Ben Vane (Loch Lomond) Ambers 3rd Munro
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:24 pmHi decided to try this walk quite late on Saturday afternoon as the weather report was more favourable for a cloud free peak about 6-7pm...hey ho we were wrong..never mind eh
Started out from the Inverglas Visitor Centre at the back of 3 pm and moved up the track towards Vane quite quickly.
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We arrived at the bridge in good time having passed a group heading up Vorlich (twice in fact so I don't know where they had managed to end up although they seemed well kitted out with maps etc). This is where the fun started as the whole area was dampish but very warm which meant midge and oh boy were they out!
The first 5-600 ft was very soggy and peaty under foot with a lot of tracks heading left and right of the track where it was obvious folk were avoiding a soggy peaty bath. This drove my two girls almost insane at one point with feet disappearing into the mire along with the midge assault however we eventually poked through onto a decent path to follow up.
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The rest of the walk up was pretty uneventful really, apart from a physco sheep that decided to leg it towards us until it realised the westie was with us, we were passed by a couple of fellows who had taken the wrong path and ended up heading towards Ben Ime...Opps
There was a nice little bit of scrambling closer to the peak and the views were Ok until we eventually disappeared into the pea soup at the summit.
The peak was obscured unfortunately although it wasn't particularly cold visibility was down to about 2-3 metres at best and my glasses quite happily fogged up.
The trip back down was quite uneventful and was better than the ascent too be honest as the wind had picked up slightly and dispersed the Midge.
This was Ambers third Munro and she enjoyed the day/dusk walk. My good lady wife found this a hard walk and probably worse than the Inverglas route up Vorlich a fortnight earlier and won't be going back to Vane anytime soon. Amber on the other hand can't wait ..mind she wants to skip the other 279 and move straight to Nevis.
The girls only have one more of the Alps to visit, think I'm going to try Ben Ime via Beinn Luibhean from the A83 however I think we are going to wait for a clear day as I think the whole experience of the Arrochar Alps is under threat from the rubbish weather we have had since April.
Started out from the Inverglas Visitor Centre at the back of 3 pm and moved up the track towards Vane quite quickly.
We arrived at the bridge in good time having passed a group heading up Vorlich (twice in fact so I don't know where they had managed to end up although they seemed well kitted out with maps etc). This is where the fun started as the whole area was dampish but very warm which meant midge and oh boy were they out!
The first 5-600 ft was very soggy and peaty under foot with a lot of tracks heading left and right of the track where it was obvious folk were avoiding a soggy peaty bath. This drove my two girls almost insane at one point with feet disappearing into the mire along with the midge assault however we eventually poked through onto a decent path to follow up.
The rest of the walk up was pretty uneventful really, apart from a physco sheep that decided to leg it towards us until it realised the westie was with us, we were passed by a couple of fellows who had taken the wrong path and ended up heading towards Ben Ime...Opps
There was a nice little bit of scrambling closer to the peak and the views were Ok until we eventually disappeared into the pea soup at the summit.
The peak was obscured unfortunately although it wasn't particularly cold visibility was down to about 2-3 metres at best and my glasses quite happily fogged up.
The trip back down was quite uneventful and was better than the ascent too be honest as the wind had picked up slightly and dispersed the Midge.
This was Ambers third Munro and she enjoyed the day/dusk walk. My good lady wife found this a hard walk and probably worse than the Inverglas route up Vorlich a fortnight earlier and won't be going back to Vane anytime soon. Amber on the other hand can't wait ..mind she wants to skip the other 279 and move straight to Nevis.
The girls only have one more of the Alps to visit, think I'm going to try Ben Ime via Beinn Luibhean from the A83 however I think we are going to wait for a clear day as I think the whole experience of the Arrochar Alps is under threat from the rubbish weather we have had since April.
Pity it was still as cloudy up there as when I was up earlier but you seemed to have got better views throughout the day than I did.
Wasn't expecting the path to have deteriorated so much in the two months since the last time I was up, shame it seems to be suffering on the weight of folk ascending/descending and the soggy conditions we are being subjected too just now. Best of luck with your next peak. Think I 'm off up Cruach Ardrain this Friday if the weather holds... I'm a bit fed up doing them in the mist now