Curved Ridge & Buachaille Ridge
Posted by Max Hunter on 22nd May, 2014
Mary and Judi. Dry rock all the way up
Only 1 other team on the ridge – way down
On Wednesday morning I was rudely woken up by heavy rain on the windows – never a good sign, and not normally an indicator of a good day in the making! However Mary, Judi and I still arranged to meet and decide if we believed the improving weather forecasts, and whether to continue with our plan of doing Curved Ridge, followed by the entire Buachaille Etive Mor ridge down to the Lairig Gartain col. We decided to put on our waterproof outfits and start the walk in, hoping for the best. We were soon rewarded with improving weather, and before helmets were put on, the waterproofs were at the bottom of the bags once again – happy days. Even better, the slight wind and blue skies had dried the entire curved ridge – so it was a near perfect day of scrambling on the ridge – ridge to ourselves, perfect views, dry rock and no rain, amazing.
We got to the summit of Stob Dearg for lunchtime, and a look ahead to the second ridge munro of Stob na Broige. We made swift progress along the ridge, and the peace was only disturbed by a mountain rescue helicopter landing and manouvering in Glen Etive.
We completed the ridge after Stob na Broige by heading WSW, and down towards the pass in Lairig Gartain. A stroll back to the cars, and the day took us only 9 hours – without ever rushing. However Mary and Judi are very experienced scramblers, and hill goers – they’ll complete their Munro rounds later this summer – and they have always gone up and down via the ‘more interesting’, ‘less travelled’ routes. I was only there to make sure they didn’t waste time finding curved ridge. A terrific day out – thank you to Mary and Judi.
Stunning scenery – a lot to look at
Fun scrambling, in the sun
After Crowberry Tower
After Stob Dearg, towards Stob na Doire
Plenty of snow high in Coire Altruim
Looking ahead towards Stob na Broige
The pass of Lairig Gartain
A sunny end to the day