Members Attending

Wallace Booth; Angus Campbell; Raymond Evenden; James Duncan Fraser; George Henderson; Susan Henderson; Paddy Marrs; Tanya-Anne MacKenzie; Louise McCulloch; Lorn Smith; Ewan Stewart

Guests

Craig Sephton

Apologies

John Calder; Bill Dallas; Alyn McNaughton; Pete Smith

Intro

It’s fair to say the SMC’s Lagangarbh hut is iconic and it’s been over 5 years since the club’s last stay (December 2017, in fact).  It’s location never fails to draw your attention in passing and has undergone a recent refurbishment.  The kitchen, though much the same layout, has had all of the appliances and work surfaces renewed.  Meanwhile, the drying room, toilet and shower area have all been renewed/extended, with added underfloor heating.  Anyway, enough of the ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ chat!

Friday

It was a very decent day for the time of year, plenty of cloud around, flitting in and out of the tops through Glencoe, but very light winds and no rain or, sadly, snow.  Those who were in a position to take advantage of this, did so.

As we were to discover later, Tanya and Craig were in the area reasonably early on in the day, to tackle one of the Beinn a’ Bheither Munro’s, Sgurr Dhonuill, which was still on Tanya’s To-Do List, though not any more, and they had an enjoyable time of it on the ridge.

George and Susan meanwhile, were focussed on their New Grahams mission in the NW, stopping overnight at Fersit before driving on to the Arisaig area and scaled Sidhean Mòr in overcast, but otherwise pleasant conditions.

Susan’s photo of Sidhean Mòr (above) now adorns the hill page on the Walkhighlands website – kudos!  See for yourselves here… https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/sub2000/sidhean-mor-morar 

They followed this with a visit to the Glenfinnan monument in the afternoon, at the head of Loch Shiel, before heading further North for a night in the van at Ratagan.

Angus and Lorn arrived at Lagangarbh mid-morning with a plan to do Buachaille Etive Beag from Altnafeadh…Lorn’s plan that is, having omitted to share the details with Angus, who’d diligently printed maps and taken bearings for the Lairig Eilde approach, only discovering this as they hoofed it up the Lairig Gartain track instead!  They left the track, initially heading for the bealach but the steep approach meant it was just as “easy” to make a beeline for Stob Coire Raineach and soon popped out just shy of the summit to very decent views of the immediate area, the slow-moving light cloud adding to the atmosphere.  Heading for the bealach, two other walkers were enjoying lunch there and our pair decided to do the same.  During this break, an 11-strong party appeared and lunch was brought to an abrupt end, followed by a swift march up on to Stob Dubh to put some distance between them and the ensuing throng.  The thin cloud on Stob Dubh was a little more stubborn and, despite extending the walk a bit further along the ridge, the epic view down Glen Etive proved elusive, but for a couple of fleetingly hazy glimpses.  As the pair made their way back to the bealach once again, they encountered the aforesaid eleven, also descending, having obviously only gone as far as the 902m spot height, before turning back (their “guide” telling them it was too far to go to the summit!?).  It turned out they were a party over from Ireland for a St Patrick’s Day weekend and Lorn was disappointed to learn that Angus didn’t know any of them!

They arrived back at the hut by early afternoon, pleased to find that Fraz and Raymond had already been in to turn everything on before marching back over the road to tackle the Pink Rib scramble on Beinn a’ Chrulaiste.  Keen-eyed observers will have noted that Raymond had scaled this route in May last year so, there’d be no need for “Fraser’s Way” today – though he did twist Raymond’s arm into extending the walk to take in the summit.  The Pink Rib is arguably this hill’s best feature however, it’s the views across to Buachaille Etive Mor that make the ascent worthwhile.

Down below, a fine afternoon was developing under that little shaft of light in the photo above so, Angus and Lorn pulled a couple of chairs outside to enjoy a refreshment while soaking up the views and were soon joined by Tanya, Craig and Louise, followed by a steady stream of members thereafter.

Wallace had messaged ahead to say he’d be up on the Saturday, with his sights set on Glen Etive. 

Paddy and Ewan were last to appear, having messaged to say they were stopping for dinner in Tyndrum.  An APB went out for chips to be brought…..but no chips were forthcoming and they were not so subtly reminded of this for the remainder of the weekend (and beyond)!

By the time everyone arrived, the kitchen was fine and warm and no-one seemed interested in retiring to the cooler living room area so, saw the evening out in the kitchen.  It wasn’t a late one by 45 Degrees standards, despite Saturday’s forecast looking less than inviting.

Saturday

As forecast, Saturday dawned with the cloud right down to a couple of hundred metres and, before long, the rain followed.

Things were obviously a bit better further North and West where George and Susan, having overnighted in the van at Ratagan, tackled Beinn a’Chuirn from the Allt Cnoc Fhionn burn, just below Mam Ratagan, leaving them with just one new Graham remaining to restore their completion status (at least until someone moves the goalposts again!).

They then met up for lunch with Adrian and Ania in Fort William before heading on to Lagangarbh. 

Given the conditions in and around Glencoe, rather than hills, Raymond and Lorn opted for different low-level runs.  Raymond drove back to Tyndrum and ran the 22 miles back to the hut, as training for the Cape Wrath Trail Ultra in May.

Lorn meanwhile, ran from the hut through the Lairig Gartain, between the two Buachaille’s and around the back of Stob Dubh on Etive Beag, into the Lairig Eilde, back out and along the old military road to the hut, getting royally soaked in the process.  The heated shower room proved a welcome haven for them on returning to the hut.

Craig had a Corbett in mind from Glen Etive, so he too embraced the damp conditions to get Beinn Maol Chaluim done.  Tucked in behind Bidean Nam Bian, it packs a punch in terms of remoteness and height, easily within the top 20 highest Corbetts.Wallace was also on Corbett duty down in the Glen and, I think, unbeknownst to each other.  He was on Beinn Trilleachan, while Craig was on nearby BMC.  Wallace felt this was one of, if not the, wettest days in the hills he’d had (the pic below is from Sunday when there was more in the way of views!).

Conditions worsened as the day wore on but that didn’t deter the intrepid trio of Louise, Tanya and Angus who plumped for Beinn a’ Chrulaiste across the road from Lagangarbh.  A bit slippery for the Pink Rib today so, they approached from Altnafeadh, up over the shoulder and out to the summit.  Not sure at which point the idea of turning their walk into a traverse on such a miserable day came about, but that’s exactly what happened and it would be a happy coincidence that saw them repair to the warmth and comfort of the Kingshouse to dry off and rehydrate, before following the West Highland Way back to the hut!

Another trio braving the hills in this weather, saw Paddy and Ewan experience their first day out under the wing of Sherpa Fraz.  They could have saved themselves a short drive by approaching from the Lairig Gartain, but opted for the traditional Lairig Eilde route (& Angus supplying them with his unused map & bearings from the day before!), but under the experienced eye of The Fraz, the walk passed off without incident, clocking up another two new Munros for Ewan and Paddy.

Everyone was back fairly early so a plan was hatched to head down to Loch Leven for a dip.  Tanya, Paddy, Ewan, Angus and Lorn went in and swam out to Eilean Munde (aka Burial Island).  Tanya putting the lads to shame by opting for a non-wetsuit swim.  It was peak high tide and the water was relatively calm.  Once out of the wetsuits, they stopped by the Clachaig for the traditional bowl of soup, to find Fraz and Raymond already enjoying the hospitality by the fire.

On return to the hut, the business of preparing meals and the usual festivities were underway, once again opting to remain in the kitchen, rather than the lounge.  The stability of one of the benches was called into the question late in the evening, resulting in a couple of climbers down, bringing a natural end to proceedings!

Sunday

Conditions were much improved today so, Angus, Paddy & Lorn took the traditional route up through Coire na Tulaich on Buachaille Etive Mor, safely negotiating the icy and treacherous corrie rim, in an otherwise straight-forward outing, in order to reach Stob Dearg, before following the ridge round towards Stob na Doire, up and over the demoted Munro and on to Stob na Broige, the second of the day, descending through Coire Altruim and out via the Lairig Gartain to Altnafeadh before heading down the road behind everyone else. 

Wallace meanwhile, had unfinished business in Glen Etive to attend to and headed off for Beinn Maol Chaluim, enjoying far better conditions and views than either he or Craig had down there the previous day.

Happy Easter when it comes!