ALTNAFEDAH to THE LAIRIGMORE.

The mass of the North face of the Buachaille Etive Mor looked splendid in the early morning sunlight when we emerged from the tents. The best time to see these mountains is either early in the day , or evening when the low sun casts shadows into the corries, and as today, makes the snow on the higher levels look whiter and brighter.

This was to be our last full days walking, and we wanted to travel a good distance so that we could have an easy walk into Fort William on Friday, and thus catch the mid afternoon train. We were eager to tackle the Devils Staircase, this zig-zag track starting almost from our camp site would take us to about 1850 ft, and is part of the old military road built in the 1700's by Major Caufield. Fom the top it is possible to look back over much of the previous days walking. White Corries ski runs, Blackrock Cottage, much of Rannock Moor and the climbing hut of the famous Creag Dhu Club below us in Glen Coe. From the hut it is interesting to see the rough tracks leading up to the rock faces of the Buachaille.

 
The walking through the mountains toward Kinlochleven is spectacular, there are a few places where it would be easy to attain the high ridges, and in fact one of the best ridge walks in Scotland, the Aonach Eagach, above the North side of Glen Coe is easily accessible from here. To the West the Blackwater Reservoir is in view, and beyond the vast expanse of the Rannoch Moor.

This is my favourite photograph of any taken on the walk..

On the horizon are the mountain of the Crianlairich and Bridge of Orchy area, in the centre the ski slopes of the White Corries and to the right is the Buachaille. The wood at Altnafedah is prominent, the thin track of the Devils Staircase snakes up to where we are standing.

Hamish MacInnes leader of the Glen Coe Mountain rescue team lives in the cottage concealed by the wood at Altnafedah. He is a man for whom I have a great admiration and I envy very much his home looking out to the Great Gully of the Buachaille.

In his book The Price of Adventure' Hamish says of his neighbour.
"Buachaille Etive Mor in Glen Coe is a peak which seems to stand guard as a self-appointed guardian of the Moor of Rannoch. By international standards it is not a big mountain, but like many smaller peaks it reaps its macabre harvest as assiduously as its big brothers, probably more climbers have been killed on this conical lump of porphyry than on the Eiger itsef."

Once up the Devils Staircase a new panorama opens up.............Going over the tops on the way to Kinlochleven
The last couple of miles downhill are terrible, its along a Land rover track that takes the workers to the Blackwater Dam and pipeline installations, its really steep, and much of the time its like walking on ball bearings, we were slipping and sliding, and expecting our feet to go shooting away from under us at any moment. However we finally made it to Kinlochleven where we had a large portion of fish & chips and a long rest before tackling the next stiff climb up into the Lairigmore Pass. While resting we saw the three backpackers from previous days pass through the village, they were looking a bit weary, but were heading up towards the Lairigmore.

This was a stiff climb with a heavy pack. It brought back memories from the 1960s when Joan and I were along this stretch for the Scottish Six Day Trial, I could recognise the very spot where we had helped a lady look for the watch that she had lost. As we climbed it started to rain, the rain could be seen sweeping in across the face of the mountains, so it was on with the waterproofs to walk in the rain for the first time since we had started out from Minlgavie, now about ninety miles behind us

 Once up into the Pass the walking was easy and we were able to stride out past the sad ruins of what had been summer scheillings.. Beyond these we came to an old hut on the edge of a promising camping area. It was raining, but as we looked up to the mountains around us we could see it falling as snow on the tops, giving them a thin white mantle.

 
It was off with the packs and into the hut with them while we set up camp in the rain, not a pleasant thing to have to do, but we could not complain, this was our seventh camp and all the others had been dry. A large pan of Bachelors noodles, bread buns and a cup-a-soup put a rosy glow on things. Radio reception in the mountains is a bit 'hit & miss' but I had a try at finding a weather forecast for the next day, this I failed to do, but I did stumble across a badly broken up Radio Two commentary of the match between Middlesbrough and Bradford. I was able to hear Boro win on aggregate in extra time, so go an to meet Chelsea for a place in the first division

  While laying in the tent I heard other walkers arrive to camp nearby but as it was still raining I did not stir outside

 
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