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A pointed summit on a grassy ridge, with a sea loch far below in the glen beyond and heavy cloud overhead.
Glen Coe and Glen Etive

Buachaille Etive Beag - Stob Dubh

A Munro of 958 metres, number 201 of the 282.

On the hill todayI was up today
The hill

Stob Dubh is the higher of the two Munros on Buachaille Etive Beag, at the southern end of its ridge at the head of Glen Coe.

Its partner, Stob Coire Raineach, is about two kilometres away to the north-east.

The company is close all round. Stob na Broige, on Buachaille Etive Mor, is about a kilometre and a half to the south-east, and Stob Coire Sgreamhach and Bidean nam Bian rise to the west.

The pass below it, the Lairig Eilde, runs from Glen Coe through to Dalness in Glen Etive between huge rock screes. ScotWays, the rights of way society, says it is thought to be an old coffin road, because of the coffin cairn at its north end.

The way up
Read the route before you go.
The pass below
ScotWays, the rights of way society, records the Lairig Eilde path from a signposted start on the A82 at grid reference NN 188 563. It runs 5.5 km through the pass to Dalness, rising to 500 m, on National Trust for Scotland land. It is the path through the pass, not the way to the summit.
Under snow
In the winter of 2010, the avalanche service records, a large natural avalanche swept across the path up to the Buachaille Etive Beag col. Nobody was on that stretch at the time.
Summit
Grid reference NN 179 535
Parking
Read where walkers leave the road in the route description.
Bus
Shiel Buses' route 44 between Fort William and Kinlochleven stops at Glencoe.
On the hill today
1° to 4°Drizzle on the summit, 958 m. Feels like −3° in the wind.

West wind to 11 mph, gusting 26
Rain, about 5 mm
Light from 7.53am to 6.17pm, ten hours

Sat 17Mostly clear−1° to 4° on top · 5 mph, gusts 11
Sun 18Mostly clear−3° to 4° on top · 7 mph, gusts 14
Mon 19Cloudy−4° to 5° on top · 8 mph, gusts 16

A weather model's forecast for the height of the summit, not a report from the hill. Read the mountain forecast the evening before: West Highlands forecast, Stob Dubh, Glencoe avalanche forecast.

October2026

MTWTFSS

Going another day?

Choose the day you mean to climb.Near or far: the light you will have, and what the summit is likely to be doing.

Photographs by James Mcalweenie, Al P (Aloha) and John Irvine, via Google

Before you go

Carry

  • A paper map and a compass, and the skill to use them
  • Waterproofs, warm layers, hat and gloves
  • Food and drink
  • A head torch, a whistle and a first aid kit
  • A survival bag
  • Boots with a good grip

Under snow and ice this is a different day, with short light and the risk of avalanche. It needs an ice axe, crampons, winter boots and the skill to use them.

If something goes wrong

  • Dial 999, ask for the police, then mountain rescue
  • Give a six-figure grid reference: the summit is NN 179 535
  • Say how many are hurt, how many are with you, and your number
  • Register to text 999 before the day: text the word register to 999

The summit is optional. Turning back is the right decision whenever the cloud, the wind or the light say so.

How to call for help in the hills · Safety and skills for the hills · ThinkWINTER

From our readers

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From the magazine
Read more elsewhere

For the route itself, take the map and read these.

Sleep and eat at its foot

Next along: Buachaille Etive Mor - Stob na Broige, Buachaille Etive Beag - Stob Coire Raineach, Stob Coire Sgreamhach, Bidean nam Bian. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are ScotWays', the National Trust for Scotland's, Shiel Buses' and the Scottish Avalanche Information Service's, which also gives the avalanche forecast; the weather forecasts are the Mountain Weather Information Service's and the Met Office's. Height and position from The Database of British and Irish Hills, v18.3, adapted, CC BY 4.0. This page is not a route description and does not replace a map.