Sgurr Choinnich Mor and Stob Coire an Laoigh, 13-14th July 2013
For my 90th Munro, I decided that I should do something a little different. I picked Steg up at his work at 5 on Saturday afternoon and we headed for the hills. It was my first really long drive in my new car, and it was very comfortable with it's air conditioning keeping us cool on that hot day.
We stopped in at the Kingy for dinner, and then made the final leg of our journey up to the Polldubh car park at Glen Nevis, with more than an hour to spare before dark.
I expected the waterfalls at Steall to be pretty much empty, but there were quite a few other campers around that night, even a couple setting off fireworks which echoed around the glen. We used Steg's wee North Face Mountain 25 tent. The midgies were few and it was a lovely evening. We hit the hay around midnight.
We were up at 7 sharp the next day as we knew we had a lot of distance to cover. The morning was fresh, and cloudy - far different from the sunny, clear day before. A swift wash, and a roll and sausage for breakfast followed by a wee fruit portion and we were ready to go. We left the tent up with a route card inside, just in case anyone was wondering where we'd gone.
By 0815 we were on the track, headed East, by the Steall ruins and on the track to the Allt Coire a Bhuic (marked on the 1:25k map, but not the 1:50k). We lost sight of the track but navigated on a bearing into the mist towards the saddle between Sgurr Choinnich Mor and Sgurr Choinnich Beag.
We eventually met up with a track which took us where we needed to go, and then pushed on for the summit of Sgurr Choinnich Mor. We reached the summit about 1110, just as the cloud started to leave and the blue skies shone through. The views were tremendous, with the Aonachs to our West and the Mamores to the South.
We descended quickly, even though it was very warm. With the rocks dry, it was easy going.
The next Munro was Stob Coire and Laoigh, another of the Grey Corries - it didn't come out of the mist for a while, but when it did, it was stunning.
We came across some impressive rock formations on our way over, including a massive gorge that could easily be covered in snow in Winter.
We made the summit of Stob Coire an Laoigh at 1pm and took a few minutes for some food then picked our way back down to Glen Nevis by heading to the bealach and contouring back along at 800m round the side of Sgurr Choinnich Mor then descending back the way we came.
We arrived at the Steall waterfall later than we expected at 4:15pm, packed up our wee tent and trooped back out of the glen to the car. By late afternoon it had clouded over, but stayed warm. As we headed out of Fort William in the car, there was a small rain shower.
Total 8hrs 30mins
Distance 19.5k
Munros: Sgurr Choinnich Mor and Stob Coire an Laoigh
We stopped in at the Kingy for dinner, and then made the final leg of our journey up to the Polldubh car park at Glen Nevis, with more than an hour to spare before dark.
I expected the waterfalls at Steall to be pretty much empty, but there were quite a few other campers around that night, even a couple setting off fireworks which echoed around the glen. We used Steg's wee North Face Mountain 25 tent. The midgies were few and it was a lovely evening. We hit the hay around midnight.
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| Home - for the night. |
We were up at 7 sharp the next day as we knew we had a lot of distance to cover. The morning was fresh, and cloudy - far different from the sunny, clear day before. A swift wash, and a roll and sausage for breakfast followed by a wee fruit portion and we were ready to go. We left the tent up with a route card inside, just in case anyone was wondering where we'd gone.
By 0815 we were on the track, headed East, by the Steall ruins and on the track to the Allt Coire a Bhuic (marked on the 1:25k map, but not the 1:50k). We lost sight of the track but navigated on a bearing into the mist towards the saddle between Sgurr Choinnich Mor and Sgurr Choinnich Beag.
 |
| Sgurr Choinnich Beag and Mor |
We eventually met up with a track which took us where we needed to go, and then pushed on for the summit of Sgurr Choinnich Mor. We reached the summit about 1110, just as the cloud started to leave and the blue skies shone through. The views were tremendous, with the Aonachs to our West and the Mamores to the South.
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| Steg at the Summit |
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| Stunning Views |
The next Munro was Stob Coire and Laoigh, another of the Grey Corries - it didn't come out of the mist for a while, but when it did, it was stunning.
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| Stob Coire an Laoigh |
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| Look out for this in the snow! |
We made the summit of Stob Coire an Laoigh at 1pm and took a few minutes for some food then picked our way back down to Glen Nevis by heading to the bealach and contouring back along at 800m round the side of Sgurr Choinnich Mor then descending back the way we came.
We arrived at the Steall waterfall later than we expected at 4:15pm, packed up our wee tent and trooped back out of the glen to the car. By late afternoon it had clouded over, but stayed warm. As we headed out of Fort William in the car, there was a small rain shower.
Total 8hrs 30mins
Distance 19.5k
Munros: Sgurr Choinnich Mor and Stob Coire an Laoigh
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