Lee, Sarah and I decided attempt to get to Bidean nan Bian on the Three Sisters of Glencoe (a lot of sisters in the Highland Mountains). So we thought we would make things interesting by going up The Zigzags on Geàrr Aonach then up to Stob Corie nan Lochan.
Sarah and I decided to sleep at the start point the night before to allow a bit of a lie in before starting off (just one advantage of being based in a van). The walk in was interesting, it was my first time walking in to this part of Glencoe. Very dramatic. The Zigzags are a classic grade 1 winter climb. If I'm honest I wasn't very impressed. while the views were dramatic the route as a slight let down, being nothing more challenging than an easy summer scramble. The three of us decided that a bit of alternative route finding was needed to spice up the excitement, we finished up a fun snow gully but ended up coming on to the shoulder further up than the actual route.
At this point the route became spectacular. Tramping over virgin neve we headed along the shoulder and up the dramatic ridge to the summit of Stob Corie nan Lochan. The ridge proved to have a couple of cheeky rock steps and steep snow sections which provided a bit of excitement. Again this was another day of stunning views over the Highlands. Unfortunately my photos are all still on my GoPro. Hence the lack of photos in this blog. They will follow.
As we reached the summit of Stob Corie nan Lochan the weather started to turn. I was pretty shattered by this point and Sarah was beginning to get quiet so we decided to complete the traverse and miss off Bidean nan Bian. (Its a massive mountain, it will always be there for another day).
The second half of the traverse was quick but fun. A worthwhile route! The most disappointing thing is the looooooong walk out. From the Corrie basin it took us an hour of relentless downhill slog to get back to the car. We were fit to drop, in fact I did, I took a bit of a tumble on the wet rocks of the path and bruised my hand and leg and grazed my arm. Ouchie! Once back at the vehicles we retired to the Clachaig Inn for hot chocolate and to meet up with Tom another friend/instructor who had been having a day off.
Fantastic day out.
Sarah and I decided to sleep at the start point the night before to allow a bit of a lie in before starting off (just one advantage of being based in a van). The walk in was interesting, it was my first time walking in to this part of Glencoe. Very dramatic. The Zigzags are a classic grade 1 winter climb. If I'm honest I wasn't very impressed. while the views were dramatic the route as a slight let down, being nothing more challenging than an easy summer scramble. The three of us decided that a bit of alternative route finding was needed to spice up the excitement, we finished up a fun snow gully but ended up coming on to the shoulder further up than the actual route.
At this point the route became spectacular. Tramping over virgin neve we headed along the shoulder and up the dramatic ridge to the summit of Stob Corie nan Lochan. The ridge proved to have a couple of cheeky rock steps and steep snow sections which provided a bit of excitement. Again this was another day of stunning views over the Highlands. Unfortunately my photos are all still on my GoPro. Hence the lack of photos in this blog. They will follow.
As we reached the summit of Stob Corie nan Lochan the weather started to turn. I was pretty shattered by this point and Sarah was beginning to get quiet so we decided to complete the traverse and miss off Bidean nan Bian. (Its a massive mountain, it will always be there for another day).
The second half of the traverse was quick but fun. A worthwhile route! The most disappointing thing is the looooooong walk out. From the Corrie basin it took us an hour of relentless downhill slog to get back to the car. We were fit to drop, in fact I did, I took a bit of a tumble on the wet rocks of the path and bruised my hand and leg and grazed my arm. Ouchie! Once back at the vehicles we retired to the Clachaig Inn for hot chocolate and to meet up with Tom another friend/instructor who had been having a day off.
Fantastic day out.
View of Stob Corie nan Lochan.