11 Years later .......Ben Vorlich and Stuc a' Chroin

I didn't know after my last munro , Ben Lawers and number 100, that it would be 11 years before the next one.

It wasn't a plan or for any good reason other than the fact I really got into cycling, joined a club and that took all my attention from 2009 to present day.

That said, I always intended to got back out on the hills and this week it finally happened due to good weather, COVID-19, staycation and Malcolm being free.

I'd climbed these two before but so long ago that almost all memories have gone.
We parked pretty close to the start of the route and headed up the straightforward path in sweltering heat and brilliant visibility.
The route to the top of Ben Vorlich is straightforward and was fairly busy despite it being a Tuesday. I guess lots of people are exploring their own country this summer. After a quick stop we headed off to Stuc a' Chroin which looks impressive and daunting from the top of Ben Vorlich. We took the more scrambly route up which was great and popped out at the summit where we stopped for lunch. Sitting enjoying the sun and looking out over the hills all around in great visibility. We descended the "other" less scrambly path and then over the two lesser lumps of Ben Our before dropping back onto the path.

My legs were really struggling with the descent as the lovely smooth pedal strokes of the last 10 years does not help the impact of descending rough ground it seems.

Back to the car a bit burnt, crispy and dehydrated due to the unexpected blazing hot day.

Looking forward to getting back into it if I can balance the cycling commitments. :-)

Ben Lawers (Number 100) and Beinn Ghlas

Short day out on my own to bag my 100th Munro. Ben Lawers had been sitting in the middle of this five peak mountain range unbagged since I climbed Beinn Ghlas with John in ferocious winter conditions and turned back and the three on the other side with Chris last summer as prep for Mont Blanc.

A very busy bank holiday weekend in glorious sunny conditions. Walkers seemed to be split between those still carrying axes and crampons (presumably walkers who know the fickle conditions of the spring mountains) and family groups in trainers and jeans with no map to be seen. On this occasion the weather remained very friendly but it's easy to see how people can get into trouble.

Anyway, bagged Ben Lawers in an hour and a half from the car via the Bealach (that's a pretty good pace) had some lunch on the summit then came back over Beinn Ghlas on the descent.

Easy enough day and was back home by mid afternoon

Stuchd an Lochain

Monday 5th January 2009. First outing of the New Year and John, Robin and I headed for Stuchd an Lochain in Glen Lyon for a short day out on the winter hills since the forecast was cold, clear, sunny and superb visibility.

The long drive was spiced up as soon as we turned off the A827 and over the "B" class road to Glen Lyon. Actually on the map it's a dotted yellow line so I'm note sure it's even "B" class. It was icy and steep but my little Megane was superb and held true but I'm sure we were all happy to get to the car park at Loch an Daimh.

We headed up the hillside looking at the dark clouds coming in from the South and wondering if the MWIS had got the forecast badly wrong. We walked up the hillside and decided to make things more interesting by cutting up through the crags allowing some very minor ice scrambling up frozen burns. We stopped at a frozen waterfall that looked like someone had just instantly turned it into an absolutely beautiful static sculpture.

We pushed on through the crags into the clag and wandered up to the summit after taking a bearing. I thought we would be admiring most of the mountains in central Scotland but here we were taking compass bearings in clag.

We summited and headed back quickly since it was very cold and took a shortcut downclimbing a snowfield. The snow was superb and if it continues to remain cold Gully's like Ben Lui will be in superb condition.

A couple of pics of the Loch from the dam on the way up and down and a couple of our route through the icy crags.

Beinn Dubhchraig

I had a day off work in Lieu of some extra hours so decided to bag this hill which I'd passed last year on the way up the central gulley of Ben Lui. The carpark at Strath Fillan on the A82 was frozen solid and I genuinely nearly put my crampons on but instead hung on to the fence posts , trees and gates and slithered my way down and along the path to the forest. Reports on the Munro Magic website say that this route is very wet and boggy, not today, it was like glass as i crunched my way over the tops of the bogs and slop.

The forest at Gleann Auchreoch is stunning, not like the common dense fir plantations but a real sense of the ancient Caledonian Pine Forests of old. This would be worth a walk in itself on day if it wasn't for the nagging thought of knee deep slop in warmer conditions to get there.

Past the forest and out on the open hillside I took my time up the steep NorthEast spur of the mountain, not by choice but today my legs felt heavy, my breathing laboured and the whole thing a bit more tiring than usual. I did wonder whether walking alone on a weekday in sub zero conditions in less than perfect weather while feeling weaker than normal was a good idea but I soon realised I was just being a sap and pushed on.

It was one of those gloomy days where it never really gets light so photographs were few and far between.

Meall Ghaordaidh

Another stunningly beautiful Sunday, cold, crip and clear.

The car temperature gauge read -9degrees as we sped through Glen Dochart past the frozen Loch Lubhair and the Christmas postcard style snow laden pine trees. We parked in Glen Lochay at Tullich and set off over the frozen fields up the straightforward route. While the sun was out and we were waking on the lower slopes it felt pretty warm. As we climbed higher and the wind picked up the bitter northerly wind ripped at or faces. As we approached the summit we all had scarves pulled up and were adding extra layers as we picked out and tried to identify the hundreds of snowy summits all around us. With hats pulled low, sunglasses and scarves over faces it looked like a bank robbers day out in the hills.

In the pictures you can see the numerous paths churned through the deep snow up the hillside to the summit. Glad I did this on a clear winters day as i imagine it's a pretty boring lump in anything but these conditions.

Today it was stunning.

Meall nan Tarmachan

Club Sunday and a stunningly beautiful sunny snowy day. We decided on the Tarmachan Ridge near Ben Lawers and headed off. After parking we, in true Cairn ban style, completely ignored the easy path to the summit and went up cross country which, to be fair, was a bit hard on the new fella joining us for his first Scottish winter walk. The group soon strung out a bit and I admit to wondering if he'd make it but with Bob keeping him motivated and slowing the pace he made it to the summit to stunning snowy views for hundreds of miles in all directions.

We headed off the complete the ridge but found the steep section just edging on the dangerous side of exciting for most. A few moments previously JP had slipped on ona relatively easy bit of the ridge and slid down no more than a few feet. (I managed to capture the moment in the 2nd shot below) As the ground got steeper a decision had to be made for the safety of the whole group and we sensibly turned back. With crampons and axes it was probably fine but since I was one of the only ones without crampons...stooopid.....I fully supported the decision for JP's safety ....Ahem).

We doubled back and headed down off the ridge and back along the track to the cars for a short but hugely enjoyable day.

Creise & Meall a' Bhuiridh

Phoned up my old mate David Smout at the last minute desperate to get out on the hills after my weekend in Braemar with the club was scuppered by the delivery of a carpet....(long story...very boring)

Anyway, we set off on a beautiful crisp Autumn morning, not too early, and a mere hour and a half later we were parked at the Glen Coe Ski Center car park.

We headed up below the empty but working chair lift and took our time up the easy slopes to the rocky summit. After a bit of lunch we followed the excellent ridge between the two mountains and after a bit of light scrambling emerged on the far ridge and the beginnings of the first signs of an early cornice forming. Hopefully this is an indication of a good winter season. Part of the reason i wanted to do these hills was to suss out Sron na Creise and Inglis Clark Ridge for a return in winter conditions, both look really interesting.

We summitted the blip that is Creise and after Smoutie taking some IT helpdesk calls we turned and reversed our route back down. The route back means climbing over Meall a' Bhuiridh again so really we climbed 3 Munros. The Smoutster struggled a bit with his 3 years of sitting at a desk between his last outing and this but in reality it was a bit of a push back over the first summit again so hats off o him for a good return to the hills.

till next time...adieu

Day 1 Mer de Glace

Our first day and we were all giddy with excitement as we headed off to the glacier for some fun on ice. I've never seen a glacier let alone walk and climb on one so I was beaming from ear to ear as the little train, busy with climbers and tourists, clicked and rattled it's way up the track to the top station.

The viewing platform offers stunning views up the Mer de Glace but we didn't hang around with the tourists long and headed off on the track to meet the glacier. Fixed metal ladders lead down the vertical walls for a couple of hundred meters where the glacier once scraped and one by one we carefully climbed down. It's impossible to gauge the scale of the glacier from up top but standing on it's surface it is spectacular and much more complex than it appears from afar. We crossed crevacce after crevasse as Jacque, our guide, led us through the maze of deep blue ice and we eventually stopped at a small area where we would practice some ice climbing.

We hadn't been paired for our summit attempt at this point so much tactical jostling and maneuvering was going on (even if no one will admit it) to ensure the best possible chance of a good pairing tomorrow. John also took a major huff at one point due to holding axes and therefore "booking" the next climb, although this rule seemed to be unknown to everyone else. In the stunning surroundings it was impossible for John to sulk too long and soon we were all climbing again and enjoying every minute. I tried making an abalakov which is an ice anchor made by threading rope through a v-shaped channel cut by two ice screws. I followed Jacque's demonstration as best I could but my version took ages and I'd dug a pit in the ground the size of a small basin by the time I'd finished by the sheer number of re-drilling I'd been doing with the ice screws. More practice I think but I doubt Scottish conditions will allow much opportunity to use this type of seriously strong anchor.

We trekked back across the glacier and up the vertical ladders again and back to Chamonix at the end of the afternoon.

Day 2 Aiguille du Midi

The cable car to the Aiguille du Midi was just across the road from our apartment. In 16 minutes it took it's passengers from the sunny and warm street to 3800 meters and into a world of snow and ice. Again, Chamonix seemed to have it all, summer sunbathing on the balcony or winter climbing a short cable car ride away.

At the top we strapped on our crampons, donned some extra clothes and stepped out onto the Cosmique Arette which starts just through a little gate that has a sign warning that your about to do something dangerous. The arette is literally two boot widths wide and a real stomach in mouth traverse gradually down to the open snow fields below. Combine the dizzying drops on either side with the first taste of altitude woozyness, it's a challenging start to the route. Apparently in ski season the authorities put up handrails for the skiers but for the climbers it's just up to balance and a head for heights.

The route took us around the rock that the Aiguille sits on and follows the arette back up to finish on the viewing platform. The climb was mixed between snow and rock, a high end scramble with a bit of easy rock climbing, pretty similar to Tower Ridge in winter.

The finish was up a metal ladder lashed to the viewing platform which necessitated swinging your leg over the balcony rail trying not to boot a tourist in the face. A great finish to a great route.

John and I hung around waiting for Chris then had a beer in the restaurant with Andy, Matt and their guide Irwine. We wandered around for a while trying to maximise our time at altitude then headed back don the packed cable car to the apartment and the office for our usual evening classes then out to dinner.