Rambling on Glen Coe

It’s a scary old place Glen Coe. Google wouldn’t give up the statistics but I have a clipping from 1995 that I stuck in one of my guidebooks to remind me to take it easy (don’t think it worked really). 9 people lost their lives in said Glen out of 37 in the hills in Scotland – and interestingly Bucachaille Etive Mor the gatekeeper at the eastern end, has a fatality record worse than the north face of the Eiger; but I had climbed that last year. Most of these were incidents involving rock/ice climbers I suspect but even for a modest hill-walker there are always potential for things to go awry but lets not dwell too long on what can go wrong.

It was a quite Tolkenesque journey from the road up to the hidden valley of Glen Coe – more so than just about any part of Scotland’s hills that I can recall – although the valley itself is quite petite the approach up to it is on a peculiarly grand scale for Scotland. You could easily hide an army of gools in it, among the cascading chaos of massive boulders, scree and scraggy trees. The walls hang either side as close to vertical as a plumb line, making a decently airy place for an above average count of jet black ravens. Curioius features like a stream seemingly spouting (but really squeezing) from beneath one of those house size boulders and a meandering but descending flood plain add to the slightly un-nerving strangeness.

The best aspect is reserved for when you reach the so-called hanging valley - right at the entrance stands a near isolated massive triangular rock (or should that be pyramid ). I’m sure it’s a natural placing of it as it makes the stones of Stonehenge (even taking into account their huge buried part) look like bricks – but we’re always turning up surprises about the sophistication of early societies (like how they x-rayed a glob of metal found a hundred years ago and found it was a complex geared model to calculate place of stars from about 100 B.C. http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_4.htm ) – in some far off stretch of the scientific imagination I could imagine some way to turn it into a man-made phenomenon.
Still the valley is known as the place of the greatest atrocity in Highland history. Captain Robert Campbell of not too distant Glen Lyon was sent to Glencoe with his men and billeted in the clansmen’s cottages – the chief of whom he was related through marriage – where they spent two weeks drinking and playing cards with their hosts. One morning all those under the age of 70 were put to the sword in their sleep. The sacred precept of hospitality had been taken advantage of in the most extreme manner imaginable. We know the day (13th February 1692) and the written orders that were given. At the time the affair was received with a measure of disdain as far afield as England but of course the heidgens of the time claimed ignorance of the orders that were given and a few minions were left to resign their posts.

So then it was off to the Munros (tops over 3000 feet high) two of which were in our sights. A good path led up to the bealach between the two hills. A sandwich, tea, biscuits and the piece de resistance - chocolate raisins supplied by Adam gave some much-needed sustenance. Adam reached the top first and we were expecting the coldest wind but then were pleasantly surprised by the almost warm wind, it had been bitterly cold when we were getting changed, so some form of temperature inversion.
A fantastic ridge walk followed as first we climbed Bidean nam Bian (pron. beetyan nam beeoan), at 1150metres (3773 feet) the 23rd highest Munro. Again Adam with his weird sounding brand of brandy provided some much needed sustenance – why do our taste buds work so much better out of doors? Then came the return to the bealach and up to the ‘new’ Munro Stob Coire Sgreamhach at 1072 metres, thereafter descending and ascending down one of the Three Sisters coming off of it near the road with a difficult decent through some icy rocks, superbly navigated by Adam – sadly his touch deserted him as we crossed a half frozen stream, but it was the loss of his beloved tupperware sandwich box that he was bemoaning – having burst forth in fabulous slow motion from the top of his rucksack, exploding its contents as it hurtled down one of those icy sides.
A great day out in superb conditions – sadly no more Munros remain for me to climb in Glen Coe – I’ve already re-visited the Aonach Eagach ridge so who knows. Two more in the slightly larger vicinity to climb and then I will have to look towards the Grey Corries and Perthshire for my Munro challenges.

Footnote:The most interesting aspects I found in a report of incidents in the hills was that 52% of people recued in Scottish mountains do not live in Scotland. Secondly wind is the weather that accompanies most incidents and slips the greatest cause of trouble.