Buachaille Etive Mor - Stob Dearg

About Buachaille Etive Mor - Stob Dearg

Standing as the iconic guardian of Glencoe, this pyramidal Munro is perhaps Scotland's most photographed peak. The ascent via the steep, rocky Coire na Tulaich leads to a jagged summit ridge. It offers a rugged high-mountain experience, overlooking the vast Rannoch Moor and the winding River Etive.

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Did You Know?

• •Known in Gaelic as Buachaille Èite Mòr, or the 'Great Herdsman of Etive', Stob Dearg is the highest point of this four-peaked ridge. The name 'Stob Dearg' translates as 'Red Peak', a reference to the hued rhyolite lavas that form the mountain's steep, craggy eastern face.
• •Its dramatic, symmetrical profile from the A82 is an optical illusion; the mountain is not a solitary pyramid but the narrow prow of a five-mile-long ridge stretching southwest towards Loch Etive.
• •The standard ascent through Coire na Tulaich is a steep, scree-filled scramble that requires respect in winter. The corrie is a notorious avalanche blackspot where wind-blown snow accumulates deeply, often catching out those lured by the mountain's accessibility from the road.
• •From the summit cairn, the view to the east is dominated by the vast, watery wilderness of Rannoch Moor, while looking northwest provides a clear sight of Ben Nevis and the Grey Corries rising beyond the Mamores.
• •The mountain's North Face is a historic cradle of Scottish mountaineering, featuring legendary climbing lines such as Crowberry Ridge and Agag’s Groove, which were pioneered by early members of the Scottish Mountaineering Club in the late 19th century.
• •Despite its reputation as a wild Highland bastion, the mountain is so frequently photographed from the roadside that you are statistically more likely to end up in the background of a stranger's wedding album than you are to have the summit to yourself.