Weather/Conditions: Nice summers day, some cloud on the tops lifting off.
Distance/Ascent/Time: 11.6km / 1350m / 8h 35m
Accompanying: Bealach MC: Doug, James, Craig, Dave

A day around Bidean with the club. It was a good day, but amazingly it somewhat fades away into memory against North Buttress (previous day - hard to forget). We were staying in the Blackrock Hut, so Bidean nam Bian was a ideal option, close to hand.

Our route was a loop from the Glen Coe car park, heading into Coire an Lochain, up onto the Stob, then across to Bidean and thence to Stob Coire Sgreamhach. In a sense it's a good thing that it was so unremarkable, because in 2012 I was (probably unconsciously) in a period of making the mountains shrink. That is, getting over them so efficiently that no particular summit poses an issue. It was all in the run up to the summer of 2013, and this Bidean day was one in particular that seemed... mellow. I was well within myself all day and feel confident on the mountains.



The weather played ball too, for the most part. I missed a really clear Bidean nam Bian summit panorama, but the mist lifted off the hills soon after. Interestingly we met some guys on the summit of Bidean who'd been on Dave's 100th Munro, Ben Starav, at the same time and purely by coincidence. (The penny dropped with someone put champagne and Starav in the same sentence!)



One of the highlights of the day was meet a group of Japanese guys (about my age I would say) in the Lost Valley, late afternoon, and heading up. It would have been getting on 5pm, and they seemed not to be moving too fast and they didn't look like they had much gear on them to deal with the mountain travel, nor the oncoming evening. (All jeans, and school bags etc, you can always tell)



I gently broached the subject with them. I tend not to butt into these things unless they give a hint that they may want advice. But I got into conversation with these guys. It turned out they didn't have a compass, their map was a WalkHighlands screenshot on one guys iPad. They intended to do the Munros and take a weaving course back over Stob Coire nan Lochan to Glen Coe. Without a compass or a sense of position, this would be ridiculous. I gently persuaded them away from doing this - some of the guys were listening intently, but the obvious "group leader" stood off to one side, no eye contact and arms folded. I was obviously treading on his patch! But to finish the issue, Craig arrived and outright told them not to bother, to go up would be totally stupid, etc etc. And that was that. I never saw them again but I assume they made the good call.



Further down, I met some folk and ended up bouldering with them on the stones in the Lost Valley. The club guys headed back off to the cars themselves, and then to the Blackrock. Back at the car, the folk I'd climbed with gave me a lift to the Clachaig - this is where I thought the guys were. Turned out this wasn't the case and I had a hard time getting someone to take me back to the Blackrock! In the end I think Craig picked me up...

360° Panoramas

Bidean nam Bian


Near Bealach Dearg


Stob Coire Sgreamhach