STEEP, INTENSE AND DRAMATIC – A HIDDEN GEM IN GLEN ETIVE

IT can be hard to stand out from the crowd when you reside in the upmarket neighbourhood of Glen Etive but Beinn Mhic Chasgaig is doing quite nicely, thank you.

The four Corbetts dotted along this long, narrow, winding stretch of road are all magnificent, each with a convincing claim to parity with their loftier kin, each with rugged ascents and sensational views. Location is definitely the key here.

Beinn Mhic Chasgaig ticks those boxes but its ace in the hole is the hidden deep gorge that evokes a Himalayan splendour, in spirit if not in scale, that allows the walker access to its steep upper reaches. And it is steep, incessantly so.

When I first visited this mountain nearly 30 years ago, it required the finely balanced crossing of a shaky wooden single plank bridge over the gorge with just a loose wire handrail either side. And that was after having to gingerly climb down a couple of rock steps from the wall to reach it.

Over the years, the bridge has fallen into disrepair and become too dangerous to use. The wires have gone and it would be a brave (or reckless) person who trusted the sagging wood to take their weight. I suspect even high wire walkers would give it a pass.

The alternative now is to cross the water below the outflow of the new hydro intake on huge boulders and then head up to join the path from the previous crossing point. This gains height very quickly and soon you are peering a long way down through the trees into the white water squeezing along the tight channel in a series of cascades.

You need to be aware of your surroundings; the path is overgrown in sections, waterlogged and slippery on exposed tree roots and slabs in others, and it's a huge drop to the left. The amount of water on the path shouldn't have been a surprise as the initial walk from the floor of the busy glen had also been excessively wet and muddy, but the distraction of the sparkling slopes on the forward horizon and the beauty of the tumbling waters thundering over the wide slabs and pavements in the river had blotted out everything else.

When the high path reached a flattening there was a choice to be made – either head straight up beside a rocky gully into Coire Aiteil or continue further ahead before swinging round into Coire Odhar for the airy ascent north. Both routes involve having to cross the Allt Coire Ghiubhasan, which proved trickier than anticipated, even on a sunny day when it had been dry for more than 12 hours. Both routes are also very steep.

Back in 1998, we had gone straight up the gully, clambering over the boulder field. Although it was winter and there was a dusting of snow on the grey heights, there was little water coming down. This time, I plodded up a faint path on its right flank which kept doing a disappearing act before annoyingly reappearing on a different line. There was also a lot of long grass and hidden holes to negotiate.

As the angle finally began to ease, the giants started to show themselves. The summit cairn perched on the eastern end provided a 360-degree reveal of Munro magic, with Creise and Meall a' Bhuiridh dead ahead, the Black Mount to the right and the Ben Starav group to the south, while Glen Coe's finest were providing the western skyline. The undoubted star of the show was Buachaille Etive Mor, all four main summits with Stob Dearg leading the line, a spectacular close-up showing every crease and fold, every deep rocky groove of its rugged profile to full effect. It's hard to drag yourself away when the scenery is this absorbing.

A steep ascent usually means a fast descent but this was not a hill you could run down, one wrong step on this angle could mean a serious tumble. The whole round had taken just four and a half hours though it felt like more. The relentless nature of the six-mile circuit had made it seem so much tougher than a Cairngorms wander of more than double that length a couple of days later.

Everything on this hill is steep, intense and dramatic. Even brief respite is in short supply. There's no doubt Beinn Mhic Chasgaig is greater than the sum of its parts.