Ben Oss, will i ever see you again ?

[tomyboy73]

3_6_2011 9_20_18 AM_history.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

my 2nd attempt to bag Ben Oss ended in failure today i attempted both dubhcraig and oss last year on my own and once i was on ben oss i had to turn back because of heavy hail stones. so i was out to rectify that today with my mate bigzane . we set off at half 9ish and although it was slightly cold the outlook looked good. we headed along the path and over the railway bridge to the little arrow shaped stone cairn which pointed the way to the rickety old bridge across the river.

bigzane on bridge

we then took the high path which was a bit drier than the lower one and slowly made our way up through the forest.
it was a nice walk up and we chatted away and stopped for snacks just before the waterfall

waterfall

as we headed towards the ridge there was plenty of snow patches around and the low lying cloud on the summit seemed to be coming down on top of us. i was beginning to realise that ben oss was again off the menu. there were a few other walkers on the hill who seemed to drift in and out of the mist like ghosts

ghostly figures

after drifting off the path for a bit we made our way to the top, made a brew and chatted to 3 other walkers (one a wh member, sorry, forgot ur username) and had a wee sit in their shelter before heading down.

bigzane and me

shelter

so congratulations to bigzane on his 2nd munro and as for ben oss, mabe next year !

[gagfax]

I was one of those ghosts Nice to meet you at the summit and have a laugh in the big orange bag. Pity about the lack of views. Look who's that behind me?

[tomyboy73]

ha ha, gagfax that`s it , yeah the views weren`t so good, i did see you takin that pic at the time and remember thinkin, "ah, it`s not just me that takes pics of myself", lol, nice to meet u mate , 90 munros so far, well done as you can see i`m just startin out

[gammy leg walker]

How much snow is there on Oss and Dhubcraig tomyboy73,looking to climb these two this weekend coming, weather permiting,will be on my tod for this as my usual walking buddies have all done them

[tomyboy73]

hi gammy, once you get near the upper ridge leading to both peaks there are a lot of snow patches which are quite hard packed and slidy. nearer the top of dubhcraig there is a lot of snow and would recommend crampons etc, which i don`t have so is possible without them. as for ben oss i don`t know because visibility was non existant, but i imagine it`s much the same. good luck

[PeteR]

Nice report. Shame about the mist though, as the views are worth the trudge through the quagmire at the start.

There seems to have been a real thaw since my aborted attempt three weekends ago when the summit was a white blanket and then my return a week later in the sunshine where the thaw throughout the day was really noticeable. I would imagine that any decent ice would be hanging around for some time yet though, and the route I took onto Oss was steep in places on the ice (but more than manageable with crampons).

[tomyboy73]

Nice report. Shame about the mist though, as the views are worth the trudge through the quagmire at the start.

There seems to have been a real thaw since my aborted attempt three weekends ago when the summit was a white blanket and then my return a week later in the sunshine where the thaw throughout the day was really noticeable. I would imagine that any decent ice would be hanging around for some time yet though, and the route I took onto Oss was steep in places on the ice (but more than manageable with crampons).

thanks, yeah the views are worth it. I had a decent day there last year, it actually snowed just before i got to the top but it all cleared when i was up there and i could see alround for miles. Once i was crossing the bealach to Oss it started to hail heavily and the path up was covered in snow so i decided to give it a by and head home, next time B.O, i`ll get ye