Glencoe with LUHC
Posted by Sam Harrison on February 5, 2013 at 17:46.
This weekend just gone, the Hiking Club ran a trip to Glencoe. It was touch-and-go as to whether the trip would run or not right up until the evening before, as not many people had signed up for it, but fortunately it was decided it would go ahead!
The trip was actually down as "TBC", with Tyndrum being the other option. We finally made the choice that it would be worth the extra journey at Tesco's in Lesmes - the decision was a necessity at this stage as if we were to be staying in Tyndrum, we'd have to stock up on beer as there wouldn't have been the Clachaig down the road from the campsite!
We arrived just before midnight and after pitching our tents and deciding on a 8am departure time in the morning, went to bed. My hip is still bothering me, but I decided that Buachaille Etive Beag might be an option as it's northern summit is only a few kilometres from the road. Alex, who is going in for his Winter ML assessment in a few weeks, decided that would also be a good chance to get some nav and winter skills practice in. Lorna and Laura also came along with us, whilst the rest opted for the Aonach Eagach.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="432"]
Summit of Stob Coire Raineach[/caption]
The weather was rather good, with only bits of cloud scattered about. We worked our way up the usual route to the col, picking out interesting contour features on the OS 1:50 map and trying our best to find them exactly. I tend to use Harvey's BMC 1:40 maps and I was quite surprised when comparing this against the OS at how much more detailed the Harvey's are - especially when it comes to contour lines. The 15m intervals, as opposed to 10m on the OS, makes them much easier to read (and negates the necessity for fading out contour lines like the OS do).
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="403"]
Stob Dubh[/caption]
From the col, we branched north and up the rocky ridge to the summit of Stob Coire Raineach, admiring the extensive views over the Bidean range to the west and Buachaille Etive Mor to the east. The summit itself was quite airy, and though not pinnacle-like in the slightest, still offered a good deal of exposure.
Back down to the col and my hip was still feeling okay, so I decided it would be worth doing the southerly summit, Stob Dubh, as well. The decision was cemented in place upon seeing the Alpine-esque snow ridge that lead to the summit. After cautiously negotiating a wind-slabbed snow-loaded slope, with last week's tragedy on Bidean fresh in our minds, we gained the middle summit of the Buachaille and then pressed onwards along the aforementioned snow ridge. What with the sun, still air and narrow snow ridge, it really did feel like we were in the Alps. We must have spent at least twenty minutes on the summit, admiring the breathtaking views down Glen Etive and again over the Bidean range.
On the way down, we made use of the good snow covering to make some snow bollards, bucket seats and stomp belays. I'd never used a stomp belay and I was surprised at how strong it was. A platform is "stomped" out in the snow, big enough for your two feet, and then your ice axe is buried shaft down in the snow. The rope is then cleanly passed through a caribiner attach to the head of the axe, and then run across your back and over the opposite shoulder, giving enough friction to hold the your partner.
As always, the Clachaig provided great craic on Saturday evening, with entertainment from a lively folk duo who's name unfortunately eludes me. On the Sunday, Lorna and myself had intended to go ice climbing at Kinlochleven's Ice Factor, but there were no spaces left when we arrived, and so instead we took a windy and wet drive down Glen Etive.
Fingers crossed this is the start of a full recovery for my hip!
The trip was actually down as "TBC", with Tyndrum being the other option. We finally made the choice that it would be worth the extra journey at Tesco's in Lesmes - the decision was a necessity at this stage as if we were to be staying in Tyndrum, we'd have to stock up on beer as there wouldn't have been the Clachaig down the road from the campsite!
We arrived just before midnight and after pitching our tents and deciding on a 8am departure time in the morning, went to bed. My hip is still bothering me, but I decided that Buachaille Etive Beag might be an option as it's northern summit is only a few kilometres from the road. Alex, who is going in for his Winter ML assessment in a few weeks, decided that would also be a good chance to get some nav and winter skills practice in. Lorna and Laura also came along with us, whilst the rest opted for the Aonach Eagach.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="432"]
Summit of Stob Coire Raineach[/caption]The weather was rather good, with only bits of cloud scattered about. We worked our way up the usual route to the col, picking out interesting contour features on the OS 1:50 map and trying our best to find them exactly. I tend to use Harvey's BMC 1:40 maps and I was quite surprised when comparing this against the OS at how much more detailed the Harvey's are - especially when it comes to contour lines. The 15m intervals, as opposed to 10m on the OS, makes them much easier to read (and negates the necessity for fading out contour lines like the OS do).
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="403"]
Stob Dubh[/caption]From the col, we branched north and up the rocky ridge to the summit of Stob Coire Raineach, admiring the extensive views over the Bidean range to the west and Buachaille Etive Mor to the east. The summit itself was quite airy, and though not pinnacle-like in the slightest, still offered a good deal of exposure.
Back down to the col and my hip was still feeling okay, so I decided it would be worth doing the southerly summit, Stob Dubh, as well. The decision was cemented in place upon seeing the Alpine-esque snow ridge that lead to the summit. After cautiously negotiating a wind-slabbed snow-loaded slope, with last week's tragedy on Bidean fresh in our minds, we gained the middle summit of the Buachaille and then pressed onwards along the aforementioned snow ridge. What with the sun, still air and narrow snow ridge, it really did feel like we were in the Alps. We must have spent at least twenty minutes on the summit, admiring the breathtaking views down Glen Etive and again over the Bidean range.
Lorna and me on the summit of Stob Dubh
On the way down, we made use of the good snow covering to make some snow bollards, bucket seats and stomp belays. I'd never used a stomp belay and I was surprised at how strong it was. A platform is "stomped" out in the snow, big enough for your two feet, and then your ice axe is buried shaft down in the snow. The rope is then cleanly passed through a caribiner attach to the head of the axe, and then run across your back and over the opposite shoulder, giving enough friction to hold the your partner.
As always, the Clachaig provided great craic on Saturday evening, with entertainment from a lively folk duo who's name unfortunately eludes me. On the Sunday, Lorna and myself had intended to go ice climbing at Kinlochleven's Ice Factor, but there were no spaces left when we arrived, and so instead we took a windy and wet drive down Glen Etive.
The Clachaig on Saturday night
Fingers crossed this is the start of a full recovery for my hip!