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On Friday night my girlfriend discovered white Russians and so that this walk happened was somewhat of a surprise. As it was the white Russian discovery was a benefit because it meant we got up late and did not start walking until 1240, however judging by the things people were saying as they came down the afternoon was the best part of the day. My new boots were standing up very well to the tarmac road around the base of Ben Vorlich, but my girlfriend wasn't. There were numerous sheep along the way and she insists they have 'dead eyes' and are liable to butting people. I insisted they are domesticated and perfectly harmless, but as she cautiously passed one that was eating particularly close to the road I shouted "quick run" in her ear. Much hilarilty ensued as I tried to persuade her to continue and I promised to make no more sheep jokes baaaa this one (this wasn't good at the time and it is no better in writing, but it was at this point I realise I have finally become my father).
We kept along the path until we reached the small cairn that signals where to begin the ascent up the grassy slope. I know a few people have missed this and it is just after a river and a pylon is attached to a rock and this may be a useful marker to look for. As we began to climb we met a man who commented we were brave starting to climb now and that it may be dark before we got back down. A bit worried we continued upwards, we had torches, but coming down that slope in the dark would not be fun. It was only 1330 so I thought we had a lot of time. We promptly lost the path and continued straight up the steep grassy and in places soggy slope. After two months off this grassy slope was really making my thighs burn, but the views down towards the dam were nice.
We reached a welcome flatter part that was soggy because of the burn that ran down the hill. At this point picked up the path again. The inital steep grassy ridge was a bit of a killer and depressing, but from here up to the ridge was much better. The path was steep and eroded in places requiring a hand or two to get over a few rocks, but I like walking these taciturn paths that thread through the crags. The air was still and loch sloy was like a mirror.
I had in my mind that Ben Vorlich was going to be a relentless grassy slope straight to the top and so wasn't particularly looking forward to it. I was very wrong because the path is winding with interesting crags to jump and the views of the surrounding mountains are far better than from the other viewpoints in the region. I particulalry liked the view of the curve of the beleach between Nanairn and Ime flanked by the two rocky bulks of Ben Vane and a'Chrois.
On the ridge there was the odd patch of snow, but it was very soft what little there was was easy to walk on. After the effort of getting to the ridge the actual summit seems to take a while to get to and we were very pleased to see the summit cairn appear from around the summit with the trig point. We were the last people up there that day I think and it was beutifully peaceful if a little cold and well worth the effort.
The walk back down was much faster, but by the time we reached the tarmac road again (fortunately still in daylight) my quads were a bit jelly like and shaking with every step down (a two month break and no football because of a hamstring injury sure leaves me out of shape), but despite this we still shifted pretty fast when back on the flat (where my girlfriend insisted the sheep were now hiding behind rocks ready to pounce) and were back at the tourist information center by 1740. I've only climbed 9, but this is one of the top three I think, it felt a tough walk, but rewarded the effort. Next week double figures with Mount Keen.