Buachaille Etive Mòr

Buachaille Etive Mor - Stob Dearg
Argyllshire
Stob Dearg from Glen Etive
Summit:	3,353 feet NN223543 56°38’48"N, 4°53’59"W

Buachaille Etive Mòr is a mountain at the head of Glen Etive in Argyllshire. Its pyramidal form, as seen from the A82 road when travelling towards Glen Coe, makes it one of the most recognisable mountains in the Highlands, and one of the most depicted on postcards and calendars. It stands on a ridge with its sister mountain, Buachaille Etive Beag.

The mountain's name is Gaelic, meaning "the Great Herdsman of Etive" (while Buachaille Etive Beag) is the Little Herdsman of Etive). It is generally known to climbers simply as The Buachaille or The Beuckle.

Geography

Buachaille Etive Mòr takes the form of a ridge nearly five miles in length, almost entirely encircled by the River Etive and its tributaries. The ridge contains four principal tops which from north-east to south-west are:

Stob Dearg	3,352 feet	NN223543
Stob na Doire	3,317 feet	NN207532
Stob Coire Altruim	3,087 feet	NN197530
Stob na Bròige	3,136 feet	NN190525

Stob Dearg and Stob na Bròige are both Munros; the latter was promoted to Munro status by the Scottish Mountaineering Club in 1997.

Ascent

The steep, craggy north-eastern face of Stob Dearg forms the classic aspect of the mountain as seen from the Kings House Hotel, and constitutes the most direct route of ascent for climbers and scramblers. Crowberry Ridge, a classic rock climb graded severe, was first climbed direct – and photographed – in 1900 by the Abraham brothers with Messrs Puttrell and Baker. Immediately to the left is Curved Ridge, one of the most famous scrambling routes.

Alternatively there is a somewhat eroded path leading steeply up the Coire na Tulaich which, in summer conditions, allows walkers to ascend the peaks, reaching the ridge about 550 yards west of Stob Dearg.

Buachaille Etive Mòr is separated from its sister mountain of Buachaille Etive Beag to the west by the valley of Lairig Gartain. To the east lies Glen Etive, which provides an alternative route of ascent, heading up steep grassy slopes to the summit of Stob na Bròige. Another route follows the Allt Coire Altruim from the Lairig Gartain, reaching the ridge about two thirds of the way along from the north. This route is often used as descent route in conjunction with an ascent by way of Coire na Tulaich, forming a circular route with a walk out along the Lairig Gartain.

In January 2009, three mountain climbers were killed and one was seriously injured, in an avalanche disaster.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Buachaille Etive Mòr)

The Buachaille's north-east face

• Database of British and Irish Hills. Accessed 8 November 2006.
• Mountain Pictures, pictures of Buachaille etive mor Picture gallery of Buachaille Etive Mor

References

• The Munros, Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1986, Donald Bennett (Editor) ISBN 0-907521-13-4
• In the Hills of Breadalbane, V.A. Firsoff, no ISBN
• The Munros, Scotland's Highest Mountains, Cameron McNeish, ISBN 1-84204-082-0
• The Magic Of The Munros, Irvine Butterfield, ISBN 0-7153-2168-4
• Hamish's Mountain Walk, Hamish Brown, ISBN 1-898573-08-5