Easains May 2009

 

Helen Rose   Hill Diary

The Easains are hills lying to the north east of Rannoch Moor but they are usually climbed from the north from Fersit, an extremely small hamlet on the road from Laggan beyond Fort William and Roy Bridge. I first climbed them ten years ago in my early days of Munro bagging as a relatively inexperienced hill walker when I could not navigate. My Munro log tells me it was sunny and warm that day but I have no idea how long the walk was from start to finish. The hills are called Stob a’Choire Mheadhoin and Stob Coire Easain meaning Peak of the Little Corrie and Peak of the Corrie of the Little Waterfall, respectively. For those of you who don’t know, the language is Scottish Gaelic.

I was on a group weekend at Glen Nevis and we decided on the second walking day to tackle these two peaks as they were new Munros for Noreen. Frank decided to come with us although he had previously bagged them The others had gone off to climb Ben Nevis and  Carn Mor Dearg but Frank had decided to make these his last Munros at some future date so on this occasion gave them a miss. We knew it would be a new experience for Frank walking at an easy pace, a term we use for slow walking but he coped well with it and we left the navigation to him as he had worked out the best route having completed the hills recently. Noreen and I had of course studied the map and could take responsibility for navigation if the need arose.

We had intended to leave the landrover track to cross the old tramway but Frank suggested staying on the track much further and leaving it to head up to a trig point. This was indeed a better route as it avoided muddy ground or at least less of it. We had a look at the Trig Point but could not work out the use for it so if you know the answer please email me. Unusually, it is on a ridge and not the top of a hill. We headed up the gradual slope  and the ground became increasingly rockier but we reached the summit of Stob a’Choire Mheadhoin feeling great. There were fine views over to the Grey Corries.

We continued on to the col where Frank had planned a return by a different route and we checked out the descent. Then, we continued the steep ascent up to Stob Coire Easain on a path over the shattered rocky ground. We could see over to Stob Ban which we had climbed the previous day in showery weather so it was good to see it clear. After pleasant refreshment breaks, drinking in the views but not alcohol, we descended to the col to start our walk back to the car at Fersit. We descended on rocky terrain and curved round on the other side of Stob a.Choire Mheadhoin contouring over rocky ground.  This is not my favourite type of walking as contouring puts a stain on the ankles but needs must. We walked round to the col and then descended on the path to the trig point and back to the main landrover track leading to Fersit.

It was a very enjoyable day in fine weather and during our chats on the hills, we solved all of the political problems of the world. The walks are recorded as part of the Glasgow HF Outdoor Club 100 year project where the club are bagging all of the Munros within a ten year period leading up to their centenary in 2017. You can read more about it on their website at www.glasgowhf.co.uk

Coming attractions; Magical Mull and the Greenock Cut

Contact me at [email protected]

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