Climbing the Most Photographed Munro!
Ok, I’ll admit it, I was selfish for this one: my choice, and a step up from our previous adventure. A longer route, more climbing, and temperatures unseen in September made for a very rewarding day up one of Scotland’s most photographed mountains, Buachaille Etive Mor!
Two Dogs or One?
I’m not sure how many times I’ve driven up the A82 in my life, but it’s definitely been a fair few. As the landscape gradually changes and you crest onto Rannoch Moor, the first proper mountain that sticks out is Buachaille Etive Mor. I’ve never known it’s name, but after our drive up to Ben Nevis, I saw it again and had to learn more about it. How cool would it be on my next journey into the Highlands to be able to point out the coolest, pointiest mountain in front of us and brag, “I’ve climbed that!” I did lots of research, watched countless videos on YouTube, but nothing could have prepared me for what was to be my most exhausting hike to date.
Having looked at the Walk Highlands route, we decided to make a small alteration and park at the Glencoe Viewpoint car park, then walk the mile or so down the road to the traditional car park and starting point. This way, we could warm our legs up before starting the steep ascent, and it would save us having to walk along a busy main road to end the hike, a choice we were both very glad we made later on in the day.
During my research I’d managed to find a couple of actual walkthroughs that showed the climb first hand. I was concerned that parts of the climb looked too steep for my dog, and the videos confirmed my fears. With a mountain like this, I’d need to focus on my own safety, let alone the safety of my dog too. Plus, I didn’t fancy having to lift him up for the steeper parts, as he’s not the most patient of dogs, and I’m not exactly the fittest either!
Matt was sure that his German Shephard, Tara would be fine, and he’d be okay if he had to help her up some of the scrambling sections. Even so, there were sections on the downhill we ended up having to guide her down to save her sliding down the mountain side.
Breakfast!
We’d been checking the forecast all week, and things were only improving day after day, so we knew it was going to be a busy one in the mountains. We planned to leave as early as possible and avoid the mad rush, hoping to get a good parking spot!
As was becoming a tradition, after missing breakfast on Ben Nevis and really struggling, we popped into Greggs at Stirling Services to buy some bacon rolls! We devoured them quickly on the two hour trip, towards what was slowly becoming my favourite place to be. The weather up to Stirling and just beyond was very poor: zero visibility and light rain. However, as we got to the left turn at Wester Lix, the clouds started to part and we were greeted with glorious sunshine, the clouds slowly drifting South revealing the stunning mountains in the North. This was what I was hoping Ben Nevis would’ve been like: a day when the sun is splitting the sky and your only concern is whether you packed the sunscreen or not. I did pack the sunscreen, didn’t I?… Sh!t!
Equipment Trial
For this adventure I was using something a little bigger than my standard hydration pack. I managed to retrofit a hydration port into one of my old Highlander rucksacks where the old headphone port used to be. The only downside of this rucksack was the lack of a waist belt or chest strap.
I was also trying out a new mount for my Nikon DSLR. After seeing the DSLR rucksack strap mount used by Mr Coutts on Scottish Munro Journey, I decided it would be worth a try. The main reason I hadn’t been taking my big camera on hikes – was because it was too much of a faff taking the rucksack off to get the camera out and take a few pics, just to put it away again. With the rucksack strap mount, I could easily slide my camera on and off to take pics, and not have it dangling from my neck and getting in the way. Well, that was the theory anyway.
Fek, That Looks Big!
To say I was excited would be an understatement. Having only ever seen the Buachaille from behind the glass of a vehicle, it felt very surreal as we walked past the growing collection of vehicles in the main car park. The mountain loomed ever closer, becoming more and more imposing with each step. I was going to do this right? I couldn’t back out now. Perfect weather, good company and zero excuses. I was going to do this.
We stopped at the cottage for a quick peek and some photos, but the midges soon scared us off and made haste towards the gully where our adventure would begin.
Uncalled For!
Within the first 100 metres of starting the main climb up the gully, I had to stop and take a few layers off. Even though the sun wasn’t high enough to be blasting down on us quite yet, I stripped down to my baselayer, packed my fleece and jacket into my backpack, and started the long slog up the mountain.
I remember reading that it was best to stick to the right of the main gully, and you would eventually come up to a rough stairway that’s easier to navigate than the boulder strewn gully. Unfortunately, I went a bit too far right and ended up doing a bit of scrambling to gain height, before realising my mistake. Matt appeared about 20 metres below me and asked me jokingly what I was doing up there, before pointing to the drone he’d launched, soaring up the main gully.
It was at this point that I got the sudden realisation that not everyone likes drones. Up ahead of us were another couple of hikers we had been slowly catching, and as the drone flew past them one of them decided it would be a great idea to throw the Vickies at it. Ok, so they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but at least be polite about it! Manners cost nothing!
In contrast, we passed two guys about halfway up having a spot of lunch, and they were all too happy to pose and wave for the drone. I even managed to have a brief chat about a Munro testing your fitness as I trudged passed, worrying that they were laughing about how unfit I was by the extreme amount of sweat coming from me.
Fitness or Finese?
I have to admit, I was really struggling going up the gully. The sweat was literally pouring off me and I was beginning to doubt my fitness altogether. However, I didn’t stop. I may have been slow, but I kept plodding away. I kept telling myself that this was the worst and hardest part of the day. Once I got the initial climb out of the way it would be plain sailing from there on out. Oh, how wrong I was!
As we crested the main gully and onto the main plateau it was a big relief. It gave us both a chance to take the rucksacks off, and get a proper drink and snack. I do remember trying one of Matt’s chocolate brownie protein bars, but it genuinely made my mouth go instantly dry and I couldn’t finish it. I needed fluids to replace the litres of sweat that now glistened on the path behind me. The sun was poking it’s head above the next peak that towered over us.
The summit didn’t look far, but in proper Munro style it proved to be a false summit. Even after we zig-zagged our way up the scree, it was still a good quarter mile towards the main summit and peak, which for me signifies the proper start of the Scottish Highlands.
A Truly Scottish View
I remember picking up the pace and almost jogging the last 100 metres to the summit cairn, such was my anticipation. I wanted my first glimpse from the summit to be the best it could be, so I focused solely on my feet hitting the rocks in front me, purposely not looking up and delaying my view until it was at the best possible angle.
When I finally lifted my head up at the summit cairn, my eyes were treated to the most tremendous view I’d seen outside of an aeroplane. Opening up to a massive drop some 1000 metres below, Rannoch Moor was presented to us in all it’s glory. The haze in the distance made it look like a scene from a video game, and as the clouds melted away in front of our eyes, Matt and I looked at each other in disbelief with massive smiles on both of our faces as he gave me a thumbs up.
Failure to Launch
The summit was a busy one, with lots of people taking advantage of the good, and rather uncharacteristic, weather for Scotland in September. We chose to take up residence looking out towards the south and Rannoch Moor. The summit gave us fantastic 360 degree views, with the Blackwater Reservoir in the east, Ben Nevis standing proud in the north, and our objective for the rest of the day to the west.
It had taken us just over two hours to get to the top, which by all accounts was fairly good, I think. From the videos I’d watched, most people do it in around two hours, so that did make me feel a bit better. Although there was hardly any wind, it was definitely colder at the summit than at ground level. I added a fleece layer to retain some of the heat I was losing from the cold sweat that was dripping down my back.
Unfortunately, I had sweat so much on the climb that, my poor phone that had been tucked away in my trouser pocket was soaked in sweat! So much sweat, that when I plugged the drone controller into my phone, it immediately went mental, proclaiming water had been detected in the charge port.
I was gutted, carrying my drone in my backpack all that way, hoping to get a shot of the mountain in all its glory, but without a connection to my phone it was pointless. I tried a different cable, an adaptor, and even tried drying off the phone with my lighter, but to no avail. Fortunately, Matt’s drone uses the same type of batteries as mine. So after he exhausted one of his three batteries, he kindly lent me his drone and controller, powered by my battery.
The Big Chill
I totally exhausted the battery with my lone drone flight. After getting a couple of zoomies and 360 degree shots, I headed out as far as I dared. When the battery dipped below 50%, I quickly snapped a couple of pictures and headed back, the drone shouting at me to return home immediately! After a quick snack and literally staring at the views for about an hour, we decided it was time to crack on, and we headed back down the way we came towards the plateau.
How Many Peaks?
On the way down I stopped and pointed out the three peaks that lay ahead of us.
“What do you mean three peaks? I thought this was only two Munros?” Matt exclaimed, motioning backwards and pointing to the peak directly in front of us.
“Yeh, two Munros and four peaks” I replied. “That’s Stob na Doire directly infront of us, but it’s not a Munro, only a Munro top. Then you’ve got Stob Coire Altrium as another top, before we head to the second Munro, Stob na Broige” I pointed to the far away peak at the end of the ridge line.
“Ah, erm…OK then, bit further than I expected, but let’s go for it!” Matt replied. I knew I could do it, and he is much fitter than me, so he should manage it no problem at all, was my thinking. After stopping for some more photographs and allowing Tara to drink in the many pools of water, we set off on the path that led us up and towards Stob na Doire. The going was pretty easy and nowhere near as steep as the gully we had navigated on the way up, but combined with the hot sun and the pressure of keeping up with other walkers, it was still tiresome.
We had planned to stop for some lunch at the top of Stob na Doire, but the summit was pretty busy with many others having the same idea. Had we not spent as long on the first summit we might have grabbed a space, but as it was we decided to just keep going and stop at the top of Stob na Broige for lunch instead.
Lunch at Last
Had there not been a bunch of people watching us descend off Stob na Doire, I might have slowed down a bit and looked back once or twice. As it was, Matt and I tried to keep pace with Tara as she literally galloped down the other side, and before we knew it, we were at the low point between the 2 Munro tops. It wasn’t until we both looked back up, that we actually realised what we had just come down in quick double time. We both looked at each other in disbelief. That was pretty steep, and we had survived without any injuries thus far.
The next job was the steep climb to the top of Stob Coire Altruim. This was where I started to feel pretty tired. I was running on empty, hadn’t had any lunch yet, and was starting to flag. Unfortunately, as we got higher, the sun came out from behind Stob na Doire and started to bake us as we slowly made our way to the summit. We were cooked by the time we got to the top of Stob Coire Altruim, and even Tara was starting to pant heavily. We decided it was best to try and find some shelter for Tara and stop for lunch. We headed over the peak, and briefly down the other side, to get out of the sun and enjoy views of Buachaille Etive Beag.
After constructing a makeshift sun shelter for Tara and supplying her with more water, we sat down to enjoy a spot of lunch. It was at this point that we both agreed it had been a good idea to stop now rather than later on. We were both pretty knackered, and needed more than just a protein bar and water to keep moving efficiently.
This is Scotland.
We spent a good half hour chilling in the shade, enjoying the endless views and generally taking a load off. It had been pretty much non stop since the summit of Stob Dearg, -and we both agreed we were suffering from a bit of sunstroke! Neither of us had brought sunscreen and were constantly adjusting the peaks of our caps to try to keep the sun off our faces.
Setting off towards Stob na Broige with renewed vigour, we trundled along the nice little ridge before the final ascent to the summit. Matt stuck up the drone using his last battery and I tucked into an energy gel. I’d never tried these energy gels before, as they weren’t a thing 20 years ago when I was last sporty, but oh my, what an instant boost! I’m used to those little 250ml cans of energy juice to give me a boost, but these gels seemed to give me endless energy. I felt my pace increase to the point that I was briskly jumping from point to point along the ridge, totally focused on my footing and posing for the drone – that Matt was now flying alongside me. What a buzz! I thought the views from the first Munro were a good buzz, but I felt amazing going along that ridge. I hadn’t felt that kind of endorphin rush since scoring my last goal in competitive hockey well over 20 years ago, sweat pouring off me, giving maximum effort and powering through with a big grin on my face. – This was it. This is what I’d been searching for- I, just didn’t know it.
I had kind of given up when I got my HNPP diagnosis. Given that I was out of shape and told not to do more than 5k steps a day, I thought I’d never experience those kind of feelings ever again. The utterly pure feelings, devoid of any background noise and born out of a fire that begins deep in your stomach before enveloping your entire body. The feelings that connect you with mother nature and make you feel truly alive again. So, with oxytocin undoubtedly coursing through my body, as I crested the top of Stob na Broige and was greeted with the view of Glen Etive, that was it, – I was in love. This is what Scotland is all about: a literal playground for adults to test themselves in a million different ways, and I wanted to be a part of it more than ever.
Max Heart Rate.
After another 360 degree drone video of our last summit, we shared a beer together thanks to some handy rocks, and tried our best to avoid some nasty deer flies! Then it was time to set off back to the car. With the constant chink chink of empty beer bottles in our side pockets, we retraced our steps towards Stob Coire Altruim. To save us reascending, we cut off the corner and headed towards the start of our descent down the Coire Altruim.
Neither of us had descended something that steep before, and it made the descent down Stob na Doire look like child’s play! By this point both of us were pretty knackered and wanted to get down as quickly as possible. There were several parts where we had to escort Tara safely down to save here disappearing down a waterfall, such were the inherent dangers. It was the first time since I was a kid that I’ve had to resort to getting onto my arse and sliding down a rock face, the drops were that big and steep! – It would also be an interesting route in reverse, having to climb up that section first, but I’d hate to try it in winter without the proper training and equipment!
I looked back at my Strava data for this route and found out that my maximum heart rate occurred on this descent. It does make sense though, as I was very tired and dying for a drink at that point. I’d sucked the last of my water out of my hydration pack, and Matt had given the last of his water to Tara, so we were both tempted to drink out of one of the many waterfalls on the way down, but we didn’t.
A Refreshing End!
After what seemed like an unending descent, we got down and headed right along the path that follows the River Coupall towards the car. About half way along, we discovered a very refreshing way to end to our adventure, as we were presented with a perfect section of the river for some wild swimming! Reluctant at first, I ditched my bag and electronics and followed Matt into the river fully clothed. It was so refreshing, and an utter godsend to my tired legs and body. I videoed Matt jumping in, with the mountain we’d just climbed down from, looming large in the background. What a perfect way to end my first adventure in Glencoe!
The walk back to the car park was a bit of a soggy one, but by the time we got to the car, we were both almost dry and very glad we didn’t have to walk the extra mile down to the traditional car park. Tired and weary, the first thing I did when we got back to the car was go into the back and grab the spare bottle of juice I’d left on the backseat. It was utterly roasting, having been sat on the backseat all day in the scorching sun, but I didn’t care. I squeezed the bottle and sucked as hard as I could to get every last drop of fluid. It reminded me of the hot orange juice my mum used to make me as a kid when I was ill. I took note: don’t under pack on the water ever again! That had been a hard one. Not as hard as Ben Nevis with it’s challenging conditions, but definitely a challenging pair of Munros for anyone. After stripping off as secretly as we could in front of some nosy tourists, we stuck Tara in the boot and collapsed into the car.
Now the worst part of the day: the drive home. Except, it wasn’t really. Although we were exhausted, I think we were both still on cloud nine! We retold each other stories we were both there for, and I couldn’t wait to take a look at the drone pictures and videos when we got back. As we literally descended back into reality and into the Central Belt of Scotland, things just looked flat and dull. There was no character, no challenges on show; it all just looked to easy. I wanted more, and I couldn’t wait to get out and climb another Munro. If Matt didn’t pick another soon, I might even have to go on one by myself!
