Mullach nan Coirean and Stob Bàn

Sunday 27th May 2012

I’ve not felt that my Scottish holidays over the last couple of years have been very successful. I’m not sure what the problem has been but they do not seem to have gone as well as my other holidays, whether it’s through a lack of good planning or maybe I’ve just not being going up any good mountains. So this year I was determined to stop the rot by returning to Glen Nevis, the location of some of the best mountains in Scotland, and of some of my best ever walks. The last time I was in this area was in 2008 when the weather was terrible and it rained all week. Now I had the complete opposite with fantastic weather: it was really hot, clear blue skies and with forecasts that showed little change. To start this holiday I decided to return to possibly my favourite range of mountains in the whole of Scotland, the Mamores, which lie immediately south of Ben Nevis. I first went over these mountains in 2005 when I spent a wonderful weekend on them, and subsequently I have returned whenever I’ve been in the area. So I was assured of a great walk to start my holiday.

I was doing the walk that I took on my first visit to the Mamores in 2005 when I walked over the mountains on the western part of the range. On that occasion I had followed the instructions in Ralph Storer’s guide to the “100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains” that took me onto a really muddy path beside the Allt a’ Choire Dheirg burn that was followed by an excruciatingly steep climb up to the ridge. I have since discovered that there is a better route beside the Allt a’ Choire Riabhaich so that was my aim as I set off from the youth hostel in Glen Nevis. After walking along forest tracks for a while I climbed up a fabulous path, until it petered out. A poor path, muddy in places, took me further up the stream until I found a point where I could get across the stream and climb the steep hillside opposite. Just as I started it occurred to me that this hill was a lot bigger and steeper than it should have been so I had a quick look at the map to check where I was. And then it struck me. I had been following exactly the same route as I had in 2005!

While crossing the Allt a’ Choire Dheirg burn again I despaired over the steep climb ahead of me, a climb that was much steeper than the one I would have had if I’d taken the right path. So with the sun beaming down on me and sweat pouring off me I struggled up the same steep hill that I’d struggled up seven years ago, but this time it felt much worse. I had absolutely no energy for the climb, every step was a struggle, but somehow I eventually managed to get to the top of the ridge. There I collapsed in a heap and had a long cool drink and ate some fruit and nuts to get my strength back up. The views around me were sensational. The Mamores are a fabulous range of narrow ridges, deep valleys and stunning white quartzite-topped mountains, and I had a grandstand view of not only the whole range but also the majestic Ben Nevis. After a rest I resumed the climb up to the top of Mullach nan Coirean, the smallest Munro in the Mamores range, but this was still an extremely tiring climb even though the gradient was now much gentler. It’s not unusual for me to not be hill-fit at the start of a holiday, but this was something more, possibly the heat (or, dare I say it, I’m getting older … ?).

Eventually I reached the summit of Mullach nan Coirean, the western-most Munro in the Mamores, and after another rest I set off along this fabulous range of hills to the second Munro, Stob Bàn. With the excellent weather continuing I really had no excuse for not having a great walk, but I was continuing to have difficulty when going uphill. On reaching the 912m northern top of Stob Bàn I collapsed onto the soft grass and had my lunch. It was very relaxing lying there on the grass, enjoying the sunshine and gazing out over the stunning mountain scenery. But this failed to stop my legs from aching when I resumed the climb up to the top of the strikingly shaped peak of Stob Bàn. I felt so tired I became convinced that the cause of my problem was due to a lack of a good night’s sleep, but the way I felt I’d probably need a lot of good night’s sleep!

Stob Bàn is an awesome mountain, with a top covered in white quartzite stones that make it look snow-covered even in the middle of the summer. It was great to be at the top of such a great mountain and coming back down it is even more exciting as it’s very steep, involving a bit of a scramble on the hard rocks. Despite my lack of energy I was still able to appreciate this magnificent mountain, but once I had reached the grass below the mountain I had to stop again and decide what I was going to do next. I had struggled all day on the ascents, which was really disappointing because the weather was fantastic and the scenery of the Mamores is sensational. In 2005 the walk had continued by going along the Devil’s Ridge to Sgurr a’ Mhain, but I did not have the energy to do that now, so I followed Ralph Storer’s route by dropping down into Coire Mhusgain and follow the excellent path through the valley that leads all the way back to the road. I desperately wanted to stay on the Mamores and seriously considered returning the following day so I could resume my walk over the wonderful Mamores.

Part of me felt that I should be disappointed by this walk. One of my reasons for doing this walk was so that I could use the better route up to the ridge, but instead I failed to do that, and without realising I blundered onto the path I’d taken in 2005. I was really annoyed with myself when I realised I’d gone the wrong way. But the biggest factors on this walk were that I was really tired, which made every climb excruciatingly painful, and it was very hot. You really don’t want to be doing strenuous walks in this sort of weather, which could be what was draining me of energy. But I can’t complain; this was a fabulous walk, in fabulous weather, and over fabulous terrain.