Cruach Ardrain & Beinn Tulaichean

Walk Summary

Along Strath Fillan towards Beinn Dorain in distance,
Beinn Challuim on right on way up Cruach Ardrain

A veritable Munro baggers dream. Nice clear path to first Munro (do Cruach Ardrain first to avoid loads of reascent) followed by equally clear path to second Munro, Beinn Tulaichean. For the regular Munro bagger a straight forward up and down returning along same path.
For the peak bagger an absolute bagging festival. Not only do you pick up the Corbet Top of Munro Cruach Ardrain - Meall Dhamh on the way to Cruach Ardrain you have the option of a more satisfying circular walk by turning right at the bealach between Cruach Ardrain and Beinn Tulaichean picking up 4 more peaks on the way back. As a peak bagger I think it is an excellent option which avoids the reascent up Cruach Ardrain. On the other hand my mate John (Munro Bagger) thought it made a straight forward walk more difficult by leaving the well marked return path as well as being harder work getting off the hill due to forest plantation below Creag na h-lolaíre. Well you can avoid that difficulty by careful route selection, but I will leave it for you to decide the best option based on if you see yourself as a peak or a Munro bagger.

Walk Statistics
Walk Date - 07 October 2014
Walkers - Steve Smith, John Parkin
Accommodation - Maragowan Caravan Club Site
Start Point - Crianlarich Community Woodland car park (GR - NN 38929 25111)
Start Time - 09:24
Finish Point - Crianlarich Community Woodland car park (GR - NN 38929 25111)
Finish Time - 16:51
Duration - 7hrs 27mins
Average pace - 1.50mph
Distance Walked - 11.16miles
Height Ascended - 1382.16metres

Other walks on this trip
2014
September
30^th Conic Hill & Gualann
October
01^st Ptarmigan & Ben Lomond
03^rd Meall Corranaich & Meall a' Choire Leith
04^th Ben More & Stob Binnein
05^th Not quite Meall Buide (Glen Lyon)
07^th Cruach Ardrain & Beinn Tulaichean
08^th Beinn Dorain & Beinn an Dothaidh hammerhead
10^th Ben Challum [Beinn Challuim]
12^th Beinn a' Chreachain & Beinn Achaladair
13^th The Tyndrum Grandslam

Peaks visited
Munro (282)
Cruach Ardrain (25)
Beinn Tulaichean (26)
Murdo (443)
Cruach Ardrain (33)
Beinn Tulaichean (34)
Stob Garbh (35)
Corbett (221)
NONE
Graham (224)
NONE
Marilyn (1218S - 1552E,W&S))
Cruach Ardrain (26S - 97E,W&S)
Hump (2168S - 2976E,W&S)
Cruach Ardrain (34S - 153E,W&S)
Beinn Tulaichean (35S - 154E,W&S)
Stob Garbh (36S - 155E,W&S)
S: Scotland. 
E,W&S:England,Wales & Scotland

Route

GPX can be downloaded from www.shareyouradventure.com

Walk Description
Cruach Ardrain - Meall Dhamh

Crianlarich Community
Woodland car park

I have to be honest and admit to some measure of disappointment to find only about five parking spaces and nothing else at the grandly named Crianlarich Community Woodland car park. Having said that there were only 2 cars there already leaving plenty space for us. In any event we did not expect lavish tea rooms, entertainment or even toilets. All we needed was somewhere safe to park the van, thereby living up to the descriptive nature of it's name - it was in Crianlarich, I am sure members of the community use it and most importantly there was somewhere to park. 
Start the walk by leaving the car park up-hill along the forest track away from the A85. Ralph Storer describes in detail the points to look out for to successfully navigate the tracks to the plantation fence line at Meall an Fhreiceadain near the bottom of Grey Height. He also goes to great lengths about avoiding the boggy path. 

Looking back down boggy forest path
towards Beinn Challuim

On the day we did take the path and it was boggy, but not as bad as ascent route up Beinn a'Chleibh. My mate John reckons it was over egged to get in the joke about people using this route if they had not bought his book. I am not sure, yes it was boggy but that was after a couple of days of heavy rain. I am sure it could be less boggy but equally sure it could be a lot worse. Just bare it in mind and make your own decision. 
After negotiating the boggy path and clearing the plantation fence over the ladder stile the path is well trodden and easy to follow to Meall Dhamh via Grey Height. 
With a drop of 15m and height of 686m Grey Height would qualify as a Nuttall in England. In Scotland? Does not qualify as any type of hill.

Ptarmigan in it's summer plumage

After snacks and chats with fellow hillwalkers we pressed on to the first summit of the day. Looking back it seemed we had done the hard part of the first climb, but there was still over 100m of ascent and 40 minutes walking. An example of the beauty of hill-walking, because rather than the summit being the first highlight my abiding memory was looking for where we could hear a Ptarmigan, then sneaking up on it to get a photo just before Meall Dhamh summit.

Cruach Ardrain

Before going straight on to
Beinn Tulaichean
turn sharp left and go up Cruach Ardrain

A steep 50m descent to two small lochans in the bealach can easily be managed with aid of the trek poles but needs some concentration, especially in perfect weather similar to what we had. Ahead is the mass of Cruach Ardrain and it's 250m of ascent but to the right is An Caisteal/Beinn a'Chroin and to the left is Ben More/Stob Binnein poking up beyond the Stob Garbh ridge.

It is in these conditions you do not realise you are walking up hill. It is also in these conditions you can happily lose yourself and realise you have walked too far. The path up Cruach Ardrain skirts around the SW slope and continues on to Beinn Tulaichean. As it makes it's appearance in front of you and the path starts to descend look out for the path turning sharply left. This leads to Cruach Ardrain summit area which includes the ex Munro SW Top. 

Cruach Ardrain towards Ben More. A
worthy summit to be anyone's 25th Munro

If you don't do it now you will commit yourself to coming back by the same route and lose the option to return via Stob Garbh. To a Munro bagger this may be the intention but to us peak baggers we must not miss the chance to pick off 4 (3½ if you don't count sub-Graham tops.)

The main summit at 1m higher is about 200m past the SW top and with it's high aspect and views of Ben More to the east and the Breadalbane Hills to the south makes this a worthy 25th Munro, rather than the quick up and downer to Meall Buhde we thought we had bagged but did not reach 2 days earlier. 

Beinn Tulaichean

Again a straight forward path to follow
to Beinn Tulaichean

After "summit procedures" (photos & logging) have been followed turn back on yourself and return to main path via SW Top. If you had left Cruach Ardrain until after Beinn Tulaichean there is an option to continue over the summit to Stob Garbh but looking at the scree and steep slope it is not a route I would  recommend. So after returning to the path continue south to Beinn Tulaichean. We stowed our bags at the bealach, a trick I learned on our Cuillin Ridge trip, before walking the ½ mile to Beinn Tulaichean summit. On return from the summit we found a boulder to shade from the wind and enjoyed our lunch in the warm October sunshine. During lunch I convinced John to go back via Stob Garbh and bag the extra non-Munro peaks on the basis it would be easier than making the reascent near Cruach Ardrain summit.

Stob Garbh SE Top & Stob Garbh 

Vague path into Coire Dubh
but will soon disappear

There is a faint path from the bealach down to Coire Dubh but it is not long (around about the time you are committed to the route) before the path disappears completely. This left John pining for the well established path, but I am convinced as long as you pick your route carefully heading for the bealach between Cruach Ardrain and Stob Garbh without descending below the bealach and at the same time staying away from the crags to the left it is worth the effort to have the chance to bag the extra peaks.

John (Munro bagger)
trying to look disinterested on
Stob Garbh - A Corbett Top!

Once at the bealach don't go straight through but head up towards Stob Garbh. I did have to lay one hand on rock to pull myself up but that was as much scrambling as was required. Once the height has been gained a path is picked up that goes to the west of Stob Garbh SE top. Continue following the path to reach the Munro Top of Munro Creach Ardrain - Stob Garbh. But if like me you want to visit anything that qualifies as a peak, turn back on yourself before ascent to main summit to pick up the ex-munro top Stob Garbh SE Top.

Stob Coire Bhuidhe

The route home along the ridge
from Stob Garbh

Passing the summit cairn of  Stob Garbh the view opens up below along the ridge and route home. Apart from a small amount of ascent to climb Stob Coire Bhuidhe it is more or less down hill from here. In fact because the path passes on the west side below the summit, if you are not paying attention you could well miss the summit cairn all together.
From Stob Coire Bhuidhe there is just one more opportunity to bag a final peak which is the sub-Graham Top Creag a' Phuirt. With a status of sub (just failing to reach the required prominence or height by less than 10m) many people would not bother, but like I said earlier, anything nearby vaguely described as a hill - I will be there.

We looked at each other for ages,
then as soon as I get my camera out...

Not a bad days bagging, 8 peaks including Creag a' Phuirt, well worth the alternative return route along Stob Garbh ridge. That is until the final descent. Ralph Storer warns about being "bushwhacked" on the final descent down Creag na h-lolaire. We strayed too far left and had the rough descent we had been warned to avoid through the part harvested plantation. The bonus was an eye to eye moment with a young stag. So that clinched it, as a peak bagger the decision to come back via Stob Garbh well and truly vindicated. However a Munro bagger may well come to a different conclusion and stick with the straight up and downer. - Not me, with perfect weather conditions, too good an opportunity to miss.

More Photographs

Along Strath Fillan towards Beinn Dorain in distance, Beinn Challuim on right on way up Cruach Ardrain

Click on photograph to view slide-show

Not quite Meall Buide (Glen Lyon)

Walk Summary

Read information board
before heading up service track near Giorra Dam

Same as for the earlier Conic Hill walk at the beginning of the trip, this walk was conceived late as a result of another adverse MWIS forecast predicting heavy rain from mid afternoon for 36 hours. Which also meant I had no large scale printed map but because I was with John P never even occurred to me to mark up sheet 378W Explorer map I had with me in addition to the smartphone. 
We both thought we were doing the smart thing by being flexible and revising plans according to the weather forecast, especially as this was only a short up and down walk on what was the 3^rd consecutive days walking, leaving the next day as a definite well earned rest day that coincided with it throwing it down with rain.
A brilliant plan showing what John already knew and I was fast learning was that flexibility is key, around keeping a keen eye on all weather forecasts. What I did not realise was that I had not fully assimilated the lesson learnt from the Conic Hill walk.

Walk Statistics
Walk Date - 05 October 2014
Walkers - Steve Smith, John Parkin
Accommodation - Maragowan Caravan Club Site
Start Point - Off road parking near info sign at Giorra Dam (GR-NN NN 51181 46381)
Start Time - 10:09
Finish Point - Off road parking near info sign at Giorra Dam (GR-NN 51181 46381)
Finish Time - 12:27
Duration - 2hrs 21mins
Average pace - 1.73mph
Distance Walked - 4.07miles
Height Ascended - 512.82metres

Other walks on this trip
2014
September
30^th Conic Hill & Gualann
October
01^st Ptarmigan & Ben Lomond
03^rd Meall Corranaich & Meall a' Choire Leith
04^th Ben More & Stob Binnein
05^th Not quite Meall Buide (Glen Lyon)
07^th Cruach Ardrain & Beinn Tulaichean
08^th Beinn Dorain & Beinn an Dothaidh hammerhead
10^th Ben Challum [Beinn Challuim]
12^th Beinn a' Chreachain & Beinn Achaladair
13^th The Tyndrum Grandslam

Peaks visited

None except for the Ex Munro Top - Meall Buide SE Top

Route

Walk Description
Meall Buidhe

Low cloud in view west along Loch an Daimh

First job of the day was to check notice board near access road to reservoir service track about information for hill-walkers and deer stalking. There was no restriction an accessing the Munro but there was a helpful route marked in red to stay on and thereby avoid were deer are likely to be. This meant the original route planned to follow the track up towards the east ridge of Meall Phuill and subsequent visit to the sub-Corbett Top of Munro would have to wait for another visit outside of the stalking season. 
Taking the service track along north shore of reservoir to the right of the notice board we soon started gaining height and as the road vered to the left a handy cairn indicated a well trodden path to the right and up towards Druim Chalm.

Cairn marking first path and path we took up to Meall Buide

As expected, as we gained height visibility decreased due to cloud, but at least it was not raining - yet. Even so as we reached the top of Coire nam Miseach the ground turned decidedly wet underfoot and eventually became hags and groughs that made it had to follow the path. Nothing like the "bomb sites" and associated bogs you find in North Yorkshire or on The Cheviot in Northumberland but enough to make you concentrate in poor visibility to ensure you stay on the correct line and pick up the various paths towards the summit where they appear.
As we passed Meall Phuill we found a well trodden path in the expected direction of the summit but could not see it or ascent due to the low cloud. Tempted to make a quick detour but resisted both in terms of staying with John and also mindful and in respect of landowners request to stay on the marked path.

Premature celebrations on 917m spot height

So onwards and upwards where in no time the boggy ground was replaced by grass and hard ground with a faint path to the first area of high ground marked by a cairn. 
At first I thought this was the summit but remembered the write up in The Ultimate Guide to the Munros something about a languide stroll around a corrie rim so I pressed on further to the left.
Seeing John at the next cairn with his flask of soup was enough for me to celebrate what I thought was my 25th Munro. The quarter century mark. To coincide with the occasion the wind got up and the forecast rain started to come down. Had it been clear the next and proper summit 1km further north would have been obvious. Instead after noticing a slightly higher point at the 917m spot height and the obligatory photographs we turned back in our tracks and headed down.

Giorra Dam appears out of cloud at about 660m.
On a different descent route
slightly further west than the ascent route

Suffice it to say the visibility had not improved and we saw two separate groups making their approach to the summit area on two more of the many different paths through the hags. We managed to stay on track through the hags and groughs until about the 48 eastings grid were we then deviated slightly further west but found a slightly dryer descent route which brought us out furtehr west along the service road. This was our descent route and would have made an equally suitable ascent route in the area of the requested red route.
Passing the marker cairn we used earlier to start our ascent I did think we had managed the planned 7½ miles rather quickly believing we could not have done more than 5 miles in the 2¼ hours we had been out. I explained this to myself by discounting the extra distance we had lost by missing out Meall Phuill and that maybe we had taken a more direct route to the summit.
It was not until I returned back to the site and looked at the route on my laptop the unexplainable had happened.
We had been out all morning, half of it in the rain, got soaked, felt all pleased with ourselves only to find we had not gone far enough along the summit ridge to the true Munro of Meall Buidhe. How could we have done that? Well the answer is I obviously never fully learned the lesson of Conic Hill. But rest assured I have this time.

Lessons

1. Concentrate even more when weather conditions deteriorate and double check your decisions. This was annoying yet amusing, consequences can be far more serious
2. Same as the one on Conic Hill. Well and truly noted this time. MARK THE PAPER MAP UP PROPERLY WITH SUMMIT LOCATIONS. Further more if you can note down the correct grid reference and description of the summit so it can be check against the terrain on the ground and your mapping software if you have one.

More Photographs

John waiting on cairn which we both thought was the summit marker
Click on photograph to view slide-show

Ben More & Stob Binnein

Walk Summary

On way up Ben More looking down on Loch Dochart and
River Fillan as it curves past Crianlarich into Strath Fillan

Again a late start due to the slow clearing overnight rain made this relatively short walk the days choice due to more rain forecast later in the day and associated shortened daylight hours. Although only 7½  miles, 1300m of ascent made up of 1000m continuous ascent from the A85 to Ben More summit  does not provide much of a respite to acquire your 2nd wind. Followed by a further 300m to Stob Binnein after a steep descent in to Bealach-eadar-dha Bheinn (Bealach between the mountains) will test physical stamina to the full.
There is a choice to walk anti-clockwise up Benmore Glen to Bealach-eadar-dha Bheinn but I am of the opinion it is better to get the majority of the ascent out of the way first, leaving the easier to navigate and less steep descent to Benmore Glen until the end. As it turned out cloud descended around the summits and the bealach before reaching Ben More summit, so descending into Benmore Glen from cloud was much more preferable to following the muddy and sometimes vague path to the bealachs before splitting off to either summit. We also had the benefit of enjoying the spectacular views during Ben More ascent, looking back down Strath Fillan to the left and Glen Dochart to the right. Not only would the descent from Ben More have been more difficult we would have missed out on the views due to cloud if we had left this to later in the day.
The late start and adverse conditions also put paid to any idea of including either of the Munro Top Stob Coire an Lochan and/or Meall na Dige from Stob Binnein. As always it will be there another day and can be approached from Inverlochlarig and Balquhidder when I do some touristy bits around Rob Roy's house and grave.

Walk Statistics
Walk Date - 04 October 2014
Walkers - Steve Smith, John Parkin
Accommodation - Maragowan Caravan Club Site
Start Point - First layby on A85 east bound immediately after Ben More Farm (GR - NN 42068 26343)
Start Time - 12:09
Finish Point - First layby on A85 east bound immediately after Ben More Farm (GR - NN 42068 26343)
Finish Time - 18:22
Duration - 6hrs 13mins
Average pace - 1.20mph
Distance Walked - 7.43miles
Height Ascended - 1293.32metres

Other walks on this trip
2014
September
30^th Conic Hill & Gualann
October
01^st Ptarmigan & Ben Lomond
03^rd Meall Corranaich & Meall a' Choire Leith
04^th Ben More & Stob Binnein
05^th Not quite Meall Buide (Glen Lyon)
07^th Cruach Ardrain & Beinn Tulaichean
08^th Beinn Dorain & Beinn an Dothaidh hammerhead
10^th Ben Challum [Beinn Challuim]
12^th Beinn a' Chreachain & Beinn Achaladair
13^th The Tyndrum Grandslam

Peaks visited
Munro (282)
Ben More (23)
Stob Binnein (24)
Murdo (443)
Ben More (31)
Stob Binnein (32)
Corbett (221)
NONE
Graham (224)
NONE
Marilyn (1218S - 1552E,W&S))
Ben More (23S - 95E,W&S)
Stob Binnein (24S - 96E,W&S)
Hump (2168S - 2976E,W&S)
Ben More (32S - 151E,W&S)
Stob Binnein (33S - 152E,W&S)
S: Scotland. 
E,W&S:England,Wales & Scotland

Route

GPX can be downloaded from www.shareyouradventure.com

Walk Description
Ben More

Looking west along Loch Lubhair
from fence line just before
main ascent up Ben More

Although the guide book said park at Benmore Farm, we could not find anywhere that looked public enough to leave the vehicle. It certainly did not look safe enoygh to leave the van on the road side near the path entrance on the A85, so we drove further towards Lillin and parked in the layby near the banks of the western end of Loch Lubhair.

Follow derelict wall towards
Cuidhe Chròm

Returning to the path through roadside bushes the view opens up in front of you exactly what lies ahead if the route option is to walk up Ben More first. A farm track weaves its way to the boundary fence and the ascent in earnest begins as soon as you leave the track up the path towards what you may think is the summit but in fact is Cuide Chròm. It took us about 2 hours to reach that skyline and once there expect about another 20 minutes of slightly easier ascent t reach the summit cairn and slightly higher trig point beyond. Because the cloud descended as we reached Cuide Chròm it was also 20 minutes before we saw the summit area.

Stob Binnein

Ben More descent below cloud
looking ahead and hoping for
a clear views on Stob Binnein

Following path over summit area taking care to stay on path. The route is a little craggy but soon becomes a well worn path on a steep descent to to  and avoid more difficult carefully descend down  towards to Bealach-eadar-dha Bheinn. As we descended the cloud started to clear giving site of the bealach as well as Stob Bennein with a promise of a cloud free summit. However, by the time we had reached the bealach the cloud had returned and this time with some heavy rain from the west.

Sheltering behind boulder on
Bealach-eadar-dha Bheinn before
ascent up Stob Binnein

A quick stop next to a large boulder in the bealach provided shelter to don waterproofs and grab a quick snack. It was then heads down and up Stob Bennein. The late start and slow ascent up Ben More had already put paid to any idea of picking up either of the Munro Tops beyond the summit, the deterioration in the weather simply stopped me feeling so bad about it.

In spite of the conditions I still made time to take a couple of photos to verify our presence on the summit before turning round and heading back the way we came.

At the bealach we rested behind the boulder for a more substantial snack before heading down towards Benmore Glen. We could not find an obvious path so simply headed straight down. Although steep there was wide swathes of grass were we could pick the safest route down. Eventually we did come across a path which sometimes deteriorated into mud and almost bog.

Looking up at Meall Daimh from
Benmore Glen on west side of Ben More

We could also see where it continued upwards. But if we ever had any doubts about coming up this way rather than straight up Ben More the condition and sometimes vagueness of the path confirmed we had made the right choice. By the time we reached the bottom the path was more obvious towards the track and large marker boulder were the ascent would have started, but even then the twist in the tale was the disappearance of the path requiring us to pick our way through waterlogged ground and slight bog to the track.

Once on the track all that remained was an easy walk down a gentle incline back to Benmore Farm and the path entrance on the A85 followed by the ½ mile walk back to the lay-by.

More Photographs

On way up Ben More looking down on Loch Dochart and River Fillan as it curves past Crianlarich into Strath Fillan

Click on photograph to view slide-show

Meall Corranaich & Meall a'Choire Leith

Walk Summary

First Munros of day show themselves - The Arrochar Alps

Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow.

Walk Statistics
Walk Date - 03 October 2014
Walkers - Steve Smith, John Parkin
Accommodation - Maragowan Caravan Club Site
Start Point - Off road parking near cairn at 549m spot height on Lochan na Lairige road (GR - NN 59367 41584)
Start Time - 12:40
Finish Point - Off road parking near cairn at 549m spot height on Lochan na Lairige road (GR - NN 59367 41584)
Finish Time - 16:51
Duration - 4hrs 11mins
Average pace - 1.47mph
Distance Walked - 6.17miles
Height Ascended - 766.43metres

Other walks on this trip
2014
September
30^th Conic Hill & Gualann
October
01^st Ptarmigan & Ben Lomond
03^rd Meall Corranaich & Meall a' Choire Leith
04^th Ben More & Stob Binnein
05^th Not quite Meall Buide (Glen Lyon)
07^th Cruach Ardrain & Beinn Tulaichean
08^th Beinn Dorain & Beinn an Dothaidh hammerhead
10^th Ben Challum [Beinn Challuim]
12^th Beinn a' Chreachain & Beinn Achaladair
13^th The Tyndrum Grandslam

Peaks visited
Munro (282)
Meall Corranaich (21)
Meall a' Choire Leith (22)
Murdo (443)
Meall Corranaich (29)
Meall a' Choire Leith (30)
Corbett (221)
NONE
Graham (224)
NONE
Marilyn (1218S - 1552E,W&S))
Meall Corranaich (22S - 93E,W&S)
Meall a' Choire Leith (23S - 94E,W&S)
Hump (2168S - 2976E,W&S)
Meall Corranaich (30S - 149E,W&S)
Meall a' Choire Leith (31S - 150E,W&S)
S: Scotland. 
E,W&S:England,Wales & Scotland

Route

GPX can be downloaded from www.shareyouradventure.com

Walk Description

Meall Corranaich

As we round the 426m spot height
Ptarmigan comes in to view for the first time

Walk start and parking at Rowardennan Scottish Forestry Commission car park. £3.00 all day charge (well untill 23:59), which I think is acceptable with toilet facilities and information centre. Shame some of it can't go to local Mountain Rescue. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow.

Meall a'Choire Leith

Inveruglas from NE ridge just below summit of Ben Lomond

Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow. Words to follow.

More Photographs

Ben Lomond with Ben More and Cruach Ardrain beyond to the north

More photographs to follow

Ptarmigan & Ben Lomond

Walk Summary

First Munros of day show themselves - The Arrochar Alps

With last nights rain forecast to last all morning and the prospect of dry clear intervals in the afternoon, there was not any rush to get an early start today.
There would be plenty of time to complete the planned 7½ miles with daylight to spare, as long as there were not any deviations to plan. By past experience there were no guarantees but this time the walked route shown in blue below more or less corresponded exactly with the planned red route.
This will be my 20^th Munro and to my surprise will be the first one I have done solo. Not such a big deal I know, especially having completed most of the English Nuttalls alone, but while no walk in the hills should be taken for granted with the extra height, remoteness and more extreme weather, the Munros deserve that additional amount of respect.

Walk Statistics
Walk Date - 01 October 2014
Walkers - Steve Smith
Accommodation - Milarrochy Bay Camping and Caravanning Club Site
Start Point - Rowardennan Scottish Forestry Commission car park (GR - NS 35984 98636)
Start Time - 11:21
Finish Point - Rowardennan Scottish Forestry Commission car park (GR - NS 35984 98636)
Finish Time - 16:37
Duration - 5hrs 16mins
Average pace - 1.44mph
Distance Walked - 7.59miles
Height Ascended - 1030.88metres

Other walks on this trip
2014
September
30^th Conic Hill & Gualann
October
01^st Ptarmigan & Ben Lomond
03^rd Meall Corranaich & Meall a' Choire Leith
04^th Ben More & Stob Binnein
05^th Not quite Meall Buide (Glen Lyon)

07^th Cruach Ardrain & Beinn Tulaichean
08^th Beinn Dorain & Beinn an Dothaidh hammerhead
10^th Ben Challum [Beinn Challuim]
12^th Beinn a' Chreachain & Beinn Achaladair
13^th The Tyndrum Grandslam

Peaks visited
Munro (282)
Ben Lomond (20)
Murdo (443)
Ben Lomond (28)
Corbett (221)
NONE
Graham (224)
NONE
Marilyn (1218S - 1552E,W&S))
Ben Lomond (21S - 92E,W&S)
Hump (2168S - 2976E,W&S)
Ben Lomond (27S - 149E,W&S)
S: Scotland. 
E,W&S:England,Wales & Scotland

Route

GPX can be downloaded from www.shareyouradventure.com

Walk Description

Ptarmigan

Contouring round the 426m spot height
Ptarmigan comes in to view for the first time

Walk start and parking at Rowardennan Scottish Forestry Commission car park. £3.00 all day charge (well until 23:59), which I think is acceptable with toilet facilities and information centre. Shame some of it can't go to local Mountain Rescue. Inspite of the late start it was still raining when I set off making it difficult to know what to wear to start off warm and remain cool when ascent began. 
Before that I had to find the start of the ascent. The plan was to follow Loch Lomond north past the Youth Hostel then turn right up a track near Rowchnock. It turns out the track is access to the private property. The start of the ascent is a well defined path through the woods immediately on the right after bridge over a stream. I even mistakenly doubled back to check out the track to the Ben Lomond Centre.This did not bode well for the rest of the walk, but as it turned out was the only navigational challenge I had all walk. Try not to make the same mistake yourself.

Summit area of the Corbett Top of Munro Ptarmigan.
Ben Lomond beyond

Time in the woods is short lived and unless you like walking in woods, apart from passing a waterfall just before the first fence, nothing really worth noting. Look back though as you clear the woods you will be rewarded by the first of many of the days great views over Loch Lomond. By now the rain had stopped, skies cleared and the sun had come out, prompting me to ditch the waterproof before I got wet from the inside.
Enjoy the various views as they reveal themselves, including The Arrochar Alps during the ascent, they are the one thing that kept me going during the 3 mile, 3 hour ascent to the Ptarmigan summit from about sea level. A tough ascent that needed a lunch break to refuel behind Tom Fithich and just before Ptarmigan final ascent.
During the final ascent I came across a couple of abandoned rucksacks, then some newly created steps and finally 4 people ahead repairing the path.   I caught up with them at the 731m spot height and they passed me again whilst I was photographing Ptarmigan summit area. The path passes below the summit, so if you want to bag it don't get carried away and cut off left from the path as the path starts to descend south of the summit.

Inveruglas from NE ridge
just below summit of Ben Lomond

Ben Lomond
Leaving the summit area from the north east and rejoin the path as it descends in to Bealach Buidhe. It's a bit boggy at the bottom but some strategically placed stepping stones avoids the worst. Probably these had been placed by earlier colleagues of the people maintaining the paths I was about to pass again. The path ascends out of Bealach Buidhe at a fairly steady rate. It is not until it turns to the south east that the true ascent really begins. Ahead is the steep part of the walk. Not quite a scramble although hands were placed on rocks a couple of times to steady myself. It was because of this part I chose to tackle the walk anti-clockwise on the basis given a choice, I would sooner ascend difficult bits rather than descend. In addition the SMC guidebook described this ridge as an alternative descent whilst additionally Ralph Storer described the descent as "...more intricate and more fun..." and "...by no means the 'leisurely afternoon stroll' of the Tourist Path".

Overtaken!!!
Not that unusual, but they were also
carrying out path maintenance.

As it turned out I did not think it was too bad, but maybe that is because of the invaluable scrambling experience I gained on the Cuillin Ridge earlier in the year. The other bonus from this approach is the lack of false summits, the trig point appears more or less in front of your nose end when you complete the second and probably hardest of the two "scrambly" bits.
The abiding memory however was not the scramble but the guys doing the path repairs. They somehow managed to pass me more than once, carry out path maintenance and still reach the summit before me. Well I did take a number of photo stops.

Don't forget to look back at
Ben Lomond on the way down.
From Sròn Aonaich

After photos all that remained was the descent down the tourist route. After a slightly tricky bit on crags at top of Coire a' Bhàthaich it was a '...leisurely afternoon stroll...', easy to navigate down a well defined broad path down the ridge over Sròn Aonaich and to Rowardennan Forest at the bottom and walks end at van and car park. Be prepared though for nearly 4 miles and 1¾ hours walking before reaching walks end at Rowardennan car park.

More Photographs

Ben Lomond with Ben More and Cruach Ardrain beyond to the north

More photographs to follow