Summits today:
STOB A’ GHLAS CHOIRE 995m Munro Top
CREISE 1099m Munro
MAM COIRE EASAIN 1079m Deleted Munro Top
CLACH LEATHAD 1099m Munro Top
MEALL A’ BHUIRIDH 1107m Munro
CREAG DHUBH 746m Subsimm

Start 1050 + Finish 1710 = 6h20, 13km, 1220m ascent

Followed route 26 in Andrew Dempster’s “Classic Mountain Scrambles in Scotland”. Cicerone guide “Scotland’s Mountain Ridges” by Dan Bailey also refers. Began from the Glen Etive road, from where Sron na Creise and Buachaille Etive Mor appear as mirror image pyramidical twins. Warm, dry conditions today and with water levels low, I boulder hopped the river Etive near my parking spot (limited space).

Took a beeline over moorland to a small grey patch of rock at the base of the Sron na Creise ridge. The lower section was grassy with a couple of rocky bands I took direct, then a grassy green ramp (visible from the road) sloping up left got me to the distinctive house sized boulder, from where I contoured left on a climbers path to the other side of the large scree gulley filled with reddish rock. The main scramble came next, directly up a buttress of rough slabs.

Beyond Stob a’ Ghlas Choire the route becomes a fine high level Munro ridge walking circuit, with out and back to Clach Leathad (only 2ft lower than it’s parent Munro Creise). Minor peak Creag Dhubh has numerous cairns built by ski centre visitors and affords great views of Glen Coe plus the crags climbed earlier. Descended Creag Dubh’s pathless grassy NW ridge with a dip in a natural jacuzzi near the end to freshen up for the drive back. Brilliant. The finest way to tackle these six good peaks with nice scrambling, avoiding the ski centre paraphernalia and the ‘crowds’ found on more popular honeypot hills nearby.