Creise(1100m) & Meall A'Bhuiridh(1108m)
Saturday 11th October 2014
14kms
8hrs
Glen Etive was unusually quiet and free from wild campers as we drove towards our start point just beyond the bridge across the River Etive at Alltchaorunn. The glen was beautiful as ever, with the early morning mist and low clouds just beginning to break from the tops, with the promise of clear skies and some nice weather for our day in the hills.
Crossing the gated bridge, we were soon making our way across the open ground above Alltchaorunn towards the path which follows the east bank of the Allt a'Chaorainn towards the wire footbridge spanning the river at the entrance to Coire Ghiubhasan and thence onwards up into the coire and above the very dry looking waterfall to the junction where the Allt Coire Odhar merges with the Allt Coire Ghiubhasan.
This was to be our crossing point, made without any difficulties due to the extremely low level of water that seems to be a feature in almost all of the rivers we have had to ford of late. Once across, we made directly for the long curving southwest ridge of Clach Leathad, having chosen this approach rather than from the bealach below Beinn Mhic Chasgaig, the slopes of which are beginning to look very eroded with a number of small loose scree areas emerging from below the heather.
Approaching the mid-section of the ridge, the view ahead was of some awkward looking crags, however, on closer inspection it was a fairly straightforward exercise to find an easy route around, or over them with minimal hand assisted scrambles needed on just a few points. In general, we found that staying central on the ridge was the best approach. Above the crags, around the 900m height, the ridge broadens considerably, and the gradient eases, albeit, that the surface is now stoney for much of the way to the summit cairn.
Our approach to the summit of Clach Leathad was under a blanket of low cloud which had drifted over us as we crossed the flatter plateau above the crags. However, as we settled down for a lunch break around the cairn and wind shelter which mark this one time Munro, but now demoted in favour of Creise, the mist cleared to leave us with wonderful views over Rannoch Moor, a point at which you truly see the expanse of small lochans and water which make this moor the remote place it is.
A short descent, passing our eventual drop-off point for the Creise/Meall a'Bhuiridh ridge and a short climb takes you from Clach Leathad to the true Munro summit of Creise, at 1100m, a mere 1 metre higher than its predecessor, Clach Leathad, 1099m. And once again we were plagued with low cloud drifting in just as we arrived at the summit cairn. The first Munro of the day, and a new one for myself and a couple of others in our group.
Retracing our steps, we returned to the 1070m minor top and the drop-off point for our crossing to Meall a'Bhuiridh, which requires a little care in the initial stages as you scramble down the rocky crags towards the bealach, and then onwards for a very rocky ascent to the summit. Our transit from Creise to Meall a'Bhuiridh was just a short hop in comparison to the time taken to reach Creise from our original start point, these two tops being within 2kms of each other. Munro No2 of the day, Meall a'Bhuiridh, 1108m.
As we drove to Glen Etive earlier, we had dropped off a couple of the cars at the Glen Coe Ski Centre, thereby we were able to make this a linear walk. And so, leaving the summit of Meall a'Bhuiridh we headed off down the north east ridge, staying on the ridgeline and keeping the ski tows to our right until we eventually crossed under the ski tows just before reaching the 706m ski huts. From here, a good snow vehicle track takes you to the lower ski huts, before you again join a very rocky and broken path for the final descent back to the main ski centre complex and car park.
This was a great walk, and with the unexpected bonus of much better weather conditions than had been forecast - Thanks Ian
Creise & Meall A'Bhuiridh - Photo Gallery
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