Ben Lawers - East & West

Ben Lawers & An Stuc

Whilst the 7 Munros of the Ben Lawers group can be tackled in one (very) long day, assuming you have 2 cars, it is considerably more enjoyable to split the group up into 2 or 3 more manageable chunks.  With just 67 summits left to complete her (first?) Munro round, Jennifer was very happy to start her 2016 campaign adopting this strategy.

 Meall nan Tarmachan From Meall Corranaich

Stunning spring weather and sensible start-of-season planning combined to produce a great couple of days high above Killin tackling the westernmost 2 and easternmost 3 of the range.  This has left Ben Lawers itself and Beinn Ghlas for another time - the end, in fact, as Jenn has decided that the UK’s 10^th highest peak would be a fitting candidate as her last Munro!

The Ben Lawers Range 

Ben Lawers (West):  Meall a’ Choire Leith & Meall Corranaich

We parked beneath the large cairn beside the road at the head of the pass into Glen Lyon.  The outlying grassy lump of Meall a’ Choire Leith is awkwardly placed some way north of the main Lawers ridge.  

Meall Corranaich

There’s no convenient direct path from this direction so we traversed across the open country using the contours to negotiate an intermediate mound and then around the NW shoulder of Meall Corranaich into Coire Gorm before finally arriving at the mountain proper!  Whilst we paused for refreshment, a lone fell-runner appeared from over the summit scattering a herd of at least 25 red deer that disappeared into Coire Liath.

 

Meall a’ Choire Leith

Having intercepted the main ridge path (at last), we followed it up the short, easy southern ridge of Meall a’ Choire Leith to the flat summit (926m; hill of the grey corrie).  This is much more of a Glen Lyon hill than a Loch Tay one and  you can see why, given the commanding views you enjoy of that glen from the rounded summit.  A pair of ptarmigan surveyed our upward progress; their white winter plumage almost gone.

Ben Lawers From Meall a’ Choire Leith

We returned down the mountain’s southern ridge which in turn lead conveniently on to the northern ridge of our next peak.  This was excellent ridge walking now and steep grassy slopes on either side helped reinforce the airy feel about the walk.  We side-stepped a couple of large snowfields and it did get a touch breezy, but in no time at all we were standing on our 2^nd summit and Munro of the day: Meall Corranaich (1069m; crooked hill).

Last of the Snow on Meall Corranaich

Ben Lawers (East): Meall Greigh, Meall Garbh & An Stuc

Meall Greigh

Day 2 saw us parking at the private lay-by opposite the bone-carving shop in Lawers village.  Having happily paid our £5 contribution to bone-carving research and Highland industry, we headed up the pretty wee path that winds up through the mixed woodland alongside the Lawers Burn.  It’s a lovely spot.

Ben Lawers, An Stuc & Meall Garbh

A lack of wind was beginning to make the sheltered woodland too warm for comfort when just in time, we broke out on to the open hillside and a most welcome breeze.  At 550m, we left the burn and climbed up the featureless grassy slopes to intersect the ridge (and path) that lead to the very welcoming summit of Meall Greigh (1001m; hill of horse studs).

Meall Greigh From Meall Garbh

Intermittent high cloud and occasional gusty winds kept the temperature down, but we could see for miles and the sun shone for much of the day.  A second fell-runner appeared silently out of nowhere immediately behind us prompting a near-coronary event (she could have worn a bell!); ironically, our only human contact of the day.  The easy path and decaying fence posts lead us along the broad grassy shoulder and up to the rather more interesting summit ridge of Meall Garbh (1118m; rough hill).

Meall Garbh

Once here, the view became dominated by Ben Lawers itself and right in front of us, the sharp wedge of today’s final Munro: An Stuc.  It’s less than a kilometre away but you have to descend steeply to the narrow bealach between the peaks and then climb even more steeply up the fairly eroded path that leads up a greasy gulley to the small summit of the mountain – An Stuc (1118m; the peak).  This is perhaps the most photogenic and interesting of the Lawers range and is well placed directly above the feline-shaped Lochan nan Cat which sits snugly beneath the encircling cliffs of An Stuc’s eastern aspect.

An Stuc

We descended SW to the Bealach Dubh (black pass) and then peeled off left and descended steeply to the W shore of the lochan - usually fairly straightforward, but complicated today by a most inconveniently-placed snowfield that required some careful attention!  Once down, we traversed the open ground beside the lochan and followed it until we picked up the morning’s path for a very entertaining descent back down to Lawers village. 

An Stuc Above Lohan nan Cat

So, after another prolonged winter in the Highlands, spring has finally arrived and these 2 fine hill days have hopefully set the scene for a cracking summer’s hillwalking……

Check out my plans for similar walks at: http://www.hillways.co.uk/summer/summer.htm

Tyndrum Hills - Ben Oss & Beinn Dubhchraig

Ben Oss & Ben Lui From Glen Cononish

A break in the extended winter weather afforded an opportunity to start getting hill-fit with a mid-April day out amongst the Ben Lui group above Tyndrum.  

Glen Cononish

High winds and on-going wintery conditions on the higher slopes suggested a complete round of all 4 peaks might be a touch ambitious so I opted for just 2: Ben Oss & Beinn Dubhchraig.

Beinn Chuirn Above Cononish Farm

Rather than taking the longer, more boggier and more difficult-going route from Dalrigh up into Coire Dubhchraig, I opted, as usual, for the shorter, dryer and easier-going line of approach from Glen Cononish.  A forestry track from Tyndrum Lower Station provides a neat short-cut into the glen where a wee footbridge across the River Cononish gives convenient access to the upper slopes.

The Key to the Route: the Cononish Footbridge

A 300m steady climb up grassy slopes leads to the NE shoulder of Beinn Dubhchraig which then leads much more gently to the summit ridge where 2 small lochans mark the junction.  From here, a 10-min walk leads to the small summit cairn of Beinn Dubhchraig (978m; hill of the black rock).

Beinn Dubhchraig

Retracing my steps to the lochans, the climb up to Ben Oss was harder going into wind.  Don’t be seduced into taking the path that traverses around the mountain's steep southern side above Coire Garbh.  Instead, bear right up the natural ridge-line over Spot Height 941 until the summit eventually comes to you - Ben Oss (1029m; hill of the elk).

Ben Oss

The obvious route home is to return to the 2 lochans and descend the way you came in, taking care not to descend too early into Glen Cononish therby avoiding some pesky crags. This is a good winter day route, which is just as well as this winter seems to be going on and on and on.......

Beinn Dubhchraig

Check out my plans for the coming season at:  http://www.hillways.co.uk/   

Winter Skills - Lochaber

Three days of quality winter skills activity under blue skies on pristine snow transmogrified into the usual ‘improvise and adapt’ kind of trip so common at this time of year in the Scottish mountains!

Steall Waterfall & Water of Nevis

Still, Karthik’s first venture into the winter hills got him to the top of Ben Nevis, an exploration of Glen Nevis and a few hours digging snow anchors whilst battling ferocious snow showers!

Upper Glen Nevis

Strong winds and driving rain prevented us from going high on the first day,  Indeed, they almost prevented us from going anywhere!  In the event, the weather relented just sufficiently to allow us to venture up Glen Nevis to inspect the Steall waterfall and for Karthik to practice his trapeze skills on the wire bridge.

Steall Bridge

Day 2 saw us climbing up the tourist path (currently undergoing some welcome repair work) on to a cloud-girt Ben Nevis.  We entered the cloud and snow about half-way up and it was full white-out conditions on top.  

Approaching Half-way!

Some of the summit navigation pillars were buried making progress difficult for some, but the wind was mercifully light which kept the wind-chill at bay.

Below the Snowline...

The Easter holidays ensured a busier than usual mountain for the time of year and the summit was anything but deserted.  So following the obligatory photo shoot, we headed down and were greeted with a glint of afternoon sunlight when we emerged below the clouds.  

Glen Nevis

Seven hours was a creditable time under the conditions and Karthik got to try crampons for the first time, so we got at least one winter tick in!

...And Above It!

Day 3 heralded the onset of frequent blustery snow showers on Aonach Mor which led the Nevis Range ski complex to review operations throughout the morning.

Improvising and Adapting!

We took the gondola up to 650m and traversed to the nearest useable snowfield where we managed to run through some winter skills in between the showers.  Mindful that the gondola might stop at any time, we did what we had to and then escaped down before things got too bad.

And Just Plain Suffering!

So, not quite the planned 3-day package, but we managed to tick all the boxes and went home happy to await the on-set of spring……..  

Check out my plans for the coming season at:  http://www.hillways.co.uk/   

Ben Nevis - A Season Opener

Winter on the Ben

A first visit to Fort William by James and Esther offered the chance of a winter ascent of the Ben.  The preceding few days had seen a significant thaw of the winter snow pack so the snow line was quite high with the snow not really deep enough for our planned winter skills activities.

Below the Snow Line!

The weather was forecast to deteriorate later in the day so we made an early start from Achintee Farm under leaden skies.  It was still dry though and the surrounding Munros were still clear on top.

Meall an t-Suidhe From the Red Burn

There was no snow on the lower part of the mountain so we made good time traversing around Meall an t-Suidhe, past its eponymous lochan and up to the crossing of the Red Burn.

The Red Burn

Then came the 8 zig-zags which took us into the cloud, ice and snow which were to be our constant companions for the next couple of hours!  Predictably, the cloud thickened and the wind speed increased significantly approaching the summit plateau.  Picking out the navigation pillars became quite a challenge in the near white-out conditions.

Starting Up the Zig-Zags

Eventually though, the summit loomed into view (what there was of the latter) and we fought our way to the trig point as walkers and climbers emerged out of the white wilderness to converge on top of the mountain.  It was not a place to linger today and James and Esther needed no prompting to start heading back after the obligatory summit photo shoot.

Made It!

By now the snow had set in and the cloudbase had lowered so we were well down the zig-zags before the glen started to emerge far below us.  The snow turned to rain half-way down and this continued for the rest of the day (and weekend)!  We were back at the car in 6½ hrs, a commendable time in these conditions.  We hadn’t enjoyed much in the way of far-away views, but we had encountered full-on Scottish winter mountains conditions.  And, at the end of the day, that was the aim of the day.

That'll Be Winter Then!

The following day, relentless heavy rain (blizzards higher up) and high winds put paid to our plans for the Lost Valley in Glen Coe and even the drive home across Rannoch Moor proved challenging.  Winter - you just got to love it!  

  

Check out my plans for the coming season at:  http://www.hillways.co.uk/