Tuesday 31 December 2019

Uamh Bheag

 
Uamh Bheag summit looking towards Ben Vorlich

Route anti-clockwise

Tuesday 31 December 2019

Ascent:           640 metres
Distance:        11 kilometres
Time:              3hrs 40mins

Am Beannan    574m      1hr   29mins
Uamh Beag      666m      2hrs 16mins

The morning brought a hard frost and a clinically bright day. I had agreed to pick up Gregor from Stirling at 8:30am, his car was to get a minor repair. We had decided the previous evening to drive up to Glen Artney so that I could climb Uamh Bheag, a nearby Graham, and he would attempt to run Stuc a' Chroin and, if possible, Ben Vorlich. We had to be back in Stirling by 2pm to collect his car.

Glen Artney via Braco was sparkling and we were parked at Auchnashelloch and moving by 9:30am. Gregor was running the first 6 kilometres and then climbing Stuc a' Chroin via its southeast ridge beginning at Tom Odhar. I had a 2-kilometre walk to the bridge over the impressive Water of Ruchill from where I began a slow plod through frozen mud, long grass, moss, and stunted trees towards the Allt Ollach, There is a bridge that crosses the deeply incised burn about 400 metres above its confluence with the Water of Ruchill. It was covered in netting, just as well because it was far from level and the timbers were sheathed in ice, it would have slid me in the burn otherwise.

The next obstacle was Am Beannan, a shapely hill with an increasingly steep 300 metres of ascent over grass, moss, heathers and outcrops of pudding stone, all lubricated by a hard frost. Despite the blue skies and pristine air quality, it was north-facing, there was no sun to sustain my movement. My heavy cold of the last few days was further reducing the lungpower for the climb. Against this the views back to Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorlich were stupendous. Once I made the summit and topped up some water the walking became much easier, a short saunter to Meall Clachach and then over to Uamh Bheag alongside some fenceposts. The summit is graced by a face on a carved post that sits jauntily on a metal fence post. It provides some glee on this otherwise very ordinary summit. I spent ten minutes having a coffee and taking in the grand sweep of the surroundings, most of which I knew intimately. Uamh Bheag had been one of the very few local hills that I had never got around to climbing. 

Instead of completing a round of the other tops like Beinn Odhar, which involve a notoriously tedious slog over more peat hags and mossy tussocks, I decided to make a more direct descent to the east of Am Beannan. It worked well at first until I was confronted with Auchnashelloch Hill and two kilometres of bog and moss with only the splendid views to the hills of the north to relieve the tedium. I was back in good time and spent 10 minutes or so chatting with the man in the next car who had made much the same circuit as me. Gregor then zipped in from his 26-kilometre run. He had managed both hills and discounting his non-moving time at the top of Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorlich, it had only taken him 3 hours and 6 minutes. We were both pleased with our end-of-year outings and back to collect his car on time.

Brae of Auchnashelloch

Bridge over Allt Ollach

Am Beannan

Stuc a' Chroinn and Ben Vorlich from Am Beannan

Braes of Doune Wind Farm

Ben Lawers Group from Uamh Bheag

Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorlich from descent

Friday 27 December 2019

Bracklinn Falls

Bracklinn Falls
Wednesday 25 December 2019

Christmas Day was unusually bright so after breakfast we made a long intended visit to Bracklinn Falls on the River Keltie above Callander. We were the first walkers of the day and were mightly impressed by this local tourist attraction that we have ignored for so many years. The walk through the native woodland to the falls was serene with the morning sun providing a dappled light through the trees. The falls were spectacular in full winter flow but the rocks slippy and there were many flowers and tributes left for the woman who had fallen into the falls during the summer.

We crossed the new bridge and with time on our side completed the longer walk up the Keltie Water and the chance to admire the views to Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorlich. On the return down the road Gregor made a detour to Callander Crags and still we were home shortly after noon. Our appetites were set for our first ever vegetarian Christmas.

Above the Falls

Don't Slip


Bracklinn Falls from Bridge

Stuc a' Chroin

Tom Dubh Plantation

Stirling Castle rises out of temperature inversion in the Forth Valley

Monday 16 December 2019

Knoydart's Eleven Munros

Loch Hourn from Ladhar Bheinn

A long weekend round of Knoydart Munros

Ascent:     7410 metres
Distance:   80 kilometres
Time:         35 hours 29 minutes

This is written more than 25 years after the walk. I recently obtained some scanned photos of the outing. Re-reading my logbook with the photos confirmed what I have always thought, this was one of the very best long walks. It was one of the vital adventures in compleating the first round of Munros. The walk was with Keith Adams, a hill running partner, and John with whom I climbed 214 of the then 277 Munros.

John and I were nearing the compleation of the Munros and we planned our May walking week with an optimism that had become bolder each year as we banished any thought of failure. We aimed to climb the 11 Munros in Knoydart and then drive to Skye and climb our remaining 11 Munros before taking in the Aonach Eagach ridge on the way home. Keith Adams would join us for most of the trip and Alan would come later in the week whilst we were on Skye. John drove up from Selkirk on Friday afternoon and I left work early and collected him and my already packed gear from home  We planned to drive up to Tomdoun in Glen Garry and try and stay at the bunkhouse for the first night. We left at 3:30pm and gave a lift to a lumberjack who was returning home to Fort William after a week's work at Strathyre. He regaled us with stories about the life of a freelance forestry worker since the Forestry Commission had outsourced these operations. It typified all the disadvantages that outsourcing has brought for workers: long hours, difficult conditions, away from home living in a caravan, few employment benefits and low pay.

We reached the Tomdoun Hotel at 6:30pm and booked into the bunkhouse. We decided to take a flyer to the week's walking immediately and to climb Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach before nightfall. It would save us having to climb them at the end of the Knoydart round. We would be able to cook something late on, it was unlikely we would get any food in the hotel, it was a fisherman's bar and drinking was the main pursuit.


Friday 21 May 1993

Ascent:       1160 metres
Distance:    11 kilometres
Time:          3hrs 28mins

Gleouraich                                   1035m     1hr  14mins
Craig Coire na Fiar Bhealaich     1006m     1hr  35mins
Spidean Mialach                            996m     2hrs 14mins  

We dumped some stuff in the bunkhouse to safeguard our bunks and drove 9 miles up the road to park alongside Loch Quoich at the start of the good stalker's path to Gleouraich. It was 7pm before we started walking in overcast and cool conditions with the cloud level down to 500 metres. The path zig-zags its way up the steep south ridge to 840 metres and then drops to a col before it steepens again leading to the impressive west ridge to the cairn. It is a speedy route and we pushed ourselves hard to the summit in less than an hour and a quarter.

We disturbed the odd ptarmigan as we crossed to Creag Coire na Fiar Bhealaich, the east top of Gleouraich. There is a 250-metre drop to the bealach and a similar climb to the western top of Spidean Mialach. We had to negotiate a false top and a compass bearing was needed to regain the ridgeline and work our way out to the summit. Time was tight, it was 9:30pm and there was poor visibility in the clouds so we wasted no time, took another bearing and started the steep and jarring descent to the southwest.

As we emerged from the cloud we were north of Loch Fearna so tacked west over some moraines to eventually reach the boggy path. It was a muddy tramp back in fading light but the path takes a direct route back to the road, emerging a few hundred metres east of where we had parked the car. We made it back to the bothy just before 11pm and had some soup before turning in. The walk had been a tasty aperitif for the days ahead.

Spidean Mialach and Gleouraich from the South Cluanie Ridge

Saturday, 22 May 1993

Ascent:      2620 metres
Distance:   28 kilometres
Time:         12 hours 45 minutes

m  Gairich                           919m     2hrs 27mins
c   Sgurr an Fhuarain          901m     4hrs 57mins
m  Sgurr Mor                     1003m    6hrs   3mins
m  Sgurr nan Coireachan     953m    8hrs 36mins
t    Garbh Chioch Bheag      968m    
m  Garbh Chioch Mor        1013m   10hrs 10mins
m  Sgurr na Ciche              1040m   10hrs 58mins      


We awoke to blue skies and tremendous views of Knoydart from Tomdoun. We had arranged to meet Keith by the dam at 9am and as we drove out of the bunkhouse Keith was driving up the road. We parked by the dam and I suggested that I should drive my car to the foot of Sgurr a' Mhaoraich 4 miles up Loch Quoich. This would allow John and I to make a clockwise circuit around the remaining 9 Knoydart Munros and finish on Sgurr a' Mhaoraich. Keith followed me along to collect me as he intended to climb some Corbetts in Knoydart and would be returning to the dam. We packed food and equipment for 2 nights camping so it was 10am when we crossed the dam and began the big adventure. There was now some cloud cover but the mountains were still visible in all their enticing glory.

Gairich is an interminable climb with a very boggy path for the first couple of kilometres until Bealach na Faire, the start of the long ridge that climbs westwards to Gairich. This was easier going, even with heavier packs than we normally carried, we were prepared for rain that always seems to be the vanilla weather in Knoydart. The final kilometre is a lot steeper but we were still fresh and made the summit before 12:30pm where we had some lunch and took photos, it was too early in the day to be worried about the time.

We continued over Gairich Beag before dropping into a remote glen at an altitude of 350 metres. From here it was a long slog up to Sgurr an Fhuarain, a Corbett that rises to 901 metres. It is the start of a graceful flowing ridge that after another substantial drop rises to Sgurr Mor. We ate some snow to preserve out water supplies and looked across to Sgurr na Ciche, it seemed a long way and it was already 4pm. It is a real roller coaster from here with two sizeable hills, Sgurr Beag and An Eag to traverse before the climb to Sgurr na n Coireachan, together they add another 600 metres of ascent. We had some food and rehydrated, it was getting later but brighter and we were tiring after walking 12 hours in the last 24 hours.

It is a steep drop down to Bealach Coire nan Gall and an even steeper rocky climb to Garbh Chioch Beag. The evening was still and warm as we walked along the splendid ridge to Garbh Chioch Mhor, we were passed by a golden eagle gliding just metres above the ridge. Ahead we were transfixed by the sugar loaf shaped summit of Sgurr na Ciche. The drop-down from Garbh Chioch Mhor is steep alongside a magnificent stone wall. And then the steep climb to Sgurr na Ciche from the bealach at Feadan na Ciche. We powered up the final climb of the day, I had yearned to climb Sgurr na Ciche ever since I first caught sight of it twenty years ago. It was almost 9pm as we reached the summit, a true peaky Macpeak with superb views in all directions. We now needed to find somewhere to camp for the night, preferably down in the glen with a burn nearby.

We were heading for the footbridge over the river Carnoch so set off south-west down a long ridge to Druim a' Ghoirtein from where we followed a gorge down to the flood plain. It was 10:30pm before we had found a pitch for the tents, it was still light as we turned in after the long day, well pleased with the progress made and well-positioned for another big day.

Crossing the dam at Loch Quoich
Lunch on Gairich
Loch Quoich with Sgurr a' Mhaoraich from Gairich
Sgurr an Fhuarain from Gairich Beag
On Sgurr Mor looking towards Sgurr na Ciche

Sunday 23 May 1993

Ascent:       2240 metres
Distance:    26 kilometres
Time:          13hours 5minutes

t     Meall Buidhe -south-east top     942m      2hrs 30mins
m   Meall Buidhe                              946m      2hrs 42mins
m   Luinne Bheinn                            939m      4hrs 43mins
t     Luinne Bheinn - east top            937m      4hrs 50mins
m   Ladhar Bheinn                           1020m     8hrs 51mins
t     Stob a' Choire Odhair                  960m     9hrs 30mins

After a restful night when there had been some rain, we awoke to bright blue skies and a midge free breakfast before packing and starting to walk at 9:00am. It was just 15 minutes to the bridge at Carnoch and then we began the steady climb up the well-used path by the Allt Carnach to Mam Meadail. The glen was full of bird life with cuckoos providing a soundtrack. We passed an Irishman near the bealach who was on his way from Inverie to climb Ben Aden. At the bealach, we bade farewell to Keith who was to climb the Corbett, Beinn Bhuidhe and then head back via Sgurr na h-Aide and Carn Mor two of the remotest Corbetts and then descend to Glen Desarry and over to Glen Kinghorn to return to his car at the dam. It would probably be a longer and harder outing than our remaining four Munros.

John and I struck up the fierce southern slopes of Meall Buidhe, it is one of those mind-numbing slogs but we made good progress by following a series of ramps between the rock outcrops. We dumped our rucksacks at the south-east top and made a quick sortie over to the summit. After a break for some food and water, we began the long and complex walk to Luinne Bheinn. The magnificent metamorphic rock formations of Morar Schists made the walk a pleasure on a warm and sunny day. We made another direct ascent to the summit of Luinne Bheinn up steep grassy ramps from the bealach at Allt a' Choire Odhair. We made a trip across to the nearby top and back before stopping for a leisurely lunch in unusually clement conditions. There had been 14 people on the summit just before we arrived on what is acknowledged as one of the most difficult to reach Munros.

The descent by the steep N.W. ridge to Bachd Mhic an Tosaich brought us to Mam Barrisdale at 450 metres. The climb from here to Stob a' Chearcaill in the late afternoon was the hardest part of the walk, we were beginning to tire and the boggy grass slopes held no interest. We reached the high point of the ridge and there was a large patch of snow. We both stripped down to underpants and took a roll in the snow. It was the perfect way to prepare for the wonderful walk along the roller coaster of a ridge to Ladhar Bheinn. Conditions were superb until just before we reached the summit when the threat of rain probably forced us to curtail our visit. The summit of Ladhar Bheinn is one of the outstanding memories of any Munro round.

Time was now at a premium so we followed the narrow ridge down to Stob Choire Odhair and then descended to Coire Dhorrcail and eventually hit the footpath that meanders down to the braided tidal flats at Barrisdale. We wended our way across the channels and reached the bothy at 8:30pm where we cooked a meal and chatted to other walkers. The others were surprised when we left just before 10:00pm to walk part of the way back to Kinloch Hourn. As darkness approached we found a beautiful pitch for the tent at Caolas Mor under a stand of pine trees. Another spectacular day and Knoydart was virtually completed.


Campsite below Sgurr na Ciche
Looking back to Luinne Bheinn
Me heading up to Ladhar Bheinn
John on Ladhar Bheinn

Monday, 23 May 1993

Ascent:       1400 metres
Distance:    16 kilometres
Time:          6 hours 11 minutes

t     Sgurr a' Mhaoraich Beag   948m     4hrs 11mins
m   Sgurr a' Mhaoraich           1026m    4hrs 28mins

It was a glorious morning on one of the best campsites with a spectacular view across Loch Hourn to Caolas Mor. I cast covetous glances at the lonely croft across the loch, was it occupied? would it be a good place to live? On a day like today nowhere could be so enticing. We had tentatively arranged to meet Keith at about 1 pm back at the dam so made an early start at 7:15am. It was 8 kilometres along the undulating and twisty path along the shores of Loch Hourn to reach Kinloch Hourn. It includes a couple of small hills that add about 250 metres of ascent. In the early morning light, it was staggeringly beautiful.

When we reached the bend in the road where the Lochbourn River joins the Allt Coire Sgoireadail we stopped for a break. some drink and food. We continued up the road for a kilometre and then followed a Hydro-Electric track that skirted around a hill and began the ascent of the Allt Ban. There was no option other than to hammer up the ferociously steep slopes to Sgurr Mhaoraich Beag from here although we did find an old stalker's path that climbed to 700 metres. It is an easy and pleasant stroll over to Sgurr a' Mhaoraich. There was a strong easterly breeze that meant that despite the bright sunshine it was cool enough for hard walking.

We were on the last leg and had relaxed a bit until we came to a tricky section of the path that was still covered by hard-packed snow between some crags. We had no protection so we inched our way down. Thereafter it was a good descent along the ridge to Sgurr Coire nan Eiricheallach and then a schuss down the long grassy slopes to Loch Quoich. We drove back to the dam at the head of Loch Quoich and had a shower in the waterfall by the roadside. Keith had not yet arrived so we drove over to the Cluanie Inn to see if Alan had appeared. It was another no show, so we had a drink and drove on to Skye and to pitch the tent in Glen Brittle ready for the Inn Pin tomorrow. Keith arrived later in the evening and the forecast was good.

Campsite on Loch Hourn
Loch Hourn with Ladhar Bheinn in background
Sgurr Mhaoraich summit

Saturday 14 December 2019

2020 Vision Cancelled

Elmo, Lord Buckethead and Boris Johnson at the count
I was humming "Always Look on the Brightside of Life" as an antidote to Boris Johnson's landslide victory achieved on an empty manifesto, a spurious slogan "get Brexit done", duplicity and a chutzpa bourne of privilege. I was asked by my family "What will happen next?" The correct answer is "fuck knows". I have been too absorbed in politics since being recruited as child labour to deliver leaflets at election time and edit letters to the local newspaper. I then spent 40 years working for and with politicians and was able to observe the good, bad and ugly sides of politicians. During my final 14 years, I was a returning officer which gave me an insider view of who votes and how political parties gameplay elections. This knowledge makes it doubly difficult to understand the reasons why people do or don't vote and for whom if they do.

I watched agog as Michael Gove on the morning after the election acted as compere for the victory speech by Boris Johnson as the newly elected prime minister. Gove oozed sanctimonious and deprecating insults at other parties in his inimitable style before handing over to the PM. Boris Johnson uttered various promises about governing for all the people before in a performance that was more suited to 'Live at the Apollo' as he reprised his eclectic vocabulary and phrases randomly as he waffled on. It transpired that the new slogan for his government would be 'the people’s government', a fulfilment that is as likely as him serving a full term. 

With just 44% of the turnout vote or 29% of the electorate, we would be leaving the EU and spending the next few years haggling about trade deals, and immigration, pretending that the Irish Border is both there and not there,  trying to stall a Scottish referendum and making numerous announcements about investments in the north that amount no more than a fraction of the losses they have sufffered over the past decade.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party seems intent on indulging in another bout of fratricide. Changes that have been evident and needed for the past couple of years will be resisted. The broad church that everyone proclaims to want will have to wait until the tribal party officials at Labour HQ have finished genuflecting on Corbyn and other idols. Their claim that they won the arguments is derisible; they fudged the main issues like Brexit and produced a list of promises that was beyond the belief of the electorate and most of their candidates. They were reduced to fighting the election with half a dozen MPs who were either unreconstructed Corbynites or trusted members of his shadow cabinet, like Keir Starmer, whose advocacy of a second referendum could be blamed if things did not go well.

So despite being faced with potentially the worst post-war UK government in a very strong field of nominations, the opposition parties failed miserably to convince an electorate that agreed on one thing, our politicians are not to be trusted.

At a time when the UK should be setting a clear vision for the future as we approach the year 2020, we are bereft of any idea of where this will end. How will Brexit play out? Is Austerity finally over? Are we serious about climate change when we have stopped subsidising green energy and refuse to tax carbon fuels? How are we to reduce child poverty? When and how are we to provide adequate care for the elderly and vulnerable? Where are the new houses to be built to provide for young people and families who have been trapped in the iniquities of private renting? When will the government start a programme of levelling down to facilitate the levelling up that they promise to deliver?

The UK is destined to level down against other nations unless it becomes honest with its citizens and creates a written constitution. The farrago of the last parliament was all the evidence needed to tell us that our make-it-up-as-you-go-along constitution is long past its sell-by date. A new constitution should empower local democracy and vastly reduce the overbearing centralisation that dominates UK decision-making and stagnates the innovation that exists in all its communities. Parliament also needs to recognise that collaboration with other nations is the only way to effectively tackle the most important issues of climate change, trade, poverty, health and international aid. Think globally, act locally is as apposite now as when Patrick Geddes, the Scottish town planner and polymath first coined the concept in 1915.  

Sunday 1 December 2019

West Mamores on St Andrew's Day

Sgurr a' Mhaim
Saturday 30 November 2019

Ascent:     1664 metres
Distance:  16 kilometres
Time:        6 hours 54 minutes

Sgurr a' Mhaim            1099m     2hrs 15mins
Stob Ban                        999m     4hrs 10mins
  top                                917m     5hrs   4mins
Mullach nan Coirean     927m     5hrs  28mins


It was a given day, the hardest overnight frost of the winter, not a wisp of wind and visibility that was better than excellent. Gregor had three remaining Munros of the Mamores to climb and I was just keen to take advantage of the forecast for some winter hillwalking. We left at 7:15am and made good time to Fort William, which included a stop on Rannoch Moor to try and capture the monochromatic winter conditions at sunrise. We parked at Achriabhach in Glen Nevis and started the walk at 9:45am. The glen was still in shadow with the steep profile of Sgurr a' Mhaim, the second-highest of the 10 Munros in the Mamores, threatening a couple of hours of hard exercise.

There was surprisingly little snow, although as we climbed higher the head of Ben Nevis looked like it had been washed in Omo set against the clear azure sky. The ground was rock hard but there were a few patches of black ice. The path is scored deeply into the steep slope but it was possible to keep an ascent pace of 10 metres a minute without overexerting. Gregor was pushing on ahead, although we would both stop occasionally to take photos as the skies brightened and the shadows shortened. I took a couple of detours to try and capture views of the Grey Corries and the Aonachs but I needn't have bothered they were revealed in all their glory at the summit.

We met a man from Selkirk at the summit who knew John, he was walking alone with his dog and had approached via the Devil's ridge and was to return by the same route. We chatted for a while and when he left I had a quick bite and some coffee, it was gone midday and Gregor was itching to get going in the freezing air. I had been slightly anxious about the Devil's ridge in winter conditions but the light snow cover made it easier if anything. There is a scramble at the low point, there are some narrow ledges that can be easily climbed even in mitts. We reached the end of the ridge below Sgurr an Iubhair, the deleted Munro, and followed the path that zig-zags down to Lochan Coire nam Miseach. It was frozen hard, the cracked ice magnified the pebbles and stones through the crystal clear water making it appear like a giant paper weight.

Above us was the magnificent east face of Stob Ban, the best of the Mamore Munros but a 250-metre climb from the lochan. At first by a gently undulating path and then steepening into a rocky scramble through the chunks of quartzite. It holds your concentration so time passes quickly and the rocky summit is one of Scotland's finest viewpoints. The Mamores extend eastwards with sharp ridges joining an array of pointy paps. It was a stone's throw to our earlier exploits on Sgurr a' Mhaim and the Devil's Ridge. Ben Nevis, the Aonachs and Grey Corries provide an imposing fortress of mountains to the north, the Glencoe and Southern Highlands were waves of grey-blue hills on the three dimensional horizon. They were too difficult to identify, not for lack of clarity, but because our eyes were arrested by the splendid alternative views. We finished lunch and the flask of coffee. My water bottle was frozen hard and I was becoming dehydrated. The sun was beginning to dip down in the south-west and Gregor urged me to head off if we were to be down before nightfall.

I had underestimated how long it takes to the next Munro, Mullach nan Coirean. It is 4 kilometres but  it is mainly on the level with only three short ascents and the initial descent down the quartzite from Stob Ban needs some care. The light was fading and we had no time to linger at the summit of Mullach. Gregor had caught up on the football scores whilst waiting for me. I knew that the next part of the descent would be tricky, forestry plantations extend from the road up to the 300 metres contour and it is difficult to find the narrow paths through the plantations down to the forest roads that climb steadily by a series of switchbacks through the forest.

Gregor galloped away whilst I kept a steady pace. the path is steep, rocky and hard on the quads in the icy conditions. The final 150 metres of descent to the high stile over the deer fence adjacent to the Allt a' Choire Riabhaich was brutal with large rocks, frozen mud and some patches of black ice to endure at the end of the day. Beyond the stile there is a kilometre of narrow path through recently felled forest and by this time the light was fading. It took concentration to spot the steps, icy patches and tree roots that provided a testing obstacle course. I reached the forestry road that descends gradually down to the road but with two switchbacks it was a good 3 kilometres of walking away. Had I found the more direct path before descending to the lower stile I could have saved myself half an hour and a couple of kilometres. It was pitch dark, only the distant head torches of a couple of climbers descending Sgurr a' Mhaim providing any light. Gregor had been waiting at the car and was shivering, the temperature had already fallen to -4°C in the glen.

Apart from the last hour it had been the perfect day on the hills, we celebrated with a box of chips and a buttered roll at the excellent Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum and still made it home for 8pm.


Rannoch Moor at first light

Sgurr a' Mhaim from the start at Achnabhach

Stob Ban from the slopes of Sgurr a'Mhaim

Glen Nevis

The Ben

Ben Nevis and the Aonachs

The Aonachs and Grey Corries

Sgurr a' Mhaim approaching summit

Grey Corries and Mamores

Devil's Ridge

Sgurr a' Mhaim across the Devil's Ridge

Grey Corries

Stob Ban

Towards Glencoe

Frozen Lochan Coire nam Miseach

Path to Stob Ban

Sgurr a'Mhaim and Devil's Ridge

Summit of Stob Ban

Mamores from Stob Ban

Heading to Mullach nan Coirean

Heading towards Mullach nan Coirean

Stob Ban from west

Mullach nan Coirean

Mullach nan Coirean -checking football scores

Trying to beat the sunset on the descent