UKC

Hi UKCers,

I'm seeking opinions on the easiest Munros around Glencoe to navigate. 2 on Etive Beag (stob dubh + Stob Coire Raineach) look ok on paper - anyone have other suggestions?

In reply to Luci: I would have thought that Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor) would be ok by the main walkers path in Coire na Tulaich.

In reply to Nicholas Livesey:
I very nearly got lost there on my first visit. The clag came down and I started following instinct instead of the compass...

In reply to Nicholas Livesey:


It's actually quite easy to mess up the descent, especially under snow cover, and wind up in Glen Etive a LONG way from the car. There is also some scope for straying onto steeper ground on the Buachaille Etive Beag traverse.

In short I wouldn't attempt any of these hills in winter conditions without at least rudimentary navigational awareness.

In reply to Luci:

Meall a' Bhùiridh - follow the ski lifts?

Ben Starav - follow the big ridge?

In reply to Luci:
Yeah, the two on Etive Beag are fairly easy. Short day, too.

The eastern Mamores from Kinlochleven (or ideally from Mamore Lodge) are also fairly straightforward. Also Beinn a Bheithir south of Ballachulish except that as far as I can tell no amount of navigational savvy will avoid a bit of arsing around in forestry land if you try to come down the corrie from the 757m saddle...

Obviously "easy" is a relative term here, and things are never entirely trivial in bad weather in Scotland...

In reply to JLS: +1 for Ben Starav, as JLS said, follow the big ridge, then descend through the bog. Although not immediately, unless you can fly.

Stob Coire Sgreamhach and Bidean through the lost valley shouldn't cause any problems either.

In reply to Sharp:



That's what sprung to mind when I saw the title of the thread, both times I've been up there have been miserable weather with minimal visibility and didn't find it too problematic finding my way down. (That being said, I've had plenty of opportunity over the years to practice coming off the hills in rubbish weather so maybe it's easy for me to say that). Have recollections of being soaked through last time I was up there, and that was on one of the 'better' days of a wet week spent on the West coast.

I do like the lost valley, especially coming at it in approach/ascent from Glencoe (the overly-imaginative side of me thinks it'd be a great location for dinosaurs).

In reply to Sharp:

or in other words, you require the ability to navigate well enough to locate the safe descent.

To the OP:
Not sure what you mean by "easy". You need to be able to navigate if the clag comes down on any of the Glencoe mountains if there's sufficient snow to cover the footpaths. Buachaille Etive Beag is possibly the easiest to avoid dangerous ground. Or maybe Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (the western summit of the Aonach Eagach) via the col to the east of the Pap. Or even Meall Dearg (the eastern summit)

In reply to Toreador:

You always need to be able to navigate well enough to locate a safe descent, the point is that some descents are easier to find than others. I assumed that the OP was capable of rudimentary navigation and just wanted a route that didn't throw up any complexities in descent.

From the summit of Ben Starav you can walk down to the col and turn left to go down the bog. I.e. walk down the ridge and turn left before it starts going up again. In terms of navigation, it's not a particularly difficult escape route, hence why I suggested it.

In reply to Luci: I did Bookle Etive Beag today. No need for the map at all as the cloud lifted progressively before I got high enough to meet it.

But, the cloud dropped when I left the ridge so may have needed it if I had hung around high up to take more photos.

You always need to be able to navigate, especially in winter. Better to learn to do it your self or go with a safe and experienced walker/climber.

Have fun !

In reply to Nicholas Livesey: Which looked full of windslab form the car and had cloud on it late afternoon today.

In reply to Scott_vzr:

Heading there tomorrow. Take it there wasn't much snow?

In reply to helenpeters: No lots !

Snow and compacted snow on the path. Ankle/shin deep and up to thigh deep on the southerly summit. Quite icy, not enough for crampons though. Lots of windslab forming and cornice you have to avoid on the southerly summit.

Some pics below from today.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80049703@N00/8151443625/" title="nevis_centre by Nick_Scots, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/8151443625_36905900be_z.jpg" width="640" height="172" alt="nevis_centre"></a>

In reply to Scott_vzr: thanks for info, think I'll take am axe then just in case!

In reply to helenpeters: And crampons......

In reply to helenpeters: I was on Ben Lomond yesterday but turned back because we didn't have crampons and it was pretty snowy/icy near the summit. Definitely take crampons!