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I was at a loose end today so at the last minute I decided to tackle Ben Vorlich solo. I had climbed Ben Vane last year so I knew the path in and after hastily throwing my gear together, I headed for the car park at Inveruglas and was ready to set off at 1.00pm. I passed about ten people on the road in who obviously weren't as lazy as me and had got themselves off to a much earlier start. I had kept the waterproofs in the bag for as long as possible but as I passed the power station (along with a few cow's and a mean looking bull) the rain started to make itself known so it was on with the heavy gear just as Ben Vane came into view:

I had read the route description a few times and also went through a few walk reports so I knew to look out for a very small cairn on the right hand side which would signal the start of the slog uphill. After taking a picture of the cloud covered top I was aiming for, I spotted the infamous cairn which was in good condition. I was using the Viewranger app which was spot on and helped me a lot today.


Up, up, up I went and my research on this beast told me that it would be quite relentless. I stopped to fill up my water bottle at one of the many streams and the water tasted absolutely delicious. I continued my relentless climb and as I got in to the cloud, I passed a couple of groups who told me I didn't have far to go. After 2 and half hours, I reached the wind swept summit and I sheltered behind the cairn as I scoffed my roll and guzzled some more mountain water.


I knew that darkness wouldn't be far away so after a ten minute rest, I packed up and made my way down. At this point, the wind picked up and the rain which I had largely avoided came back with a vengeance and I must admit to feeling a bit nervous at the speed of the wind but I knew I didn't have time to hang about so I charged on and I quickly got myself lower where the wind wasn't as fierce. I checked my Viewranger App and was surprised at how much ground I had covered and before I knew it I was coming out of the cloud with the sight of the road far below a welcome sight.

In my haste to get down I went on my backside a couple of times but at this point i just wanted off the hill as I could sense the approaching darkness. As I got to a few hundred feet from the road, I caught up with one of the groups I had passed earlier. I raced past them as I wanted on the road before dark and I managed it by a few minutes. The light was failing quickly and by the time I got to the power station (thankfully no animals there this time) it was difficult to see and I decided to run back to the car. I must be fitter than I thought as I had all my gear on but I was fairly moving along the road. I was worried that the visitor centre where I had parked my car would close their gates and lock my car in as the thought of phoning for a lift from there was not very appealing.
As I ran back towards the main road I caught up with someone who had came off Ben Vane but he didn't hear me until I was right on top of him so if he is reading this, I'm sorry again for giving you such a fright

The rain was bouncing off the road at this time but it only spurred me on to get back to the car quicker and the open gates were a welcome sight.
I've only done six munro's and that was the second toughest with Beinn Chabhair holding that particular honour following a seven hour return trip in unrelenting rain. I enjoyed myself today although in future I'll try to set off a bit earlier in order to avoid walking in the dark. I'm quite chuffed at managing to do it in 4hrs 15 with the estimate on here being 5 hours at best.