an stuc

[garry the arab]

Don't know what the scare stories are all about no problems path nearly to summit, mild scramble general opinion of around 12 people on 03/08/12 not all in the same party, fell runners included.

[garry the arab]

This was from Meall Garbh, and it was 03/08/13 DOH!

[bootsandpaddles]

I agree. It seems that most routes that involve anything beyond a straightforward walk suffer from scare stories which is a shame as it can put people off doing them.

[BoyVertiginous]

Don't know what the scare stories are all about no problems path nearly to summit, mild scramble general opinion of around 12 people on 03/08/12 not all in the same party, fell runners included.

Did you descend via the same route?

I think the concern lies with the descent off the NE face of An Stuc rather than the ascent although, anyone with more than a mild case of vertigo will probably have an issue with both. There's no denying it's steep, exposed, loose underfoot and commands a bit of due care and attention.

Cracking hill, An Stuc, and it is to be enjoyed...depending upon your level of vertiginousness.

[garry the arab]

Don't know what the scare stories are all about no problems path nearly to summit, mild scramble general opinion of around 12 people on 03/08/12 not all in the same party, fell runners included.

Did you descend via the same route?

I think the concern lies with the descent off the NE face of An Stuc rather than the ascent although, anyone with more than a mild case of vertigo will probably have an issue with both. There's no denying it's steep, exposed, loose underfoot and commands a bit of due care and attention.

Cracking hill, An Stuc, and it is to be enjoyed...depending upon your level of vertiginousness.

Fell runners were descending as we were ascending so puts it in perspective really, I found ben Vane more challenging as I opted to do the scrambles.

[garry the arab]

I agree. It seems that most routes that involve anything beyond a straightforward walk suffer from scare stories which is a shame as it can put people off doing them.

Glad you agree bootsandpaddles left my dog at home due to the scare stories and my cousin brought harness and rope for her dog (not required) but enjoyed it just the same.

[BoyVertiginous]

Don't know what the scare stories are all about no problems path nearly to summit, mild scramble general opinion of around 12 people on 03/08/12 not all in the same party, fell runners included.

Did you descend via the same route?

I think the concern lies with the descent off the NE face of An Stuc rather than the ascent although, anyone with more than a mild case of vertigo will probably have an issue with both. There's no denying it's steep, exposed, loose underfoot and commands a bit of due care and attention.

Cracking hill, An Stuc, and it is to be enjoyed...depending upon your level of vertiginousness.

Fell runners were descending as we were ascending so puts it in perspective really, I found ben Vane more challenging as I opted to do the scrambles.

It certainly does, for the fell runners. Perspective is the key. Ascent or descent; weather; ability; experience; equipment; solo or accompanied; etc., are all factors in one's perspective of the hill in front of you.

[IamAJMiller]

When I did An Stuc I hadn't read any horror stories about it, it was raining heavily and the grass was slippy. I was making my way merrily up without a care, thinking about something other than the slope I was on, until I slipped and lost my footing. I hit the deck but managed to stop myself going very far by hanging onto tufts of grass and digging my boots in. It certainly gave me a fright as if I'd picked up much more momentum I think I'd have found myself back at the bealach. I took a bit more care after that and got to the top without incident.

It's all about perspective really, if it hadn't been raining then I wouldn't have slipped, if I hadn't have slipped then I would probably be agreeing that there's not much to the horror stories. All I'll say is that it's best to take precautions, any mountain can lead to an accident given the wrong conditions.

[goth_angel]

I think it is a matter of personal perception. The fact is that some people are good with exposure and scrambling and some are not. One person's 'easy' is another person's 'difficult'. As an example some people find the In Pinn, or the Aonach Eagach a doddle, some find them difficult, some like me are not sure they will ever get up the nerve to do them. I don't get vertigo as such but am uncomfortable with exposure and am not good at scrambling.

I do sometimes get irritated when people say something which equates to 'oh such and such is easy and (translation) anyone who can't cope with it is a wuss/ shouldn't be on the hill'. I don't think that's what you were getting at but every hill is capable of being challenging in the wrong conditions. A technically easy hill can be hard work in deep snow or sometimes clag (e.g. the Drumochter plateau) and a harder hill can be much easier given good weather and light wind.

[garry the arab]

I think it is a matter of personal perception. The fact is that some people are good with exposure and scrambling and some are not. One person's 'easy' is another person's 'difficult'. As an example some people find the In Pinn, or the Aonach Eagach a doddle, some find them difficult, some like me are not sure they will ever get up the nerve to do them. I don't get vertigo as such but am uncomfortable with exposure and am not good at scrambling.

I do sometimes get irritated when people say something which equates to 'oh such and such is easy and (translation) anyone who can't cope with it is a wuss/ shouldn't be on the hill'. I don't think that's what you were getting at but every hill is capable of being challenging in the wrong conditions. A technically easy hill can be hard work in deep snow or sometimes clag (e.g. the Drumochter plateau) and a harder hill can be much easier given good weather and light wind.

My original point was the blog that some one was hanging by their fingertips for 20 minutes giving the impression if they didn't move upwards soon the ledge would give way and that would be the end of them, I think this type of thing can put people off and I never took my dog because of this my cousin brought a rope and harness for her dog, we stay at opposite ends of Scotland but read the same blog as did another in our party and we all agreed that it was to say the least over dramatic, i respect all hills and mountains having had a couple of scares myself but if there is a ledge on an stuc with nothing below it I must have missed it along with everyone else I met that day and the rope and harness wasn't needed.

[garry the arab]

I think it is a matter of personal perception. The fact is that some people are good with exposure and scrambling and some are not. One person's 'easy' is another person's 'difficult'. As an example some people find the In Pinn, or the Aonach Eagach a doddle, some find them difficult, some like me are not sure they will ever get up the nerve to do them. I don't get vertigo as such but am uncomfortable with exposure and am not good at scrambling.

I do sometimes get irritated when people say something which equates to 'oh such and such is easy and (translation) anyone who can't cope with it is a wuss/ shouldn't be on the hill'. I don't think that's what you were getting at but every hill is capable of being challenging in the wrong conditions. A technically easy hill can be hard work in deep snow or sometimes clag (e.g. the Drumochter plateau) and a harder hill can be much easier given good weather and light wind.

My original point was the blog that some one was hanging by their fingertips for 20 minutes giving the impression if they didn't move upwards soon the ledge would give way and that would be the end of them, I think this type of thing can put people off and I never took my dog because of this my cousin brought a rope and harness for her dog, we stay at opposite ends of Scotland but read the same blog as did another in our party and we all agreed that it was to say the least over dramatic, i respect all hills and mountains having had a couple of scares myself but if there is a ledge on an stuc with nothing below it I must have missed it along with everyone else I met that day and the rope and harness wasn't needed.

P.S. Hills and mountains are not easy and I would never tell anyone they were some are straightforward with paths to the summit but none are easy just gets a bit better the more you do, sorry for the rant.

[garry the arab]

When I did An Stuc I hadn't read any horror stories about it, it was raining heavily and the grass was slippy. I was making my way merrily up without a care, thinking about something other than the slope I was on, until I slipped and lost my footing. I hit the deck but managed to stop myself going very far by hanging onto tufts of grass and digging my boots in. It certainly gave me a fright as if I'd picked up much more momentum I think I'd have found myself back at the bealach. I took a bit more care after that and got to the top without incident.

It's all about perspective really, if it hadn't been raining then I wouldn't have slipped, if I hadn't have slipped then I would probably be agreeing that there's not much to the horror stories. All I'll say is that it's best to take precautions, any mountain can lead to an accident given the wrong conditions.

Totally agree with you as I ended up going head first on my back down bienn eunich in terrible weather and that was on the descent path.

[RyanfaeScotland]

My original point was the blog that some one was hanging by their fingertips for 20 minutes giving the impression if they didn't move upwards soon the ledge would give way and that would be the end of them, I think this type of thing can put people off and I never took my dog because of this my cousin brought a rope and harness for her dog, we stay at opposite ends of Scotland but read the same blog as did another in our party and we all agreed that it was to say the least over dramatic, i respect all hills and mountains having had a couple of scares myself but if there is a ledge on an stuc with nothing below it I must have missed it along with everyone else I met that day and the rope and harness wasn't needed.

It's a blog, not a government report, so what if they were a bit dramatic with it. I'm not sure of the blog you are talking about but if they were really fearing for their life (the impression you give me) then perhaps the blog is an accurate account based on how they felt at the time, regardless if that danger was real or imagined.

Did you look for any other sources of information on the route before taking it? First thing I learnt in school was to always check multiple sources for information because 1 of them may be complete ********. Ok, I don't think that's how they taught it but it was a long time ago so I can't really remember.

[jupe1407]

^^^ Agreed.

There's nothing to say that only positive experiences on hills should be reported. I found An Stuc's descent a bit of a pain in the a*** mainly because i took a couple of wrong turns. Good hill though.

[kaiserstein]

It was scary for me! It was my first munro outing with 2 other guys who were as completely inexperienced as I was.

We went up in April and were shocked to find snow on on the ground higher up. I remember ascending a snow packed gully with what seemed like a massive drop behind me. Had never heard of ice axe or crampons at the time either. One of our group actually looked a bit green after we had got past it.

So it is all perspective and maybe if I had been clever enough to do some research at the time and read this blog I might not have been caught out like that.

Anyway, it was an exhilarating day for me hence another 3 years later and another 200 odd munros climbed!