BEN STARAV & GLAS BHEINN MHOR, HOT!

The two tops and north  ridge of Ben Starav

Ian enjoying the scrambling

Glide cracks getting bigger

Golden sun & Golden Eagle at our coffee break

 Beinn Trilleachan & Loch Etivefrom the summit

Ian on the fine ridge between the two tops of Ben Starav

Sadly the ridge is all too short and comes to an end

Guess the mountain

Ian and I had a superb day out on the wonderful Munro of Ben Starav today. With the warmest, sunniest place in the UK being over on the west coast we decided heading over to the Glen Etive area. Bypassing the honey pots of Glencoe we continued through the beautiful  Glen Etive. Ben Starav's is a huge bulk of a mountain with many fine corries and ridges. We started up the north ridge at a leisurely 11.15am. It was very hot in the glen and up to around 600m before we had the benefit of a lovely cooling breeze. Just as we sat down for lunch a Golden Eagle came soaring up and above us from the NE corrie below our picnic site, wonderful! The views were a bit hazy on the summit but hey, how can you complain on a day like this? The finest part of the day is the traverse across the narrow, rocky ridge to the eastern top giving some easy scrambling. The day was still young (for April) and Ian fancied bagging another new Munro to his list so we continued over to Glas Bheinn Mhor. Just before crossing the Etive River back to the car we spotted a Barn Owl but after fumbling for our cameras he/she was away. Fantastic day.