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A New Personal Record
This was one stonker or a route, taking in a distance of 19km and 2200 metres of ascent.
It all took eight hours over some great (and new) mountains. I climbed three new Munros
- four total - having
already climbing Tulaichean many years before. (listed as second hillwalk on the
site) Something felt pretty special about this day and although the weather
could have been nicer, it was a day that I really came to enjoy. It was also a
very hard day, very very taxing on my legs and feet and by the end I couldn't
walk uphill at more than a slow pace. Still, I was in good spirits the whole way
and managed to keep myself well rested as well as eating and drinking lots.
Ben More
After a pretty early start, up as early as 6am and getting out the door early,
dad dropped me off by Benmore Farm at 8.40. It was an early start and would give
me the whole day to climb. I knew of the existence of a sign by the road which gave walkers directions to
the mountain but when we drove out of Crianlarich I found it and parked
beside it. I followed it over the stile and then onto the zigzagging path. Ben More towered
in front to a summit one thousand metres above. However daunting this looked, the track followed an
easier gradient than I'd expected. A party of 4 were ahead and there was also
one guy beyond them. Once the zigzags had ended, I knew there would be a small cairn
by the track indicating the route. I asked about to see if anyone knew if there
was an actual path up, but got no replies asides "follow the guy ahead,
he'll know". I
followed him but overtook him as he stood with a pair of binoculars by that
obvious cairn. Maybe not so obvious if you had your head to the ground, but I
managed to spot it instantly.
I headed upwards, at the beginning of 1000 vertical metres
of unrelenting slog. However, I quickly learnt it really wasn't that bad and the angle of the slope made for
quick progress. Additionally, the foreshortening effect of Ben More made the gradient
seem a lot easier than it really must have been. I worked my way up and around
600-700 metres picked up a defined path, from there heading beside the small
wall which bordered the corrie. With the other five walkers now below, I headed into the
cloud and continued on following the path. It was now that I was feeling the ascent. I
didn't feel tired as such but at the same time moving quickly felt more difficult
than before. Soon enough, I came across a cairn and then a few metres beyond I stopped
by the
trig point.
Onto Stob Binnein
I was at the summit of Ben More an hour and a half after leaving. It seemed
odd that the ascent didn't seem all it had been cracked up to be. I was feeling
well and after a couple of middle-of-cloud pics I headed back down the other
side of the hill, stopping briefly for some food and a piss behind a sheltered
rock :) From there I followed the path down to the broad Bealach-eadar-da-bheinn
("pass between two hills") where I found there were some views again. I didn't stop
because
underneath the cloud lay Stob Binnein and that was my next goal. I'd rested a
bit already so far and with Ben More behind me now I crossed the pass and
headed straight up the path and back into cloud. There were no views and Stob
Binnein became an easy angled slog, With altitude, the wind picked
up and I was soon getting soaked by water droplets. The weather here was not
pleasant... The path soon brought me up
to Stob Binneins summit and I was on top 50 minutes after leaving Ben More.
Stob Garbh to Cruach Ardrain
I descended once more, trying to get out of the cloud, the drizzle and the high winds. Soon
I was back at the pass and I descended down the west side of the hill, heading
for the col between Cruach Ardrain and Stob Binnein. I was surprised that
although I'd already ascended 1300
metres I was still feeling good and would head onto the next Munros to see how I
got on.
I headed at an angle down the tussock-y and stony slopes to the col. The bottom
of my foot was feeling painful but I put that down to walking on an odd angle. I
ended up at the bottom, in a pretty enclosed valley. My signal had gone and I
was due a phone call home so instead of going to Tulaichean, I headed straight
up Ardrain and could hopefully get some signal. It was a slog to get up, and now my strength was
beginning to fade. It
was a little hotter now the sun was out (Ben More and Stob Binnein were still in
cloud, both being over 1100m high) I worked on climbing the slope to Stob Garbh.
When I crested the ridge beneath Stob Garbh, signal came back and I phoned home
briefly. From there I headed up the ridge to Stob Garbh which was steep at times
but all manageable. Once again it was a good slog and I soon discovered the
reasoning behind the name Stob Garbh. ("rough hill") Standing on top, the slope
down to the bealach before it rose to Ardrain was lined in tiers of rock steps,
and as I headed down the other side, each one had to be descended which involved
a bit of scrambling. No problems however, it was quite entertaining.
The next challenge was the ascent to Ardrain which was one I hadn't realised
could be problematic. From Stob Garbh, I'd noticed it was alarmingly steep and
looking on at it offered no clear way up. I contemplated traversing the mountain to the south side
and take an easy angled slope to the top but when I started climbing, a path
wound its way through the crags. This was so steep and it was pretty
dangerous - a fall would have you lying in little bits 100 metres below. At
the same time, I was surprised at how little the exposure didn't bother
me. Several inches away from where I stepped was an ugly fall, but where the
path was obvious, I scrambled up quickly without any
problems.
It was all easy until I came to one section where I needed a little inspiration.
I was relying on a downwards-angled, gritty and wet foot hold to get up a
section and while I searched around a bit for other routes, nothing came. The
overhanging rocks above looked as if they were to fall any time soon and I
wanted up as soon as possible. At the same time I was amazed how calm I was but
how quietly intense things were. In the end I used a clump of grass to pull
myself up and it gave me the "handhold" I needed to
pull my weight upwards with safety. I was sure I'd learnt lessons from Beinn Narnain
on the
25th November 2007 but this felt like the same situation. Now I was at the point
of no return. I knew such behaviour got me into shit before and I hoped no tougher sections would arise.
They didn't and after an easy pull up to the top I walked straight onto the
summit. There I met two guys who I chatted to for a while.
Ardrain was my 14th Munro, and would turn into the last new one of the day. Now
I knew it was all easier ground from here. The two other guys were heading to
Tulaichean and I was keen to do so myself and revisit an old hill. Maybe I could get some
pictures I was too young to take before.
Beinn Tulaichean - my first time here in
six years
I left Cruach Ardrain and headed off to Tulaichean. I could feel my strength going now
and food was also getting low but the ridge was easy and refreshing. It was nice
to be back on a peak I had some old, old memories of. I arrived at
the top of Tulaichean as everyone around left. I took some photos but sat and eventually lay
down, nearly asleep. No people, cars, planes or anything. The world was
nearly silent and I was enjoying the quiet. Eventually the Ardrain guys arrived. I stayed around a bit more and got some pictures,
discussed routes of getting back to Crianlarich by but soon I left. It was nice
to be on Tulaichean and is definitely a hill I have a bit of fondness of.
The Long Descent Back to Crianlarich via.
Meall Dhamh
Food was low. I finished the bread I had brought and now had a packet of Chilli
Heatwave Doritos left. I was saving them for the bottom. To get back to
Crianlarich, I reascended Ardrain most of the way and turned off by a cairn near
the top. A path took me down and onto the NW spur where I, exhausted having
climbed over 2000 metres worked my way back. Now it was a case of just getting
on with it. Mum and dad were coming back to meet me and my dreadfully slow
progress meant I'd be a bit late, but I let them know. As the last top of the
day, I took some pictures from the top of Meall Dhamh before heading back down
over Grey Height and down by the plantations. It had clouded over a bit by now
but I wasn't bothered and headed down the indistinct path through the long
grasses to the old bridge which is in a bit of a state now. It was a 10-15
minute walk over the track, under the railway and over the field back to the
car where I arrived exhausted, and having met the two guys from Tulaichean. They
headed around Stob Glas and into Glen Falloch which may have been an easier way
but it was no wonder they were back first - I wasn't exactly moving fast.
We left the car park and stopped at Inveruglas for water and
Mars Bars just as they were closing for the day. We got there in time, just. From there
we headed down the A82 to home. What a day :-)
The next day I went rock climbing for the first time in several years, and is
not something to do following a day like this. Perhaps I'll one day be able to
do the seven Crianlarich Munros in one go but at least until the following
summer, that's a bit of a dream.
Panoramas
Summit of Cruach Ardrain (360)
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