Ben Vrackie

[derekbonthrone]

Today had arrived. My first Corbett.climb in 40 odd years. My daughter and I had previously spoken about going hill walking eventually to lead to bagging a Munro but we settled on our first climb to be Ben Vrackie. I had read various other walker reports on this ti give us some idea of what to expect so armed with basic essentials we drove the 40 miles or so north from our home town of Perth.

We parked up in the lower car park just up from Moulin Hotel and headed up the signed path. Our first encounter with nature was that of a wood pecker; could hear him rattling away but couldn’t see him. Onwards and upwards we continues on the path until we were adjacent to heather and small pockets of snow either side of the footpath. We continued to make the gradual ascent until we came to a spot where two benches where we could stop and sit down for a moment and take in the gorgeous views that lay before us. After a short break we continued upwards passing through a gate and onto the path where straight ahead of us was the magnificent looking Ben Vrackie. We continued onwards until we came to the point where the two paths connect. We continued following the route marked out starting to ascend a bit steeper but still some distance from the mountain itself. Eventually we passed by the loch which to no surprise was frozen over. Despite the sunny weather the temperature was -5. We were now at the foot of the mountain and the ascent was becoming much steeper. I was ever so grateful for the hiking poles to help me ascend the steep stone steps. Being new to this meant regular intervals to catch our breaths and just when we were about to give up the end was in sight. About a foot of snow greeted us when we made it 5o the top. The views from the indicator were absolutely stunning; looking south I could see a hill (on my climb list) which is just outside Perth to the north the stunning Cairngorms. To the west and not to far away Schiehallion = this is the mountain I’m so eager to climb.

The descent was somewhat easier than I thought it would be and after a break for lunch and also to get our breaths back we soon found ourselves nearing the end. So glad we went up when we did as the weather had changed and snow was on its way.

All in all a very enjoyable first experience and cannot wait for my next climb; whether it be another Corbett or a Fiona or indeed my first Munro. So happy to have conquered Ben Vrackie though