Over The Hill

Not only a keen hill walker, but also a very keen sailor, Ian always keeps a weather eye open for a fair day in the hills, and so it was he spotted an upcoming spell of good hill walking weather in the early part of the week, leading to us setting off for Glen Etive early on Monday morning with our sights firmly set on the Munro summit of Meall na Eun, a slightly less frequented hill than its auspicious neighbours, Stob Coir an Albannaich and the mighty Ben Starav.

Situated deep in the heart of Glen Ceitlein the walk-in to the base of the northwest ridge of Meall nan Eun is a relatively easy affair involving a steady walk along the dirt track to the remote cottage at Glenceitlein before crossing the Allt Ceitlein by means of a new, and very sturdy wooden bridge, fairly obviously renovated to accommodate those using the cottage, as was evident by the 4x4 parked alongside the building. Once across the bridge the track deteriorated quickly to nothing more than a rough, wet and muddy trail which follows the course of the Allt Ceitlein heading directly towards the lower slopes of Meall nan Eun.

Barely 250m of height is gained over the 3km walk along the glen, hemmed in on both sides by the steep craggy slopes of Stob Dubh, to the left, and Stob Coir an Albannaich to the right. Ahead the eye is initially drawn to the 879m high dome of Meall Odhar whose southern slopes drop steeply down to form the deep curve of the Lairig Dhochard, the opposite slopes being equally steep as they rise to meet the northwest ridge of Meall nan Eun.

The ridge is a complex mixture of rough grass, rocky slabs and some sections of steep crags; however, plenty of options abound to pick your way around, up or over each obstacle as it is encountered, the only consistent factor is the steepness of the slope, a complete contrast to the easy going coming up the glen. Finally, around the 800m height, the gradient eases and rises gently towards the very broad, open and flat summit plateau at the far end of which sits a modest cairn marking the summit of this fine mountain.

Ian's weather window was kind to us, the promised sunny morning was actually quite overcast with a cooling breeze blowing, just right for the strenuous climb, but right on cue, as we reached the cairn blue skies started to appear and it was not long before the grey overcast sky was replaced with white cotton clouds, just perfect.

Retracing our route back off of the summit, we detoured slightly taking a grassy rake on a more northerly course, descending towards the Lairig Dhochard and, apart from one small scramble down a short rocky section, found this to be a slightly easier descent than would have been on the steeper ascent route. Once below the crags, we simply continued our descent down the north ridge back into Glen Ceitlein and the steady walk back along the glen, which by now was bathed in bright sunshine and clear blue skies, just as the weather window had predicted.

A fine day, on an interesting hill, and in the best of company - Thanks All.