Buachaille Etive Beag (Stob Coire Raineach and Stob Dubh)

10 June 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Buachaille Etive Beag- Stob Coire Raineach, 925m/3,035', Munro; Stob Dubh, 958m/3143', Munro; Map 41

 This is one of my favourite hills and I was looking for a few favours from the weather gods in order to make the most of it. I was hoping for a day with excellent visibility, bright sunshine, not too hot and with a bit of a breeze to keep the midges away- and I was not to be disappointed! This is a view of the hill from the main road.....

Previous parking problems in this part of Glencoe have been solved by a new car park built right at the start of the track through the Lairig Eilde which is also the start point for the wee Buachaille (Stob Dubh is the peak on the right).....

The NTS had been busy; the old rough, wet path had been replaced with an excellent new path with a stairway of boulders up the steepest parts. It was one of the best of the new paths that I had come across and as a result I was on the ridge at the col between the two Munros in an hour. There is a great view of Bidean nam Bian from high up the path and of course from the ridge itself.....

I think that the ridge is one of the best viewpoints in the area; this is looking from the col down Glen Etive to Stob Dubh of Beinn Ceitlein.....

The changes to Munros Tables brought in Stob Coire Raineach as a second Munro for the Buachaille. It took me less than half an hour from the col to its summit.....

which looks down on Glencoe with Ardgour beyond across Loch Linnhe.....

The panorama also takes in the Mamores and Ben Nevis.....

the main top of Buachaille Etive Mor with Rannoch Moor and Schiehallion beyond.....

and my next objective, the main top, Stob Dubh.....

There was a good path all the way, steepish to start with, then a flat section before the ridge narrowed considerably and steepened again.....

This is looking over to Buachaille Etive Mor from near the top of the ridge.....

And then I was at the summit. There were a couple of cairns, the lower one past the summit providing a fine view down Glen Etive.....

I sat about here for a while taking in the views and chatting to some other people who had arrived. The breeze had disappeared up here, something that I have noticed before at the tops of hills, and there were a few midges about. So I shifted my position to a few yards downhill to catch the breeze again and get away from them. Too soon, unfortunately, it was time to go back down, boo, hiss. Here is a final view from Stob Dubh looking back along the ridge to Stob Coire Raineach.....

With all of the stops, it took me about 5 hours. With the two Munros, there was about 900m of ascent although the total distance was not great, about 5 miles.