Hills: Stob a' Choire Odhair, Stob Ghabhar, Sron a' Ghearrain and Stob a'
Bhruaich Leith
Date: Wednesday 15th May 2019
Company: Just myself
Distance: 21.9km, Ascent: 1340m
Time: 7Hrs 30Mins
After work on Tuesday, I drove to Bridge of Orchy
to catch-up with a friend who is currently walking the West Highland Way. As
the forecast for the following day was fantastic, it was of course also my
intention to ascend some nearby hills. I opted for an ascent of Stob a'
Choire Odhair and Stob Ghabhar and all going well the two Munro Tops. I last
ascended these Munros in 2004 when I undertook a traverse from Inveroran to
the Glencoe Ski Centre taking in all four Black Mount Munros.
As the
temperature was forecast to be 24C, I wanted up and away early to avoid the
worst of the heat and sun. I therefore set my alarm for 5.30 but awoke early
so was walking by 5.07.
It was nice to witness the sunrise on setting off from the Victoria
Bridge car park and even better to also see a number of young stags.
Sunrise at Victoria Bridge:
Beyond Victoria Bridge, I followed the track towards the Clashgour Hut, a
track I had last walked just a couple of years previous to ascend Beinn
Suidhe.
Looking towards Stob a' Choire Odhair:
It didn't take long to reach the Clashgour Hut, which is basically a tin
shed now used by the Glasgow University Mountaineering Club. I believe it
was formerly a school.
Glasgow University Mountaineering club hut:
Immediately beyond the hut, I took the path leading towards the hills. This
track is often wet underfoot however owing to the recent spell of dry
weather, it was not wet. As I approached the base of Stob Ghabhar and Stob
a' Choire Odhair, I could see the Aonach Eagach ridge. This Aonach Eagach
ridge is much easier and less-exposed than the Glencoe ridge of the same
name.
Looking towards the Aonach Eagach ridge on Stob Ghabhar:
On reaching the start of the SSW ridge of Stob a' Choire Odhair, I followed
the track uphill and was soon on the useful zig-zags which make the ascent
somewhat easier than that of a direct ascent.
Zig-zag ascent of Stob a' Choire Odhair's SSW ridge:
It was such a beautiful clear morning I could see hills for miles around.
Looking back, Ben Lui and the Cruachan range hills were very prominent.
Looking back during ascent of Stob a' Choire Odhair:
Before long, I was out of the shade and into the sun. I therefore stopped to
apply sunscreen and put on my sunglasses.
Looking across to Stob Ghabhar:
As I gained more height, the views back to the hills of the Loch Lomond and
Trossachs National Park were great.
Beautiful day:
I
reached the summit of Stob a' Choire Odhair at 7.15. Had I been walking at
Naismith's rule speed, according to the SMC book I should have reached the
summit at 7.47. I knew I had been walking at a fairly good pace.
The
views from the summit were fantastic. I spent around ten minutes at the
summit savouring the views and taking photographs. I also had my first drink
of the day.
It was nice to see a wee Saltire in the sky too
.
At
the summit of Stob a' Choire Odhair:
From
the summit of Stob a' Choire Odhair, Stob Ghabhar looked a good bit away
with a substantial drop in between. I set off from Stob a' Choire Odhair for
what is the most technical part of this route.
At
the summit of Stob a' Choire Odhair:
The descent from Stob a' Choire Odhair to the col is straight-forward.
Descent to col between Stob a' Choire Odhair and Stob Ghabhar:
Beyond the col, after an initial section of easy ascent, I ascended the
steep spur which leads onto the Aonach Eagach ridge. This spur is dangerous
in that it is very steep with lots of loose scree. Take care if ascending
this way.
Onto the loose spur leading up to the Aonach Eagach ridge:
While ascending the spur, I stopped to take a photo looking back to Stob a'
Choire Odhair. These are fantastic hills.
Looking back to Stob a' Choire Odhair:
It
was a relief to reach the top of the spur and reach the wide Aonach Eagach
ridge.
Onto
the Aonach Eagach ridge:
This Aonach Eagach ridge is a straight-forward walk with the exception of
one fairly short narrow section where you have to take a bit more care. I
managed the narrow section without putting hand to rock so any scrambling is
avoidable.
Narrow section ahead:
Narrow section behind:
Beyond the narrow section, the ascent to the summit is nice and easy; just
follow the fence posts to the summit.
Looking towards the summit of Stob Ghabhar:
Final ascent to the summit of Stob Ghabhar:
The views from the summit were again fantastic. I reached the summit just
before 09.15, so I had slowed down to less than Naismith's speed during the
walk between the summits. I think this was to be expected given the more
technical terrain.
From the summit of Stob Ghabhar, I got great views
all round including across to the Glen Coe hills, Glen Etive hills, Ben
Nevis and the Mamores as well as all the hills towards Crianlarich and
beyond.
Ben Nevis can be seen in the distance just left of centre in
the next photo.
Stunning views from the summit of Stob Ghabhar:
Looking back to the Aonach Eagach ridge from the summit of Stob Ghabhar:
From
the summit, the walk out to the two Munro Tops looked nice and easy. I
therefore continued the walk to also ascend Sron a' Ghearrain and Stob a'
Bhruaich Leith, two Munro Tops that I had not ascended previously.
Sron a' Ghearrain barely felt like a separate hill as there was so little
ascent to reach its summit.
At
the summit of Sron a' Ghearrain:
The walk out to Stob a' Bhruaich Leith seemed to take a bit longer but again
it was easy, hands-in-pockets walking to get there.
Heading out to Stob a' Bhruaich Leith:
On
reaching the summit of Stob a' Bhruaich Leith, I was wondering why I had not
had a mobile signal throughout the entire walk. It then clicked that I had
switched-off Mobile Data the night previous to save power. Doh! On switching
Mobile Data back on, I immediately got a signal and was then able to upload
some pics to Twitter.
At
the summit of Stob a' Bhruaich Leith:
Having looked at the map briefly the night previous, I knew that I could
drop down from the Munro Top and hopefully pick up a track leading down to
Clashgour. I therefore decided to give this a go instead of retracing my
steps back to the Munro.
I undertook a descending traverse aiming for
the start of the path marked on the map. While this was straight-forward in
good dry weather, as there were several gullies to cross this descent may be
trickier when the burns are in spate. Saying that it should still be
possible to descend this way down to the Mam nan Sac col.
I didn't
pick up the very start of the track as I had dropped circa 20m too far. I
didn't see the point in re-ascending, so just picked-up the track a wee bit
further on. The track is fairly good and gentle. I would recommend this as
an easy way back down to Clashgour.
Onto
the track leading down to Clashgour:
On reaching Clashgour, I stopped for ten minutes to stand in the shade and
apply more sunscreen. It was now very hot and I was looking forward to
getting back to the van. On reaching the van, it was 36C inside so not
particularly pleasant. Thankfully it has air-con, so it was soon down to a
reasonable temperature.
These two hills make a fantastic circuit but
I would suggest they are not for the very inexperienced especially in poor
visibility. Carrying on to also ascend the two Munro Tops extends the walk
but provides for an easier route of descent.