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To do a Corbett when there are lots of Munros around felt like abandoning a child or being unfaithful to a lover...not possible. After all..there are so many Munros to climb!
But what to do in short winter hours with most Munros climbed in close by areas?
The answer was to finally climb a Corbett
. Looking for the first time at the Corbett map felt like Christmas...Ohhhh so many unclimbed hills to choose from! But the one I choose had to be Beinn Odhar. I had walked along side it while doing the WHW and driven past it God knows how many times...it was finally time to climb it.
I had checked the weather forecast and had seen a dry window around lunchtime. Being able to take your time in winter is magic and when I arrived at the foot of the hill at 11:30am
, it felt nearly impossible to climb a winter hill that late. I parked at the little car park across from the railway bridge, climbed the fence across the road, walked down the grassy slope and reached the WHW. (A short bit further along the road is actually a proper crossing, but I only saw this on my return way.
)
The crossing over the railway bridge, if you have walked the WHW you might remember this bit
I followed the WHW for a little while, crossed the railway bridge and shortly after saw a faint path towards my right. The path followed the burn and was boggy in places and soon I opted to climb up the shoulder.
I have no clue if there are any paths, as everything was covered in virgin snow without any footprint
, but I am guessing with or without one its pretty clear were you have to go- up
Boggy , but not for long
Looking across over the burn
Sheep in the snow
I gained height quickly and snow clouds were racing across the sky. Dramatic views could be seen all the way down to Tyndrum and luck had it that it stayed dry.
About an hour after setting off I reached a cave and after doing some research online (afterwards), it seems to be the old discontinued adit of the lead mine (I think). Icicles were hanging from the entrance and I spend some time to take some silly pictures (you have to keep amusing yourself when you walk alone)
Simply stunning
The view back down towards Tyndrum
The views across when the clouds allowed short climpses
The adit (I think anyway)
You have to amuse yourself
Climbing higher the snow turn deep and I was walking in the strange surroundings, only to be experienced in winter, with thick cloud cover and snow. At 901m this Corbett is just as good as a Munro and even classes as a Marilyn (if you believe the web)
The walk into the white
One of the wee lochs
The snow was getting deep
Aiming to get some views...by the time I grabbed my camera the views were gone
By the time I had reached the top a cold the wind had picked up and trying to take pictures from the disappearing mountains behind the clouds. Soon my hair , eye lashes, face and clothes were covered in a layer of ice. It did not rain, but the moisture in the air had iced me up in minutes. Bizarre!
It was bitterly cold and my fingers exposed to the icy air (thanks to taking too many photos) were close to frostbite (at least thats how they felt like)
Jumping up and down while trying to blow some life back into my fingers I tried to get warm and looking around I suddenly saw a snow rainbow.
I later learned that it was called a fog bow, but the sight was impressive and for a while I stared at it, while it appeared and disappeared with the clouds...brilliant!!
A fog bow, or white rainbow
Looking towards the west
and towards the north from the summit
Towards Tyndrum-can you spot the hills in the clouds?
But the cold finally drove me off he top
On my way back down it luckily warmed up again, but the cloud had thickened and I was glad that I was able to follow my footsteps down the hill. Too soon I was back at my car still confused how quick I had managed that hill (I guess it could be done in less than 2h in summer time)
Looking back up at the hill I decided that Corbetts are well worth the effort....well at least in winter time, or at least until I have a long weekend to head further up north again.
On the walk down
