Stob a' Choire Odhair

Stob a' Choire Odhair
Argyllshire
Stob a' Choire Odhair; the main summit behind
Range:	Glen Coe
Summit:	3,100 feet NN257459 56°34’21"N, 4°50’20"W

Stob a' Choire Odhair is a mountain in Argyllshire, which reaches a height of 3,100 feet at its summit, and so it qualifies as a Munro. It is five miles north-west of Bridge of Orchy.

The name 'Stob a' Choire Odhair' means "Peak of the dun-coloured Corrie".

Overview

Stob a' Choire Odhair, though of impressive height and indeed a Munro, is an unpretentious mountain that is overshadowed by its near neighbour Stob Ghabhar, one of the finest mountains in the southern Highlands. It stands in the Black Mount deer forest, an area that derives its name from the dark peat hags of the moorland that surround the mountain.

Stob a' Choire Odhair along with Stob Ghabhar are well seen from the A82 road as it crosses the western end of Rannoch Moor and they are often climbed together and make a natural days walk.

Geography

Stob a' Choire Odhair's summit stands at the meeting of three ridges. Its western ridge links to the Munro of Stob Ghabhar which lies almost two miles away by way of a col with a height of 2,192 ft.

The north-eastern ridge drops very steeply to the moorland of the Black mount and Rannoch Moor.

The south-eastern ridge links to the mountain's subsidiary peak of Beinn Toaig (2,736 ft) by way of a col with a height of 2,631 ft. Beinn Toaig also has a long north-east ridge which runs parallel to the one of Stob a' Choire Odhair.

There are two corries either side of the 2,631-foot, to the north is Coire Odhair while to the south of the col is Coire Toaig which has a very good stalkers track up it which leads directly to the main summit.

Historic roads

The lower eastern slopes of Stob a' Choire Odhair carries two old roads which were important historical links to the north of Scotland. An old military road built by Major William Caulfeild was constructed in the early 1750s as part of the pacification of the Highlands after the 1745 Jacobite rising . Slightly further east is the line of an ancient drovers' road used to herd cattle to market, this road was improved by Thomas Telford ("the Colossus of Roads") in 1803 and carried the main road down Glencoe to Fort William until 1933 when the present road was built further east. Telford's road now carries the route of the West Highland Way.

Ascents

Stob a' Choire Odhair is usually climbed in conjunction with the adjacent Munro of Stob Ghabhar. The starting point for this walk is Victoria Bridge at the western end of Loch Tulla at grid reference NN269419. The direct route from here utilises the very good zig-zag stalkers path up Coire Toaig directly to the summit. The ascent of the mountain can also be included in the Clachlet Traverse, a high-level route from the Inveroran Hotel near Bridge of Orchy to the Kings House Hotel in Glen Coe. Despite having less height than its neighbour Stob Ghabhar it is the better viewpoint offering an extensive prospect across Rannoch Moor and the Bridge of Orchy Munros.

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