walkhighlands

Share your personal walking route experiences in Scotland, and comment on other peoples' reports.
Warning Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.

Blue skies & pork pies: Ben More - Crianlarich

Blue skies & pork pies: Ben More - Crianlarich


Postby BoyVertiginous » Fri Apr 03, 2015 11:32 am

Route description: Ben More and Stob Binnein

Munros included on this walk: Ben More, Stob Binnein

Date walked: 15/03/2015

Time taken: 5 hours

Distance: 10 km

Ascent: 1060m

Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).


our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts


***We didn't do Stob Binnein today, the system only has the walk of both & applies it automatically***

Planned this about a week in advance and the weather forecast looked fine from the bbc but, mwis were painting a much gloomier picture. The Ben More webcam was showing fine conditions so, decided to go with the gut and stick to the plan of tackling Ben More from Benmore Farm, rather than any of the lower alternatives we'd considered.

Set-off from home at a civilised 7am and cloudy skies made way to a sea of blue the further north and West we headed. After a quick stop in Callander for pork pies, we pulled in at the roadside by Benmore Farm. No sooner had we done so and the rescue chopper emerged from the Glen and landed in the field opposite. We hadn't even got out of the car but, they'd obviously heard we were coming. :roll:

Image

By the time we got ourselves sorted out and fed and watered the dog, it was after 9am when we set off up the track alongside Benmore Burn. Opting to follow the track until it ran out, we kept the dog on the lead at this point as there were several sheep around, and then take a line up towards the bealach.

On route to the bealach as Ferris (btm right) waits for us to catch up...
Image

No snow in the glen...Image

I'd been up on Ben More over a year prior in full Winter conditions but, was forced to retreat (at a, we thought at the time, mere 50-75m from the summit) due to winds that were making it difficult to stand up in and almost zero visibility.

The rescue chopper appeared to be on manoeuvres between Killin, Crianlarich and Tyndrum. It was in earshot, if not in sight, above the surrounding hills all the way up the glen until we reached the bealach and eventually headed off a little before noon, we presumed to fuel-up.

Sugar-coated summits to the NW...
Image

After leaving the track, it's pretty steep and relentless so frequent breathers were taken, a chance to take in the views on what was proving to be a beautiful day. The line we took actually spat us out above the bealach on the shoulder of Ben More and so, at 900m, we were still walking on grass. Not far to go and still snow-free...
Image

It was different story over on Stob Binnein, however...
Image

On approaching the summit, I realised that the final crag/tor (centre of the last but one pic) was where we'd sheltered, and retreated from, over a year ago. In the clear conditions, I could now see that we'd been much closer to the summit than we'd realised last time and paced it out from there...a mere 40 paces! :roll: Neverthless, it had been the right decision at the time plus, here we were enjoying the hill on a beautifully clear day, with views aplenty. :roll:

Having got all the way to about 1000m without difficulty, we initially considered skirting beneath the crags up to the summit (mainly to keep the dog away from the icy snow cornice on the East of the hill) but, what little snow there was here had iced over and it was pretty treacherous so, we opted to head over the top, still on soft snow thankfully (with the dog back on the lead) and reached the trig. On the way over to the cairn, the summit plateau was of solid ice and we should really have donned crampons here but, it seemed daft for the sake of a few feet. That said, when we did decide to descend, re-crossing the summit to return the way we'd come up, was treacherous indeed and even a couple of little sections we'd walked across in ascent without difficulty, were now very precarious, with that SE edge waiting to greet any slip that would have quickly turned into a rapid slide.

Thankfully, not the true angle of the summit...
Image

We stopped for refreshments, sheltering from the stiff breeze at the summit cairn. The pooch on claiming his first Munro...
Image

Seaplane fly-by...
Image

There were some lenticular clouds on the horizon to the North but, too far away for my wee camera to do any justice...
Image

The time came to go and, with the aforesaid iciness, we took a line over the rockier summit sections for grip and descended the way we'd come up, passing the point at which I'd turned-back previously (grrrr), and then a steep and knee-jarring walk back out to the track, before paying my Mum (Mothers Day) a visit on the way home.

Image

Sadly, we later learned that a life had been lost on Ben Lomond, the real reason for the rescue chopper heading off when it did. The circumstances were such that it certainly brought home that it'd be worth the hassle of sticking the crampons on, even if just for a few yards, as in conditions like we had that day, tragedy is absolutely avoidable.
User avatar
BoyVertiginous
Wanderer
 
Posts: 1327
Munros:251   Corbetts:75
Fionas:26   Donalds:11
Sub 2000:49   Hewitts:33
Wainwrights:62   Islands:18
Joined: Jun 14, 2011
Location: california

Re: Blue skies & pork pies: Ben More - Crianlarich

Postby Avocetboy » Mon Apr 06, 2015 12:52 am

Well done ferris and love the photo of stob b.
Avocetboy
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 374
Munros:59   Corbetts:21
Fionas:7   Donalds:9
Sub 2000:8   Hewitts:41
Wainwrights:74   Islands:7
Joined: Feb 6, 2011
Location: Boston, Lincolnshire

Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).




Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Walk reports - Scotland

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: desmondo1, simp25 and 69 guests