KYQ4: Ben Starav

Ben Starav (with deer)

Tuesday, 6 August 2024

Ascent: 2095 metres

Distance: 25 kilometres

Time: 12 hours 6 minutes

Ben Starav 1079m 2hrs 55mins

Beinn nan Aighenan 957m 5hrs 4mins

Glas Bheinn Mhor. 997m. 7hrs 34mins

Ben Starav is one of the harder mountains, starting from sea level and with a 2-kilometre walk in before the relentlessly steep grassy north ridge leads to 300 metres of climbing over a rocky ridge to approach the summit. It was a 222 Club (the combined age of Keith, John and I) reunion for the first time on the Scottish Munros this year although we had spent three days in the Lake District in February. I had first climbed the five hills in the Ben Starav range with Keith on a rain-lashed windy day in 1990, which took less than 8 hours. We were preparing for the Karrimor International Marathon. Today we didn't even consider the 5 hills, three would be fine, as John nears his fourth round compleation.

We had set off just after 7am but it was after 9am when we began the walk from a new car park across from the bridge over the dark and deep waters of the River Etive. The new track to a micro-hydro scheme was an upgrade from the old boggy path and we started climbing the mountain path after 40 minutes. We missed the turn-off path to Ben Starav, the path is quite braided and walked a few hundred metres up the path to Bealachan Lochain Ghaineamhaich before we discovered our mistake and backtracked to find a narrow and steep 'idiots' path to regain the main path. It was then the steady plod using our many thousands of hill walks experience to continue without any break until the summit. It never used to seem this far. My watch told me that we had covered 8 kilometres including the mistake and it was approaching noon. We had a drink, took some photos and put on our wind tops. Heavy rain was predicted in the afternoon and the dark clouds were massing.

The glorious walk around the ridge of Ben Starav is on the level and we watched the dark clouds moving our way from the Beinn nan Aighenan, our next objective, which was submerged in clouds. We decided to cut down from the Stob Coire Dheirg ridge into Coire an t-Sneachd and across boggy ground to the bealach at 617 metres, a mistake in the wet conditions after the heavy rains of yesterday. Then the everlasting 340 metres of ascent to Beinn nan Aighenan. The rain had held off despite the foreboding of heavy rain by the Met Office. We rested at the fine summit and had a latish lunch. I was beginning to think that we should give the next hill, Glas Bheinn Mhor, a miss to save ourselves an hour and a half and get back home to watch the Olympics. Josh Kerr was in the 1500 metre final against Jakob Ingebrigsten, Brit arrogance versus Scandi arrogance. Gregor had hoped that someone else would win and I tended to agree.

On the descent, John had a fall and his knee which has always been suspect gave way. We made slow progress to the 617-metre low point and then to. Bealachan Lochain Ghaineamhaich. The rain had started so we donned full waterproofs and had a discussion about whether to proceed to Glas Bheinn Mhor. It was John's call and he wanted to tick it off so we began the fairly easy 240 metres of ascent, John made slow but reasonable progress but on the steeper descent to the 738-metre bealach above Coire Odhar, he found walking increasingly difficult.

It was 6pm and there were 5.5 kilometres of descent to go, the first 3 kilometres on a rough boggy path that made excruciating walking conditions for John and the midges were having a field day as they feasted themselves on slow walkers. The Robbers' Waterfall was the only consolation as John ratcheted himself down with his right leg incapable of bending and collapsing several times on the boggy ground. We eventually made it to a place where we could cross the raging burn and reach the excellent path down to the micro-hydro station and the track back to the car. It was almost 10pm, we had been out for over 12 hours. A slow journey home meant that it was Wednesday before we got home. The good news was that Josh Kerr and Ingebrigsten had lost out to Cole Hocker, an American whose ego was under control. Instead of walking the next day, John stayed and we watched the Olympics and then the same again the next day. John could hardly walk so no exercise, my culinary skills were stretched instead.