Mullach nan Coirean and Stob Ban

Had planned to do the Ring of Steall with a guy from Walk Highlands website but once we arrived at the car park, decided that would be for a better day. The clag was down, the mouchettes were oot and we decided to head through the forest for MnC. We zig-zagged up the path but made a wee technical error somewhere with the GPS. What followed next could only be described as Rambo-esque climbing through bracken, heather and forest. Not much fun and the sweat was pashing off me. Mind you, my compadre was struggling even more - no wonder as he was carrying a 65 litre pack with an incredible amount of stuff. He was certainly prepped.

We got on to the hill proper and from there it was an easy enough pad up on to the red screes of this hill. Mind you, the 1st cairn was not the summit point so on we marched until the 1st M-point was in the bag. I'm sure folk will have made a booboo from this 1st cairn but no us. We didn't hing aboot and began the pad over to Stob Ban. This was a much more picturesque hill with great quartzite drops on either side of its peak. The meander over to the hill takes a good 25 minutes so you do feel like you've earned this 2nd Munro. Once up on the hill, we took the photaes, checked the route down (initially tricky) and headed down off the bealach into the corrie, on an excellent path. Monty began running down so I just kept up - by the time we hit the car park, it had taken us 4 hours and 30 minutes. A good pad but it was a pity the views were at a premium. Off to the Black Isle next week and hoping for better weather when tackling some of the Torridon peaks - fabbydoo!

The Aonach Eagach ridge

Couldn't believe that I took my camera for this special day and forgot the re-chargeable battery, which was still in charger 88 miles away. I am a phallus. My disappointment was slightly tempered by the fact that my buddy Cat for the day had a mobile phone (1.5Mb size) with camera so at least we'd get some photos of the trip, once she had downloaded them. Not that it was a day which wasn't memorable. I have decided to do this report in a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) style as it's a ridge which throws up lots of questions and hopefully I can provide some answers.

1. Where to park? I parked at the layby just opposite Loch Achtriochtan. This means you have a 2 mile warm-up walk to the bottom of Am Bodach - the route starts behind the small car-park and a path can be followed up - quite steep at first. Cat and I set off from here at 0800 and it was strangely quiet for Glencoe on Saturday - this meant less hassle for the awkward bits further up.

2. What is the path like up on to Am Bodach? Great. Very easy to follow but there is a small amount of scrambling about 400 ft from the top. You ascend quickly though.

3. How difficult is the Aonach Eagach and how soon do the difficulties start? Not far from the cairn of Am Bodach, there is a path, which goes off to the left - this will take you down to the fantastic prow of the Chancellor - it's scenic and a nice wee down-climb - take your time and it's straightforward enough and ideal for photos, as your party are thrust out into their airy position. This will give you a real sense of what is to come. If you don't like this, you won't like it further on. For me, this was one of the highlights of the day. Once back on to the main ridge, there is a nice path to follow before a down-climb drops you down about 15 metres. Good holds here and not that exposed - I was surprised as it was much easier than the book suggests. In fact, it was surprisingly smooth until we bagged Meall Dearg, with little in the way of difficulty. Was this going to be easier than the book and people make out? We could now see the AE ridge proper and it looked fab. The 'chimney' is a nice taster of easy holds up a funnel for 20 ft but it's not a 90 angle - maybe 70 degrees. Holds are very 'juggy', with little technicality. It's good fun and again not desperate in any way. Great photo shot though. Over the next 30-45 minutes, there are one or two areas, which need care and offer some exposure with some good drops on either side but as long as you take your time and have a head for heights, it's all good. This part may put off those who don't have a head for heights though or are confident in their scrambling abilities. Once past Stob Coire Leith, it's an enjoyable amble all the way to Sgorr Nam Fiannaidh and your 2nd Munro of the day.

4. What's the best way to get down safely? Helicopter. Seriously though we didn't entertain the path down beside the Clachaig gully. Because we had one car, we had decided to descend South straight off the 2nd Munro - there is a path about 15 yards on from the cairn. Initially, it's not bad but it gets very tricky further down due to the scree and unstable gravel. Care is needed so you're not on your backside or worse. Make for the grassy patches about 2/3 of the way down - once on to this all difficulties are over but it's a pretty steep and unrelenting descent. It may be easier (though longer) to go over to the col before the Pap. For us, it brought us right back to car at the layby.

5. Fit time did ye dee it in? 6 oors from start to finish and this involved a nice lunch for 30 mins and a 25 min diversion to the Chancellor. Cat had a better lunch than me - BLT. 

6. Is it comparable to onything else? Aye it is - very similar to the Forcan ridge aka the Saddle, in Glen Shiel. If you can cope with that, you'll be fine with this.

7. Please sir? Yes. Will there be photaes o this day oot? Yes there will be. Class dismissed.