Ben lomond

[joekell]

What can I say prob the last Ben I would have chose to walk (since I had summited it 5 times previously in last two years). I was considering ben lawers for a bit of winter skills practice, but due to very considerately given reports of access problems and severe conditions from WH members on forum I opted for Lomond telling myself that I would get up early and make the sunrise.
8 am I fell out the door leaving Viewpark behind to join the M8 during rush hour thinking what I might have forgot rushing through my Head !
1 hour 15 min later this was my view Scotlands great!!!!!!!!!!!!!

view of loch and vorlich taken later

of we go, big prob of the day were toilets were shut if we are paying £3 for parking open the toilets cheers rant over ,

snowline was higher than expected as the loch opened up

mwis w/rep stated clear skys and 80% clear summits , not looking good

On we go having a bit of fun with crampons fittings which I had perfected night before but taking my time and using what was turning out to be a great day to hone some winter skills cant beat it .

Suddenly everything looks great from summit and I realise why I walk mountains stunning

some more pics then home .

great place for tea

tried out my crampons worked my axe arrest stunning views quiet walk with helpfull pleasant walkers (not to much) cool day glad I went

[mrssanta]

nice one Joe, great how the views appeared

[joekell]

nice one Joe, great how the views appeared

thanx mrssanta hope you are enjoying the Hills

[GillC]

Smashing,,got some lovely views of the Ben from Glen Loin yesterday. did Lomond in heavy snow a couple of years ago,,fantastic. G

[ericl]

Lovely report and pics.

Plan to have a walk next Sunday/2nd Mar, all the way from Hong Kong... My first time, and hope to get some advice from experts here.

1) what is the lowest temp. like as i know the temp. up there is much lower?
2) will i need to walk on snow and if my normal walking boots (salomon) would work fine? I wear this boot while walking up hills of similar heights in Hong Kong.
3) what is the earliest time i could start? i plan to start at 6am...so that i could come back for other activities. Will it be completely dark that make it not possible ? if it is the case, what is the earliest time then?

thanks a lot for your help...
Eric

[BigT]

you should maybe post this in the planned trips section of the forum.

But in answer to your questions...

1. Ben Lomond tourist path is quite exposed to the weather from 500m onward, I've found it cold the two times i went up since January. Wind chill was below zero both days, expect 3 or 4 C at ground level.
2. There is 3 feet of snow on the hill as of last weekend, the snowline was 250m, which is really low. the snow was soft until 600m then packed down hard above that. It was winter boots and crampon stuff.
3. 2nd March >> Sunrise: 07:06:05. You should be able to set of about 06.15 with enough twilight to safely follow the tourist path.

[ericl]

you should maybe post this in the planned trips section of the forum.

But in answer to your questions...

1. Ben Lomond tourist path is quite exposed to the weather from 500m onward, I've found it cold the two times i went up since January. Wind chill was below zero both days, expect 3 or 4 C at ground level.
2. There is 3 feet of snow on the hill as of last weekend, the snowline was 250m, which is really low. the snow was soft until 600m then packed down hard above that. It was winter boots and crampon stuff.
3. 2nd March >> Sunrise: 07:06:05. You should be able to set of about 06.15 with enough twilight to safely follow the tourist path.

Thanks BigT for your reply.

1...i will keep up with warm clothes and water-proof stuff and hope i will not be freezed ..glad that i practice running around 2C nowadays.
2...ops. so , i have only the normal hiking boots of salomon. Do i need to equip with a crampon, which i do not have?
3... now, ihave set the starting time at 730. so , plenty of daylight to light up my first munro!!

[GueVargas]

Fantastic pics brother! I did Ben Lomond at the beginning of the year and it didn't have that much snow.