The Pap of Glencoe

Today was never destined to be an early start.

I didn’t start the drive from home to Ballachulish until after 5’o’clock in the previous afternoon and a challenging drive in the dark and rain up the shore of Loch Lomond and over Rannoch Moor left me too alert to think about going straight to bed.  So a leisurely start the following morning was inevitable.

Even though it isn’t on my ticklist the Pap of Glencoe promised a shortish day of walking.  I parked in the large car park at the mountain’s base and started walking along the track parallel to the road.  The footpath to the Pap is well signed low down and as height is gained it is easy to follow although the ground underfoot is very eroded in places, particularly when the ground steepens alongside the Allt a’ Mhuilinn where the path is a deep trench in places.

Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour

The way up then turns left towards the bealach.  I exchanged greetings with a couple of couples who were heading back downhill and then headed straight towards the summit, reaching the flatter ground of the bealach before picking my way through the rockier terrain of the final 500 feet of ascent.  The broken ground of the north-eastern traverse finally gave way to slabbier ground reaching its way to the top.

The summit is a magnificent grandstand for views from the south, past the open seascape towards Ardgour, and around to the east.  The remaining quarter is blocked by the higher ground of Sgorr nam Fionnaidh.  The snow topped summits of the Mamores were a highlight to the north and my first Munro, Sgorr Dhearg, stood sentinel over Loch Leven and its meeting with Loch Linnhe at the Ballachulish bridge.  Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour was unfortunately topped by cloud but its Kinlochleven namesake stood menacingly proud.

the Mamores

Sgorr Dhearg

Garbh Bheinn over Kinlochleven

Loch Linnhe

I took the obligatory photos to record the view before turning tail, retracing my steps and having put on and take off my waterproofs twice to deal with the heavy showers that pulsed in from the Atlantic.

As I descended I realised that the footpath was pretty poor and as the ground was now wet, I had to take some care deciding where to place my feet.  The route was obviously quite well used and the erosion definitely needs to be addressed.

I arrived at the car just as the sun had set and then drove to Ballachulish to choose a suitable beer.

With Gertrude in Lochaber

As Storm Gertrude hit Scotland our motivation to get amongst the hills was lacking.  The MWIS forecast of sustained winds of at least 60mph on Munro summits put paid to any idea of heading high, so the only realistic option was a lower-level walk.

Decision made, and starting at Kinlochleven, seven of us were soon heading up past the Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall on the way to Loch Eilde Mor.  We and soon reached the snowline as well as increasing winds and had to cross a couple of streams, trying our best to avoid a soaking.  At Allt Coire nan Laogh the decision was taken to head towards the loch below us instead of a tentative plan to climb another 1000 feet up to Coire an Lochain at the eastern end of the Mamores.  The wind had reached over 35mph, not many of us had brought crampons and the chance of reaching any summit was considered so low that the option to head higher was quickly dismissed.

Pap of Glencoe and Loch Leven

We descended to the shore of Loch Eilde Mor and followed the path around to the dam to take some shelter before following the pipeline path above Allt na h-Eilde.  As we turned a corner into a natural amphitheatre, the wind speed reached a sustained 40mph giving us reason to appreciate our goggles in the increasing rain and sleet.

The walk down to and through the woods coincided with heavier rain and we all ended up soaking as we reached the cars.  Thankfully the drying room at the hut successfully lived up to its job description and gave us some wearable gear for us to take full advantage of the following day’s gap between storms.