{"id":685,"date":"2018-02-04T12:34:45","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T12:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/?p=615"},"modified":"2018-09-09T18:58:10","modified_gmt":"2018-09-09T18:58:10","slug":"mountaineering-scotland-munro-glen-etive-20180204","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/?p=685","title":{"rendered":"Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>First time in Glen Etive\u00a0&amp; an unlucky fall means a bit of a wet day <em>(Munros Completed : Creise (57), Meall a&#8217;Bhuiridh (58)).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The forecast was excellent so I had planned my first Munros in the Glen Etive hills. I had been itching to do some Munros in this area for a long time but never as yet had got round to it. Arrived at the Corries ski centre car park at about 09:00 &amp; while it was a good idea to do a short route, the excellent weekend weather meant it was very busy for the skiing.<\/p>\n<p>It was a great day for a winter&#8217;s day in the Scottish hills with plenty of snow, clear skies &amp; no wind. I decided rather than ascend directly below the chairlift, to follow a bulldozer track near the lift base for a minute and then headed up the hill on the left besides a fence. There was snow here from the base but it wasn\u2019t deep. The ascent is easy and all was fine until I reached the top of the first chair lift and then fell through a huge snow bridge into a stream below. Not only did my boots get soaked I happened to be close by two girls who were taking photographs, much to their amusement! I was up to my chest in the snow and I struggled to get out, even requiring a helping hand from one of my amused onlookers. I had to find a rock to sit on and take off my boots and wring my socks out which didn\u2019t make a very pleasant walk for the remainder of the day.<\/p>\n<p>After I had sorted myself out, I continued along the N side of the mountain (albeit in very damp boots) out of the sun and about halfway up I put on my crampons. Conditions were good though and it\u2019s a fairly easy angled ascent on crisp snow. I summitted Meall a&#8217;Bhuiridh at 12:40 &amp; there were a few skiers there who had walked across from the top of the ski lift in order to see the views.<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-1018 .fg-image { width: 640px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-image-viewer foogallery-link-image foogallery-lightbox-none fg-center fg-image-viewer fg-ready fg-dark fg-border-medium fg-round-small fg-shadow-outline fg-loading-default fg-loaded-fade-in fg-caption-always fg-hover-fade fg-hover-zoom fg-no-js\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-1018\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:false},&quot;lazy&quot;:true,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;src&quot;,&quot;srcset&quot;:&quot;srcset&quot;,&quot;template&quot;:{&quot;loop&quot;:true,&quot;autoplay&quot;:0}}\" style=\"--fg-title-line-clamp: 0; --fg-description-line-clamp: 0;\" >\n\t<div class=\"fiv-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-inner-container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/16-MB-from-Creise-summit-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Meall a Buiridh from Creise summit\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1004\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/16-MB-from-Creise-summit-Custom\/106136057.jpg\" alt=\"Meall a Buiridh from summit of Munro Creise\" title=\"Meall a Buiridh from Creise summit\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Meall a Buiridh from Creise summit<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/21-Buchaille-Etive-Mor-distant-Ben-Nevis-from-below-Creise-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Buchaille Etive Mor &amp;amp; distant Ben Nevis from below Creise\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1006\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/21-Buchaille-Etive-Mor-distant-Ben-Nevis-from-below-Creise-Custom\/2698067119.jpg\" alt=\"Mountain view of Buchaille Etive Mor\" title=\"Buchaille Etive Mor &amp; distant Ben Nevis from below Creise\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Buchaille Etive Mor &amp; distant Ben Nevis from below Creise<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/27-MB-Creise-from-Stob-a-Ghlais-Choire-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Meall a Buiridh &amp;amp; Creise from Stob a Ghlais Choire\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1007\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/27-MB-Creise-from-Stob-a-Ghlais-Choire-Custom\/3105694416.jpg\" alt=\"Munros Meall a Buiridh &amp; Creise from Stob a Ghlais Choire\" title=\"Meall a Buiridh &amp; Creise from Stob a Ghlais Choire\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Meall a Buiridh &amp; Creise from Stob a Ghlais Choire<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/1-View-down-to-Corrie-Ski-Centre-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"View down to Corrie Ski Centre\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1009\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/1-View-down-to-Corrie-Ski-Centre-Custom\/320080749.jpg\" alt=\"View from above Corrie Ski Centre, Glen Etive\" title=\"View down to Corrie Ski Centre\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">View down to Corrie Ski Centre<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/4-View-across-to-Ben-Nevis-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"View across to Ben Nevis.\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1010\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/4-View-across-to-Ben-Nevis-Custom\/237087328.jpg\" alt=\"View across to Ben Nevis.\" title=\"View across to Ben Nevis.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">View across to Ben Nevis.<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/5-View-to-Creise-summit-from-top-Ski-Lift-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"View to Creise summit from top Ski Lift\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1011\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/5-View-to-Creise-summit-from-top-Ski-Lift-Custom\/2858349349.jpg\" alt=\"Creise Munro summit\" title=\"View to Creise summit from top Ski Lift\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">View to Creise summit from top Ski Lift<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/8-Summit-Meall-a-Buiridh-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Me on summit of Meall a Buiridh\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1012\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/8-Summit-Meall-a-Buiridh-Custom\/2079665313.jpg\" alt=\"Person standing on Munro summit of Meall a Buiridh\" title=\"Me on summit of Meall a Buiridh\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Me on summit of Meall a Buiridh<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/12-Route-down-to-col-from-MB-summit-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Route down to col from Meall a Buiridh summit\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1013\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/12-Route-down-to-col-from-MB-summit-Custom\/3018215466.jpg\" alt=\"Three people standing below summit of Munro Meall a Buiridh\" title=\"Route down to col from Meall a Buiridh summit\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Route down to col from Meall a Buiridh summit<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/13-Creise-side-looking-back-to-MB-summit-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Creise side looking back to Meall a Buiridh summit\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1014\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/13-Creise-side-looking-back-to-MB-summit-Custom\/3603978627.jpg\" alt=\"View of Meall a Buiridh summit\" title=\"Creise side looking back to Meall a Buiridh summit\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Creise side looking back to Meall a Buiridh summit<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/14-Ridge-route-towards-Creise-summit-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Ridge route towards Creise summit.\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1015\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/14-Ridge-route-towards-Creise-summit-Custom\/3413334858.jpg\" alt=\"Snow ridge to Creise Munro summit\" title=\"Ridge route towards Creise summit.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Ridge route towards Creise summit.<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/15-Looking-back-from-Creise-ridge-ascent-Custom.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Looking back from Creise ridge ascent.\" data-caption-desc=\"2018-02-04 Beautiful sunny Scotland on Creise but beware collapsing snow bridges!\" data-attachment-id=\"1016\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/08\/15-Looking-back-from-Creise-ridge-ascent-Custom\/950647981.jpg\" alt=\"View of snow capped ridge from Creise\" title=\"Looking back from Creise ridge ascent.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Looking back from Creise ridge ascent.<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-ctrls\">\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-prev\" title=\"Prev\"><span>Prev<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"fiv-count\"><span class=\"fiv-count-current\">1<\/span>of<span class=\"fiv-count-total\">11<\/span><\/label>\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-next\" title=\"Next\"><span>Next<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The descent is then WSW down a ridge to a col &amp; then back up the ridge. The ridge is not narrow but a bit rocky, however the snow meant that it is possible to avoid most of the rocky parts. Once on the ridge the route bears N across a plateau with a slight rise at the end to the summit of Creise. The weather was still glorious, bright sunshine &amp; no wind at all. I never like retracing my steps if I can avoid it, always preferring to do a circular route if possible but in retrospect on this occastion it turned out to be a mistake.<\/p>\n<p>The descent curved down gently on firm snow to Stob a Ghlais Choire. From here it steepens quite dramatically &amp; I was slightly anxious at first. However, I have done this many times before where the descent looks really steep but you just pick a good line and use the snow almost for braking. The first part is through a craggy section, but thankfully I had picked up a trail of footprints so followed these all the way down &amp; it turned out to be completely fine in the end. I noticed 2 others ascending a few hundred metres off to my left.<\/p>\n<p>The descent reaches a river which is easy to cross as at this point it is a stream. Now below the snowline it is a flat walk around the hill to reach back to the Corries ski car park. However, this turned out to be a horrible bog fest. The path if there was one was incredibly difficult to determine &amp; where it existed it was just soggy peat. I spent most of the time having to pick my way through the driest parts but on a couple of occasions stepped into watery bog up to my knees. Already wet from the knees down it was a poor end to a good day. Eventually returned at 16:30 and apart from having spent most of the day with soaking wet feet in boots it had been a wonderful winters day out.<br \/>\nI really enjoyed my coffee at the Good Food Caf\u00e9 at the end of the day. They always do a great coffee and the real log fire adds to the warmth of the place.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Completed-Route-Meall-a-Bhuiridh-and-Creise.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1152 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Completed-Route-Meall-a-Bhuiridh-and-Creise-1024x618.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Completed-Route-Meall-a-Bhuiridh-and-Creise-1024x618.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Completed-Route-Meall-a-Bhuiridh-and-Creise-300x181.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Completed-Route-Meall-a-Bhuiridh-and-Creise-768x463.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Completed-Route-Meall-a-Bhuiridh-and-Creise.jpg 1116w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>First time in Glen Etive\u00a0&amp; an unlucky fall means a bit of a wet day (Munros Completed : Creise (57), Meall a&#8217;Bhuiridh (58)).<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1005,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11],"tags":[39,29],"class_list":["post-685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mountaineering","category-scotland","tag-glen-etive-hills","tag-munro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=685"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1240,"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685\/revisions\/1240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}