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A gravel track running to the small stone Lairig Leacach bothy under a deep blue sky, with Stob Ban's sharp snow-streaked cone beyond.
Ben Nevis, the Mamores and the Grey Corries

Stob Ban

A Munro of 977 metres, number 177 of the 282.

On the hill todayI was up today
The hill

Stob Ban is the lowest of the four Grey Corries Munros, above the Lairig Leacach pass in Lochaber, and is not to be confused with the Stob Ban of the Mamores above Glen Nevis.

Stob Choire Claurigh, the highest of the four, is about a kilometre and a half to the north.

The Mountain Bothies Association has looked after the small Lairig Leacach bothy since 1977. It is about a mile from the summit in a straight line, and popular, the association says, with walkers and cyclists travelling through the pass or climbing the hills of the Grey Corries.

The land
Most of the Ben Nevis Site of Special Scientific Interest lies within Jahama Highland Estates' Killiechonate estate, which runs from Glen Nevis in the west to Coire Rath and the Lairig Leacach in the east. The estate office is at Killiechonate, Spean Bridge.
The bothy
The Lairig Leacach bothy, at grid reference NN 282 738, is about a mile from this summit. It is small, with a multi-fuel stove and no fuel to be had locally. Simec Lochaber Hydropower 2 Ltd owns it and the Mountain Bothies Association has looked after it since 1977. Bothies are used entirely at your own risk, and groups of six or more should not use one.
Deer stalking
The Mountain Bothies Association gives the stag season here as 15 August to 20 October and the hind cull as 21 October to 15 February, while Jahama Highland Estates offers stalking on Killiechonate from August to mid December. The first three weeks of October are the busiest. In the season, contact the estate or use Hillphones to find out where deer control is taking place, pay close attention to signs and follow reasonable advice from land managers.
Summit
Grid reference NN 266 723
Parking
Wild About Lochaber, the area's tourism site, gives small parking areas by a metal bridge over the River Spean, on the road signposted Corriechoille off the A86 east of Spean Bridge. It gives them for a track walk to a statue, not for the hill.
Bus and train
Shiel Buses' route 41 between Roy Bridge and Fort William stops at Spean Bridge, which has a railway station. Check the times with the operators.
On the hill today
0° to 4°Drizzle on the summit, 977 m. Feels like −4° in the wind.

North-west wind to 14 mph, gusting 28
Rain, about 5 mm
Light from 7.53am to 6.16pm, ten hours

Sat 17Mostly clear−1° to 4° on top · 7 mph, gusts 15
Sun 18Mostly clear−3° to 4° on top · 9 mph, gusts 16
Mon 19Cloudy−5° to 6° on top · 7 mph, gusts 14

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 Ban, Grey Corries, Lochaber 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 John Irvine and Ian, via Google

Knowledge from the core area is applied to the more outlying mountains such as the Grey Corries range to the east where field observations are carried out in turn as the winter progresses, or specific snowpack assessments are required.The Scottish Avalanche Information Service, on its Lochaber forecast area, whose core is the Aonach Mor range and Ben Nevis
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 266 723
  • 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: Stob Choire Claurigh, Stob Coire an Laoigh, Sgurr Choinnich Mor, Stob Coire Easain. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are Jahama Highland Estates', the Mountain Bothies Association's, Mountaineering Scotland's, Wild About Lochaber's and Shiel Buses'; the forecasts are the Mountain Weather Information Service's, the Met Office's and the Scottish Avalanche Information Service'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.