free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
yes, i've been meaning to write this report for the last six months but there was always other things cropping up but here we go.
On holiday last year in Glencoe with the intention that Ben nevis would be one of the Munro's climbed, and to make it more interesting we'd go via Carn Mor Dearg arrete.
looking at the weather forecast we decided that wednesday would be the best day. so it was up early, breakfast (had arranged with B&B owner to have an early breakfast,although just toast, cereal etc,) a stop at the local shop in Glencoe village for sandwiches etc and away.
arrived at visitor centre at 9 o'clock ish and after a quick visit to the toilets we were of.
- just setting of
when we got to the halfway lochan and found the left fork in the path to take us around and up the corrie towards the climbers hut and the steep ascent to Carn Mor dearg, it was here that we first met Geoff, he'd forgotten his map and asked if he could follow us (he'd been told at the visitors centre not to leave the main route). more about Geoff later.
- halfway lochan
- mrs H on the way round the left fork
arrived at the climbers hut and stopped for a bite to eat, energy required before tackling the steep slope that was to come.
- mrs H on the ascent Geoff in the background
- spotted some deer at the bottom
- view back down
After what seemed like a never ending ascent we finally reached the summit of CMD and this is where we got talking to Geoff, it seems that he was a former South African rally driver and journalist who had decided to walk 25,000 miles the equivalent of the cicumference of the Earth, he'd set of only 2 days before from the Iona and was walking for the Findhorn Foundation,(you can find his blog at their website or just google Geoff Dalgleish) when I last looked he was in antarctica.
- mr&mrsH onthe summit of CMD
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- with Geoff
Now for what looked like a hair raising walk along the arrete, which wasn't nearly as bad as it looked.
- mrsH at the start of the arrete
- mrH nearing the end of the arette
then up the boulder field to the summit, which i must say was a bit of a let down, very drab but also very busy.
- summit of Ben Nevis
Note little girl in bottom right hand corner, later on she and her dad overtook us on the way down, and talking of the way down compared to the way we went up it was plain and ordinary, the only good thing about it was the Ben Nevis inn at the bottom where i had one of the best pints ever.
altogether a cracking day out on the hills