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Day 2 of the 101 Munro Weekend, and it is Stob Coire Sgriodain (#100) and Chno Dearg (#101). Early start with a pick up by Kevin and Andy from the Premier Inn (Lenny's Place) in Fort Bill, followed by a short 30min drive to Fersit along the A86. The road to Fersit was both covered in snow and ice, but was manageable in Kev's van. On approach to the parking area, we could see Steve (who only confirmed he was coming up late the night before) waiting eagerly to get up the hills.
We got ready and locked up the vans and set off to do Stob Coire Sgriodain first, then Chno Dearg. The weather was frosty and overcast , with the winds up around 25mph in the Glen and higher on the summits. The route was described as a boggy approach and return, thankfully there was a heavy ground frost that made the ground good and firm.
The approach was gentle for a couple of Kms, and then it got a bit more aggressive, and the snow conditions warranted crampons to ascend the ridge up Sron Na Garbh Bheinne. I led the ascent and stopped to take some photos, and managed to get a great video of Steve, Andy and then Kev showing off his mountain skills in deftly overtaking the more cautious Andy and Steve.
- Steve enjoying being back on the hills
- Andy, never out of breath.
- Kev rearranging God knows what!
I continued to lead to the summit, which after what seemed like 10 false summits, I finally reached the top followed by the team. 100 Munros was warmly congratulated by the guys, and a swig of some Rusty Nail (courtesy of Andy) was enjoyed by us all.
- 100 Munros!!! Shaun enjoying a celebratory Rusty Nail at the summit
We found a bit of shelter for some lunch and then headed off to Chno Dearg, this was a walk in the park due to the conditions under foot.
We had a steady climb up the gentle south west face, and arrived at the summit, to see 2 skiers enjoying good touring conditions.
- At the summit of Chno Dearg
We had a quick stop and refreshments, then followed the skiers tracks down the hill, and had an uneventful return back to the vans. It was a great end to a fantastic weekend of hillwalking, and my wife Gillian, Hannah and Oliva had a great time skiing over the weekend with June. One of the highlights of the weekend was eating that the Ben Nevis Inn (I will be back for that fantastic burger, and the River Leven IPA, which was awesome ale!!!).
