The Buachaille and The Cruachan - Buachaille Etive Mor Photos ,  Ben Cruachan Photos

Driving north through the Glencoe Pass is a truly inspirational experience; there is a spectacularly handsome hill on the left hand side called Buachaille Etive Mor and it has been on top of my wish list for some time. On my previous visit to Scotland to climb The Buachaille the weather was exceptionally bad and I didn't attempt it; the weather this time is exceptionally good and maybe a little too warm. On Saturday morning there was not a hint of mist, a very un-Scottish morning; I was finally going to walk The Buachaille.

The walk starts from Altnafeadh, a cottage and plantation at a bend in the main A82 road; there is a car parking area by the side of the road and you can park on a rough track across the road if you avoid the potholes and boulders. There is crossing the busy road to get to the track; you walk along it to get to the footbridge across the River Coupall although there was so little water in it we didn't really need a bridge. The way ahead up Coire na Tulaich was never in doubt but once you pass the Lagangarbh cottage you can see there are no alternative walking routes.

There is a stony stream bed and a blue line on the map but not a hint of water as you start to walk up the rough path. The more eroded sections of the path have been properly repaired with good well-positioned large stones that would be safe to descend as well as preventing further erosion. You soon get to solid rock that provides good, easy scrambling although there is a path that bypasses it; the rock might not be so easy in winter conditions. It was a warm day and I was feeling hot but the interesting path made it seem less strenuous although I was gaining height all the time. It was only when you look back down the path that you can see just how close it was to the edge of a steep drop to the dry stream bed.

As you get higher the rock walls on either side get higher; on my side of the corrie the rocks were a bright pink colour in the sun but on the other side in the shade they looked intimidating with dark wet stripes and surrounded by steep scree. The path continued to be a mix of bare rock to scramble over and eroded sections repaired with stone steps until the scree took over and the path disappeared. The scree was made up of large stones that were stable and easy enough to walk over but the way to the top of the corrie looked rugged and daunting.

Having climbed up the steep scree for a short while we came across an obvious path heading in my direction. The path was less obvious as it climbed at an angle across the steep ground; there was grass and other vegetation in between the rocks and the loose eroded material was slippery to walk across in places. There seemed to be two possible routes out of the corrie, a steep eroded gully or a more sporting clamber over rocks and grass which was way we chose; there were a couple of “don't look down” moments but nothing too difficult. After a final scramble up another small eroded gully we were up onto the bealach between Stob Dearg and Stob na Doire; Buachaille Etive Mor doesn't look that big from here.

The way to Stob Dearg is obvious enough; turn left and walk up the big stony slope. The number of cairns reflects the quantity of material available to build them and on a misty day they are probably essential navigation aids in this desert of stones. When we reached a large cairn at the top of the slope it was a surprise to find that it wasn't the summit and there were another two false summits before reaching the actual one. There was no doubting the real summit; the ground fell away steeply on all sides except the way we had come. The view was extensive in all directs; the flatness and shining water of Rannoch Moor with the main road and bridges across it compared to the mountain scenery in all other directions.

The walk back down to the bealach should be straightforward, but it was easy to lose the path with concentrating on watching where I was putting my feet instead of watching where I was going. From the bealach a path leads upwards onto a broad grassy ridge, a sudden change from the stony ground of Stob Dearg. It was a pleasant walk over an undulating ridge, the mountain view ahead seemed less hazy than from Stob Dearg; it was also possible to see then just how big Buachaille Etive Mor is and how far there still was to go. The ground became stonier and there was some work to do on the final climb to the summit of Stob na Doire.

As you would expect, the summit of Stob na Doire being the central point on Buachaille Etive Mor is the best viewpoint of The Buachaille; Stob Dearg is a big red hill, Stob Coire Altruim and Stob na Broige make a fine mountain foreground with Loch Etive and a background full of Munros. The descent from Stob na Doire is steep and more rugged than the descent; the path is at first eroded and stony and as you lose height the hill becomes more grassy but the path is just as eroded. As soon as you finish the descent of Stob na Doire you start to climb Stob Coire Altruim; the first part is just like a grassy hummock with a slight descent before you start the proper ascent.

From Stob Coire Altruim the walk to Stob na Broige is an undulating ridge, the ridge is quite narrow with very steep sides but you are not really aware of it. There is a final undemanding climb to the stony summit of Stob na Broige where there is another big view of Loch Etive surrounded by mountains. Buachaille Etive Beag is best seen from here and beyond is the familiar whaleback shape of Ben Nevis and a mountain skyline of the Mamores and Grey Corries. You now have to retrace your steps and follow the ridge back to Stob Coire Altruim, descend to just before the hummock where an obvious eroded path heads downwards towards Lairig Gartain.

The only problem at first is the slippery nature of loose stones on a steep gradient, typical of a grassy hill where the path erodes quickly once the vegetation has been worn away. As you start to descend by the side of a stream the ground becomes much rockier with large outcrops having flat sloping surfaces that are awkward enough on a dry day but could be a problem if it was wet or icy. After you descend the final flat slab you get on to a more reasonable path that takes you down to level ground. You have to ford Allt Gartain which was easy enough with the water level being low and then walk a boggy mile and a half back to the road. The ground was muddy and soft in places but it was a very dry day, I can imagine it would be a horrible muddy mess when it is wet.

In fact the most dangerous part of the day was still to come, walking by the side of the A82, there is no concession for walkers by way of a path and the traffic fairly flies past and it isn't far away from you.

With the weather being so good on Sunday morning it seemed like a good opportunity to re-climb my first Munro; the first time was on a wintry May day and I hardly saw anything of Ben Cruachan. The starting point is by the side of the road at the railway station near the Cruachan Power Station visitor centre; you have to walk under the railway line using a walker's underpass and mind your head. There is a path that takes you steeply up through the woods where you get brief glimpses of Loch Awe; it was a very hot day and the steep climb made me sweat more than at any time I can remember.

You come out of the trees at the Falls of Cruachan; the Falls are there but there was hardly any water falling over them. One thing I do remember from last time is the high, awkward, off-centre stile that you have to cross. I also remember the muddiness of the ground as you climb towards Cruachan Dam; as soon as you can see the road leading to the dam it is better to cross over the pathless ground to get to it. The road leads to the dam where you go through two gates to get to a small path that rises slightly diagonally above the dam towards the head of Coire Cruachan. Even in such dry weather there is plenty of wet mud on this path until it takes a right turn and starts to climb uphill.

The climb to Stob Garbh is a steep grassy slog; the refreshing breeze that started at the dam had become quite strong by then and cool enough to make me put on my windproof pertex jacket. The grassy slope went on for ages until nearer the ridge when boulders and rock outcrops made the going a bit more interesting. On the ridge the breeze was quite strong and I was beginning to wonder if the weather might come in before I got to Ben Cruachan. From the summit of Stob Garbh you start to see just what a fine looking mountain Ben Cruachan is but first you have some work to do. You have to descend in the direction of Stob Diamh and then regain all your height to climb to the summit of the Munro where Ben Cruachan reveals a little bit more of itself.

You have to descend from Stob Diamh, at least you are now going in the direction of Ben Cruachan; you then have to climb up onto Drochaid Ghlas, I'm not sure if it is classed as a hill or a high ridge. The ridge becomes quite narrow in places and if you take the trouble to look over the edge you will see that the sides are very steep. At the far end of the ridge is where the real fun begins, after grass and boulders so far Ben Cruachan announces itself with rock and a steep climb through large boulders. I remember thinking that once I get to the top of this climb there is a Munro Top that I don't need to climb; as I continued climbing I looked behind me and saw the ridge path – I had done exactly what I had tried not to do.

I carried on to the cairn anyway seeing as I was nearly there, Ben Cruachan was beginning to look magnificent. After descending and walking along another steep-sided ridge you have to start climbing again, the percentage of boulders to grass starts to increase as you climb. As you climb you can see that the rising ridge has a steep rocky buttress on the right hand side and at the top of this ridge you are on solid rock. You can see on the other side of a small depression that the rock looks as though it has formed into cubes making a natural stone retaining wall. I remember this place too, after crossing a natural rock footbridge with the ground falling away steeply on either side you get to some downward sloping slabs.

You have to get down the slabs to the small depression before making the final climb to Ben Cruachan but you can't see what is over the edge. Last time we ended up making a detour and climbing down a small gully and I was determined not to have to do that again. I shuffled down to the edge of the slab and could see a step further along below the edge but I couldn't see any way of holding on whilst making the step. I shuffled over to the other side of the slab where a rock pillar stood with a gap of a few inches between it and the slab. I took a deep breath, held on with both hands and started to lower my feet down to a small ledge which I was fortunately able to reach and get down.

I then stood and watched as several walkers going in the other direction showed just how simple it was to get up the Bad Step and walk across the dry slabs. On with the climb over a chaotic mass of boulders, the path bears right to ensure that you get onto the ridge. I did try to climb up the crest of the ridge of boulders but the boulder in front of me was four feet tall with no obvious holds and a drop of five hundred feet down on the other side. I decided I should take the path that takes you past the summit and doubles back to it. The triangulation column on the summit of Ben Cruachan was broken off half way down; I don't suppose they are needed in these days of Global Positioning.

The descent was no less rugged than the ascent, hopping down over steep boulders until the path re-appeared where the boulders were smaller. The path was rugged at first and then became badly eroded as the boulders finished and the grassy bealach began. Rather than descend into Coire Dearg which as I remember was an awkward, eroded path we climbed up the stony path to the summit Meall Cuanail accompanied by another party of walkers heading in the same direction. It had been quite breezy and cooler on Ben Cruachan but as we got further down the easy grass slopes it got much warmer again and stayed that way all the way down to the car.

Andy Wallace 15th & 16th July 2006