Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers. Munros no 1 & 2.
Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 10:52 pmAfter a few months training over autumn and winter in the Lomond Hills and the Ochils, i felt i was ready to start tackling Munros.
I booked a weeks holiday off and spent the first couple of day in Killin to tackle Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers. The car park was quite busy, but not too full seeing as it was a Monday.
Even though i've been putting in some lower level hill time i was huffing and puffing pretty quickly and had to take teh odd breather, leap-frogging a couple of walkers who set off just before me most of the way up.
I met the couple who'd set off before me on their way back down, they'd got to the top of Beinn Ghlas but Ben Lawers was still shrouded in cloud so they gave it a miss. I figured i might as well continue and get the 1 Munro.
By the time i got up to a point where i could see the summit of Lawers, i was happy to see that the cloud had moved on.
I felt pretty damn glad i'd made it to the summit, but the low level breeze was a lot nastier up this high and i can't say i was enjoying it. A couple and their dogs caught me up at this point and continued on to Ben Lawers so i figured if they were doing it, why shouldn't i.
So, braving the wind i continued on to Ben Lawers. Got to say i was quite glad of the generous width of the adjoining ridge.
More huffing and puffing up to the summit of Ben Lawers ensued. Again glad to reach the summit of Lawers, but the wind was horrendous. Didn't have my gloves on and the wind chill was getting to my hands pretty quick. Quckly snapped a couple of pics then escaped the wind as quick as possible.
One of my knees started giving me gyp on the way up Beinn Ghlas so i knew it wasn't going to be a fun descent. I decided to take the easier route back and cut down and round the north side of Beinn Ghlass. I think i made the right move, even that route involved a lot of pain.
All in all an enjoyable first experience of Munro-bagging. Even with the frequent rest stops i was pretty happy with 5hours 21minutes.
On an additional note, rather than heading straight back down the road from the visitors centre back to Killin, i took the long route and drove down Glen Lyon. It was well worth the detour, a beautiful drive i recoomend.
I booked a weeks holiday off and spent the first couple of day in Killin to tackle Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers. The car park was quite busy, but not too full seeing as it was a Monday.
- On the way up from the visitors centre via the nature tral. Gives a good idea of the weather that day. It was clear enough, but there was drifting cloud higher up and it was breezy even at lower levels.
Even though i've been putting in some lower level hill time i was huffing and puffing pretty quickly and had to take teh odd breather, leap-frogging a couple of walkers who set off just before me most of the way up.
- On the way up from the visitors centre via the nature tral. Gives a good idea of the weather that day. It was clear enough, but there was drifting cloud higher up and it was breezy even at lower levels.
I met the couple who'd set off before me on their way back down, they'd got to the top of Beinn Ghlas but Ben Lawers was still shrouded in cloud so they gave it a miss. I figured i might as well continue and get the 1 Munro.
By the time i got up to a point where i could see the summit of Lawers, i was happy to see that the cloud had moved on.
- Beinn Ghlas summit.
- Triumph in silhouette
I felt pretty damn glad i'd made it to the summit, but the low level breeze was a lot nastier up this high and i can't say i was enjoying it. A couple and their dogs caught me up at this point and continued on to Ben Lawers so i figured if they were doing it, why shouldn't i.
So, braving the wind i continued on to Ben Lawers. Got to say i was quite glad of the generous width of the adjoining ridge.
- Ben Lawers from Beinn Ghlas.
More huffing and puffing up to the summit of Ben Lawers ensued. Again glad to reach the summit of Lawers, but the wind was horrendous. Didn't have my gloves on and the wind chill was getting to my hands pretty quick. Quckly snapped a couple of pics then escaped the wind as quick as possible.
- Summit of Lawers
One of my knees started giving me gyp on the way up Beinn Ghlas so i knew it wasn't going to be a fun descent. I decided to take the easier route back and cut down and round the north side of Beinn Ghlass. I think i made the right move, even that route involved a lot of pain.
All in all an enjoyable first experience of Munro-bagging. Even with the frequent rest stops i was pretty happy with 5hours 21minutes.
On an additional note, rather than heading straight back down the road from the visitors centre back to Killin, i took the long route and drove down Glen Lyon. It was well worth the detour, a beautiful drive i recoomend.
). Don't worry about times just enjoy. Some lovely pictures too.