Starav Ridge

Ben Starav, Glencoe, Scotland

I spent a few days in Glencoe with the intention of spending a night on Glencoe's highest peak, Ben Starav. After a failed attempt on the first night in the area due to deteriorating conditions I was left a little frustrated. Fortunately a weather window opened a couple of days later and so I took my chance. I camped around 800m leaving me a 250m climb to the summit for sunrise. After one of the coldest nights of my life, I took off around 5am leaving me plenty of time to reach the top and give me chance to scout around for compositions. The consolidated snow made for an easy climb, although a quick look over the edge certainly got the heart racing. I reached the summit in good time but the wind had strengthened considerably. The thought of being left exposed alone up there was not very appealing, also the wind and spindrift flying around would have made shooting nigh impossible. I decided to follow my tracks back down to a composition I saw earlier of the ridge leading towards the summit. I got set up with moments to spare and caught the first pink glow of the rising sun on the thick snow. Although these cornices are wonderful to look at they are incredibly dangerous so I kept my distance.