy headed the same way as us. We walked and chatted together up to the summit where we joined others for a seat and a blether.
In our wee summit gathering, once more everyone enjoyed a wee dram; it’s maybe not true what they say about Aberdonians after all!
The Descent
Leaving the summit reluctantly having again spent quite a bit of time taking in the views and chatting, we started the descent by retracing our steps. We didn’t need to go all the way back to the bealach as a clear path cut down steeply ahead of it.
Initially the path was very good, boulder steps and large rocks making for a pretty quick descent. However, it was also quite a drop so we took it slowly in places where the rock was uneven or slightly wet. Nearer the bottom there was an ‘interesting’ section with big slabs of rock and some scrambling required. I opted to make good use of my bum to support my descent here and we made it down safely; my main concern was Bruce’s new hips; with one only being five months old it’s a little worrying when doing bits like this!
Off the steep bit we hit a flatter path and made good progress towards the car. The only challenge remaining was the stream crossing where Bruce says I did a ‘Happy Mondays’ style dance last time before realising there were three blokes behind me waiting to cross! This time there was no flapping or faffing, I leapt across the stepping stones with ease.
Job done. What a great end to the holiday!
Clare, happiest outdoors! 