Lost Valley - Glencoe

The intention for this walk (in June 2017) was to climb Stob Coire Sgreamhach, but the weather forecast was quite poor and I went with the expectation that I might just explore the path up Coire Gabhail, the so called "Lost Valley".

A panorama from the car park at the top of Glencoe shows the group of hills called "The Three Sisters" - from left to right Beinn Fhada, Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubhh. The route to the "Lost Valley" heads up between Beinn Fhada  and Gearr Aonach. In the distance between Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubhh is the cloud covered summit of the Bidean nam Bian massif.

The path from the car park drops down to the River Coe where...

...a metal staircase gives access to...

...a footbridge across the river.

There's a rocky section protected with a fixed cable..

...before the climb starts under the cliffs of Gearr Aonach.

The path climbs into the gorge of the Allt Coire Gabhail and in places is slightly exposed.

Onwards through the trees and past waterfalls.

The paths twists through a jumble of rocks...

...before the ford over the stream is reached - this is easily missed. Crossing was not a problem even after recent rain but if in spate would probably be a much more difficult proposition.

Beyond the ford the path continues to climb..

....until the next challenge is reached. A large rock slap has to be crossed. There's a groove which allows a cautious passage to be made but there is quite a drop off top the right and I'd seen several very worried walkers on a previous visit.

Beyond this hurdle the path climbs uphill towards the "Lost Valley" but...

...a look back into Glencoe gives a view across towards Sron Garbh directly ahead and the Munro Am Bodach on the left. The main Fort William to Glasgow road can also be seen.

Suddenly the path reaches the summit and there is this superb view of Coire Gabhail. It's obvious that conditions higher up are less than ideal.

This photo was taken on  a previous visit and shows the large flat area which presumably was a lake bed at the end of the glacial period. The bealach at the head of the corrie can be seen just above the two snow patches on the left. Stob Coire Sgreamhach's pointed summit is to the left of the bealach and Bidean nam Bian is on the right.

Leaving the corrie floor there is a clear path which heads directly towards the bealach 2km away and 560m higher.

The path climbs high above the stream with few difficulties.

Further along the path starts to zig zag uphill...

..as it approaches a gully beneath some crags.

Here the track becomes noticeably rougher..

..and a little handwork is necessary in places.

 

Looking back down into Gore Gabhail.

In sections the path has been rebuilt into a rough staircase.

Some offerings to the fairies??

The track climbs more steeply and just beyond this point becomes very eroded with crumbly red scree. I decided that I wasn't going to get a worthwhile view from the summit and decided not to attempt to go any further especially since the weather forecast for the afternoon was poor. A return visit to climb Stob Coire Sgreamhach will be arranged, hopefully with better weather.

This photograph taken of the steep section on the Lost Valley Buttress is taken from this website:

http://reflector.sota.org.uk/t/g4yss-gm-ws-007-bidean-nam-bian-14-09-15/1166