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So last weekend, we left from work, Arrochar in our sights to finish off Dougie's alp bagging.

We arrived at Inveruglas at about 8, and after some faffing set off up the road. As we climbed gradually up the glen, the conditions changed from cold still and crisp, with a myriad of stars, to wet, windy, dark and sludgy. We had aimed to camp at the dam, but an opportunity a couple of miles up the road was too tempting to pass by

We cleared the couple of inches of snow, and pitched up. It was good to get cosy inside despite only a very short walk

After a very comfortable night, and a really good sleep, I awoke and sat up to find my forehead meeting with much coldness – so much snow had fallen overnight, that the tent was actually sagging

It was later than intended, and as we had our morning tea, the first of the day trippers passed – probably better to let someone else break trail anyway


So we set off into the mist, finding that we had got further up the track than we had thought and it was only a couple of hundred yards to where the footprints broke up the hill.
The going was quite steep, so we took it steady, stopping to shake tired legs more and more often...

The hill was quite busy now, with an increasing number of wee groups adding to the convoy. Nice friendly folks

We made it up above the cloud, and saw bonny views across the glen.



The footsteps didn't go in the direction I would of gone, but they took us up to the ridge, where a chill breeze had us reaching in our packs for more insulation. There was a wee flat section that was a bit slippy and others were putting on their crampons, but with so much new snow, we hadn't bothered with ours. It worked out well though, as that bit just lasted a few metres, then it was back to plodding through the powder







The spindrift caught in my hair and turned it into a craze of icicles that jangled when I shook my head

never had that before!
It Seemed way longer than I remembered to the top, although it was a real treat to be out in such conditions, so almost a disappointment when we got there




it was a bit busy, so we didnie hang around the summit for long. It was even more fun going back without the toil.


We broke off the ridge a little earlier, and enjoyed sliding down snowdrifts and faceplanting a lot. Further down, the snow had melted a bit with all that sunsine, and there were some wet muddy nastiness, which seemed a very small price to pay for such a good day

We got back to tent in no time at all, well before dark.
At dusk the temperature really dropped, and even sticking a hand out of the sleeping bag to make a brew was pretty tortuous. The wind soon got up though, and by 7 it was fine and we were sitting up with sleeping bags round our waists.
The wind strengthened overnight, and it was loud enough to wake me a couple of times, which is most unusual.. We decided in the morning, that the powder and wind would make for a day best spent low, so we headed back to the car and round to Arrochar for a wee wander to the caves. There was shooting going on at the clay pigeon place, but the guys were great, and let us passed with instructions on what to do on the way back.
We followed the track and then found our way onto a path that went steeply up to the caves. They weren't hard to find at all. We had a grand ol' time scrambling about on the rocks and exploring the cracks and tunnels. Its astounding to think of all the folk that must of stayed or visited over the years, lots of the rocks are well polished

We somehow got ourselves back on a path that continued through the woods and took us back down to the clay pigeon place, so an even shorter walk back, but something I have wanted to do for ages, so home with curiosity well and truly satisfied

Brill weekend, cant wait for the next one.