Ben Ime from Butterbridge: only for the headstrong

[gkmachine]

So I decided to climb Ben Ime from Butterbridge.

I'd done Narnain with my daughter the previous week but visibility so poor from the top we decided to save Ben Ime for a nicer day.

A nicer day came along but unfortunately my daughter was working so couldn't come. In hindsight, this was for the best: she gets slight vertigo when things get too steep and this was very steep in places. However, I'd read a few people had done it, including an 80 year old man, so I thought....easy! Well, I learnt a lesson yesterday. Namely that some people are WAY more hardcore than I am ha ha.

Anyway, let's get to the walk. You start at the Butterbridge car park, walk back along the A83 a little bit until you see the ruins of an old cottage. At this point you turn off the road, climb a little fence and head up the hill past the little ruined house.

Looking towards Ben Ime (centre) from near the car park. The little ruined cottage visible and Kinglas Water which you'll be walking alongside

There is a path which leads through the ferns and long grass and follows along on the right hand side (the westerly side) of Kinglas Water and heads in the general direction of the bealach between Ben Ime and Beinn Luibhean.

The path is quite visible but is boggy in places and is quite meandering and very "up-and-down" between rocks on occasion, so not the most level. It's basically a sheep track, but occasionally you'll see a boot print.

Looking up the Kinglas Water to Ben Ime with cloud at the top

There is a new forestry fence that runs alongside your right hand side which is also a good guide because you are essentially ascending sandwiched between this and the burn. Eventually the forestry fence veers off to the right up toward Beinn Luibhean and shortly after that Kinglas water also takes a slight turn to the right, at this point it's a good idea to cross it and head over towards the rather foreboding slopes of Ben Ime. The path by this point is very, very faint anyway by now, so that's another good reason to head to the easterly side of Kinglas Water. There are plenty boulders to step on and avoid wet feet. This is around 420m altitude. When you get to the other side, there is no longer any path and sheep tracks criss cross here and there..

At this point, much like another user has reported, you have to decide on how to approach the slopes. As you look towards Ben Ime it appears as though the front face is steepest on the right and that there is slightly more of a gradually sloping ridge on the left (but not as far left as the bealach between Ben Ime and Beinn Chorranach). So I headed slightly left of the direct line to the summit. I met another climber taking that route too, with whom I briefly spoke and we cursed whoever it was that thought this route was a good idea lol...and we parted company as I went onwards. I was envious of his walking sticks as I'd noticed my knees were so sore last time I descended a hill and the prospect of this descent was not filling me with joy, I must confess. Also, I should say I did consider taking a route up to the bealach between Ime and Luibhean but the bealach is so far beyond the peak of Ben Ime it felt like I'd be doubling back and covering far too much unnecessary ground.

Although I'm convinced my approach was the least demanding one, the route I took was nevertheless gruelling (think Ben More steepness). It seemed that although I frequently paused to make assessments to find the path of least resistance (and take in the views), I often felt foiled in my efforts. For the first 100m from Kinglas Water the walk is mostly through bog and long grass hiding a few hidden streams. I paused to listen a few times so I could tell where they were. I headed to where it looked like there was a ridge or more gradual incline only to find further false ridges. There is a large pointy boulder by a burn that I passed and decided to memorise this as a marker as it was distinctive and later on I could see it from far above as I descended. As it got steeper the long grass gave way to grassy/mossy and rocky terrain that concealed a few hidden crevices obscured by mosses that my foot would disappear into. The views back down the valley towards Rest And Be Thankful are spectacular mind you....with Beinn an Lochain in prime position and Loch Fyne visible in the distance.

As it got steeper I was frequently having to clutch onto clumps of grass and hold onto rocks and do quite a bit of scrabbling. At that point I realised how much more use my hands were than if I'd brought sticks. I stopped a lot to catch my breath and take in the views, which at this point are marvellous.

Once the terrain becomes strewn with rocks and boulders around 200 metres below the summit you can almost see the summit from there and make a direct line to it (in fact, I saw a small head peaking over the edge at one point and knew I only had a 100m or so to go).

Almost at the summit, looking back towards Beinn Luibhean and Beinn an Lochain behind it

Finally I reached the top and wandered around the summit and took in the vistas. Unfortunately shortly after I got there a lot of low cloud started swirling in and the temperature dropped but I still managed to get glimpses of Loch Lomond, Loch Arklet and Loch Katrin to the east before they got obscured. Likewise I saw Bens Vane and Vorlich that way.....but the peaks of Narnain and The Cobbler were hidden the entire time but I managed to get some semi-decent photos as the lighting was quite dramatic.

Ben Narnain and The Cobbler in the clouds

East towards Loch Lomond, Ben Vane on the left with summit in cloud

Beinn Chorranach from the summit

I ate my lunch and sat for a while and rested and contemplated life (actually, who am I kidding, I contemplated the descent!). TBH, the steepness and the concern with my knees made me consider returning by the "normal" route to the Succoth car park and hitching a lift back to my car....but with COVID on people's minds and the sight of a sweating dishevelled man in shorts at the roadside I realised my chances of this happening were nil....so back the route I came. As I descended around 50m below the summit I peeked over a steep drop and saw below me the other hiker I had spoken to, almost as though I was vertically above him....bravely tacklling a particularly steep section at around 750-800m. Hats off to him for attempting that incline! I veered off to my right and tried to find a more gradual decline and headed back pretty much the way I came taking regular breaks.

Incidentally, I recorded my route on Strava and it told me my walking time was only 2hrs 18mins (but I forgot to start recording until 310m altitude and the climb starts at 200m altitude...so add on another 20 or so minutes to that). In reality it took me just over 4 hours so that gives you an idea of how often and for how long I stopped to rest.

So, in a nutshell, I thoroughly enjoyed the climb but not a chance in hell of ever attempting it again ha ha

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[Anne C]

This used to be our chosen route up Beinn Ime which we used to see as a quick one to do given the relatively short drive from our home in Glasgow.That said, it's only now that we realise it's a complete b****r of route, as you've pointed out! Spectacular but a steep, virtually pathless slog.
Mind you, I was once persuaded to do the hill from part way up the Rest and Be Thankful - it was heart attack steep, awful, tussocky pathless terrain - there was almost a divorce before we reached the top!

[danlurinsky]

A great report mate. Sounds a bit of a slog indeed!

[JimboJim]

Sounds like you went similar route to myself? -
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=65114
I'd agree not a very good way to go, but would have to disagree about going from BB. Just head east for lowest point of the bealach, then turn south up north face. Done it this way several times and aside from some of the rough ground you describe near the burn, lower down, find it better than the long, dull slog up from Succoth...... and no parking charges By the way, would park at the small cutting halfway down/up hill, rather than the big area at Butterbridge, especially as it is full of debris from the roadworks just now.

[NeepNeep]

Great report - sounds like a tough slog.
We did this a few months back - timed it with the only day of horrendous weather during that glorious dry sunny spell we had. Agree with previous comment. BB carpark is full of debris and the approach to the Glas Bhealach is a little more easy. We continued down the main path from Ime summit and then doubled back on ourselves to include Beinn Luibhean which really was a pathless wander!! Nice quiet circular though in a busy place.....especially recently.

[Colin1951]

Amazing what the £1 an hour parking charges are doing here…most folk do I’ve from the car park on Loch Long side. I climbed Ben Luibhean from there 2 winters ago and enjoyed the “trackless waste’ character of it so it would have been a surprise to see another walker on the same ground.
It was hard work, though…