Over The Hill

The weather forecast for the week ahead was not good. However, Wednesday promised to the the best of a bad week, and so Lawrie suggested Stob Daimh, a mountain that had eluded him once before. The central top of three, Stob Diamh (998m) is flanked to the northeast by Sron an Isean (966m), and to the south by Stob Garbh (980m), both of which have long ridges extending eastwards towards Dalmally, hence the popular name of The Dalmally Horseshoe given to the round of these three tops.

The signs were there, right from the start as we drove towards Dalmally, rain, low cloud and quite windy - so much for the best day of the week. Waterproofs on, we set off up the old quarry track towards the Allt Coire Chreachainn and an improvised river crossing onto the lower slopes of Sron an Isean - we were going to make an anti-clockwise circuit of this popular route. After a short muddy and boggy section, our route took us up the broad, steep and grassy, lower slopes which gradually narrow and become easier as the ridge curves over the 650m contour and levels off towards the summit.

Views were at a premium, as, once above 600m height we were in cloud and a steady, heavy rain, which was giving us a bit of a battering as it was driven into our faces by a fairly strong wind. Although reaching 966m in height, Sron an Isean is only a Munro Top, out ranked by its near neighbour, Stob Daimh, which is reached after a short descent from Sron an Isean to a narrow bealach followed by a steep climb, at times almost scramble, up the final 100m ascent to the summit of Stob Daimh, 998m. A climb that was made all the more difficult by a wind that was now strong enough to stop us in our tracks coupled with hailstones that blasted us like buckshot.

We paused on the summit just long enough for our summit photos before heading off towards the second Munro Top, the 980m Stob Garbh situated some 600 metres to the south of the main top. This exposed section of the ridge was a struggle in the wind, and just before reaching the summit of Stob Garbh we decided to and dropped off the east ridge to find some shelter from the wind and rain to take a break and have our lunch.

Our shelter was good, too good, and lulled us into a false sense of calm, which was quickly shattered as we finished our lunch and popped our heads above the ridge to re-start our walk. The wind and rain was just as strong as ever. We wasted no time in topping Stob Garbh and descending to the 947m top from where we joined the long southeast ridge for our descent down to the old quarries, still quite a distance below, and as yet unseen due to the cloud cover.

One consolation was that the wind was now on our backs, and eased a little with each step of the descent as we gradually lost height and eventually dropped below the cloud base. We were even treated to a series of beautiful rainbows spanning Coire Chreachainn as the rain eased, and a watery sun broke through the cloud. Although, even this did not last long, and a final shower heralded our arrival back at the start point.