Stob Coire a' Chàirn

Stob Coire a' Chàirn
Inverness-shire
Stob Choire a' Chàirn with Am Bodach beyond
Range:	Mamores
Summit:	3,219 feet NN185660

Stob Coire a' Chàirn is a mountain in the Mamores range of Inverness-shire. It reaches a height of 3,219 feet at its summit, and so it qualifies as a Munro. It is about 2 miles north of Kinlochleven.

Overview

Though it reaches a height of 3,218 feet, this is regarded as one of the more modest peaks of the ten Munros in the Mamores, indeed for many years it was not named on OS maps. Despite this, it is situated at a strategically important point and could be said to be the most central of the group with three ridges radiating out to other Munros.

The mountains name translates from Gaelic as "Peak of the Corrie of the Cairn".

Stob Coire a' Chàirn, despite its Munro status is probably best known for being part of the Ring of Steall which is regarded as one of the best ridge walks in Scotland which also takes in the other Munros of An Gearanach, Am Bodach and Sgurr a' Mhàim.

Stob Coire a' Chàirn has three main ridges, the northern one connects to An Gearanach, the south east to Na Gruagaichean and the south west to Am Bodach. On the southern flank of the mountain is the broad expanse of the Coire na Ba which is drained by the Allt Coire na Ba which flows south to join the River Leven at Kinlochleven. Coire na Ba has an excellent and well graded stalkers path which gives easy access to the Mamores ridge from the south.

Ascents

The direct ascent of Stob Coire a' Chàirn starts at Kinlochleven and uses the stalker's path up Coire na Ba to reach the east ridge of the mountain which is followed to the summit. Because of its central position in the Mamores, Stob Coire a' Chàirn is usually climbed with other Munros in the group and many permutations are possible. The summit of the mountain is marked by a rough pile of stones with the outlook from the top giving a good view of Glencoe and its hills.

References

• The Munros (SMC Guide), Donald Bennett et al., ISBN 0-907521-13-4