Pics from top to bottom: Looking West over Loch Leven to Glen Coe mts. ; The West Highland Way 1 hour from Kinlochleven; me having a glorious time on top of Stob Ban (I walked around the ridge that is seen behind me in the photo); View up to Sgur a Mhaim (nearest) and Stob Ban from Glen Coe.
Day 43 - Sunday May 17th. Today was great! What a bonus, getting an TOTALLY rain free day in this part of the Highlands, particularly with an inffy weather forecast. I had a blast, walking up 1,000 metres, then doing an entire ridge and 2 Munroes in beautiful weather. Magic.
John is happy because Yolanda has joined us and is going to be our fairy God-mother for the next 8 or 9 days as we complete this. She's a real hero for doing this.
All of the peaks were clear of cloud and standing out proud. We had a leisurely start at 10am as we only had about 14 miles to do to get to Fort William. Yolanda was coming up to support us in the final week and was expected at around 4pm, so we werent in a hurry. The Way climbed steadily up to the north of Loch Leven and we began to get some nice views of the water and the mountains beyond. In fact, it became apparent that all of the peaks were clear of cloud, the weather seemed settled with light winds and it was a perfect day for going high. I checked the map and decided to take the high road; that is, to climb up to the Stob Ban peak and ridge which ran parallel to the Way, but a about 2000 feet higher. I checked with John and told him my plans, and to expect me between 4 and 6pm, and set off climbing steeply up through the moss and heather.
Stob Ban is a 999 metre Munro that stood out directly above where I started, and there were no actual paths up to it from this side, so I did what I normally do in such situations, which is take the direct route up. Luckily, the ground was fairly even and the vegetation not too high so although steep, I made good progress. As I climbed, the views opened out and more and more peaks were to be seen disappearing into the blue distance. After about 40 minutes of steep climbing, I reached the col below the summit at about 2,400 feet (680m) where the Glen Nevis path comes up - this is the normal route. There was a fabulous view here down to Glen Nevis and also f the huge cliffs on the north side of the mountain. The final pitch was great - following a rough pathway up the white quartz rocks which made for easy climbing. I reached the summit alone and was treated to a 360 degree panorama of mountains and lochs, with every single top including Ben Nevis, Glen Coe and the endless ranges to the north all clear. As I sat there, three other walkers arrived, one of whom moved very fast over rough ground and seemed completely at home up here. I started northward, descending quite steeply across the white rocks to the ridge below. I could hear the wind swirling underneath the cliffs, and at times it burst up, over the edge pushing me sideways. The along the cliffs below the ridge and across to Ben Nevis and the other nearby mountains was awe-inspiring - rock tumbling thousands of feet down to the valley below, and huge bluffs and ridges rising up to the slithers of snow remaining on the tops. The entire ridge was about 2.5 miles, ending at a second 3000-foot peak, Mullach nan Choirean. I walked the entire ridge, picking up the second Munro, then continued north on a descent that should take me back to the Way and Glen Coe. The descent was pretty steep and soon I realised that this was not the normal route as there were no paths at all. It took a bit of navigation and a lot of hard leg work over very steep slopes, but I eventually reached the forest. It then was going to be difficult to get to the Way so I decided to continue north down into the Glen. This was also steep and rough but quite quick and I was soon walking along a forest road in the direction of Fort William. I was surprised to find, on the way down the mountain, quite a lot of anenomes, primroses and violets growing in the boggy rocky ground among the cotton grass and moss - these are flowers I associate with gentler habitats.
There was bit of a road walk into town, but as I got there, our rucksacks arrived in the van and John and Yolanda came over to collect his. My B&B was very close, then I spent the evening in a couple of pubs writing my blog and talking to people I'd met and re-met on the way. There was some traditional Scottish dance music on but I was too tired so didn't stay long and retired to dream about mountain scenery. John & Yo had their re-union night in a hotel by the Caledonian Canal, a bit further on.
Stob Ban is a 999 metre Munro that stood out directly above where I started, and there were no actual paths up to it from this side, so I did what I normally do in such situations, which is take the direct route up. Luckily, the ground was fairly even and the vegetation not too high so although steep, I made good progress. As I climbed, the views opened out and more and more peaks were to be seen disappearing into the blue distance. After about 40 minutes of steep climbing, I reached the col below the summit at about 2,400 feet (680m) where the Glen Nevis path comes up - this is the normal route. There was a fabulous view here down to Glen Nevis and also f the huge cliffs on the north side of the mountain. The final pitch was great - following a rough pathway up the white quartz rocks which made for easy climbing. I reached the summit alone and was treated to a 360 degree panorama of mountains and lochs, with every single top including Ben Nevis, Glen Coe and the endless ranges to the north all clear. As I sat there, three other walkers arrived, one of whom moved very fast over rough ground and seemed completely at home up here. I started northward, descending quite steeply across the white rocks to the ridge below. I could hear the wind swirling underneath the cliffs, and at times it burst up, over the edge pushing me sideways. The along the cliffs below the ridge and across to Ben Nevis and the other nearby mountains was awe-inspiring - rock tumbling thousands of feet down to the valley below, and huge bluffs and ridges rising up to the slithers of snow remaining on the tops. The entire ridge was about 2.5 miles, ending at a second 3000-foot peak, Mullach nan Choirean. I walked the entire ridge, picking up the second Munro, then continued north on a descent that should take me back to the Way and Glen Coe. The descent was pretty steep and soon I realised that this was not the normal route as there were no paths at all. It took a bit of navigation and a lot of hard leg work over very steep slopes, but I eventually reached the forest. It then was going to be difficult to get to the Way so I decided to continue north down into the Glen. This was also steep and rough but quite quick and I was soon walking along a forest road in the direction of Fort William. I was surprised to find, on the way down the mountain, quite a lot of anenomes, primroses and violets growing in the boggy rocky ground among the cotton grass and moss - these are flowers I associate with gentler habitats.
There was bit of a road walk into town, but as I got there, our rucksacks arrived in the van and John and Yolanda came over to collect his. My B&B was very close, then I spent the evening in a couple of pubs writing my blog and talking to people I'd met and re-met on the way. There was some traditional Scottish dance music on but I was too tired so didn't stay long and retired to dream about mountain scenery. John & Yo had their re-union night in a hotel by the Caledonian Canal, a bit further on.
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