BEN VANE

[epmallon]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CgNt8ISJMs[/youtube]I climbed Ben Vane last year with friends in very poor weather conditions and since then every time I drove passed this area to do other mountains I made myself a promise that I would do it again knowing that the views are tremendous. The first picture below is from last year and the second is from the same view point of the latest walk.
July 2009

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2010

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It was bank holiday monday and my usual walking companions had to work so of I set off on my own or so I thought, the mountain was busy with other walkers and I always had some one to strike up a conversation with. I started my ascent after the second small bridge, the path you see in the picture below can lead to quite boggy ground you are better carrying on up the road another 50yds. or so and find a faint path that leads up the first small hill to the start of the south east ridge after this the path is very obvious.

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Loch Sloy Dam And Ben Vorlich

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You are soon stretching those muscles

Ben More & Stob Binnein in the distance

Beinn Narnain & Beinn Ime

Time to get the hands dirty

Obligatory posing photo at top

Narnain & The Cobbler

thoroughly enjoyable day (only half a day really) a great wee mountain with brilliant views, if you pick the right day.

[walk aboot]

Nice report epmallon - liked the year later photo comparison

Ben Vane was my first Munro. I was more scared of heights then, crawled up on my hands and knees and shuffled back down on my bum

[epmallon]

Thanks walk aboot, one of my walking companions can be a bit like that shuffling about on his bum at scary bits especially on steep snowy places, if memory serves me right you catch a glimpse of him doing it on my Beinn Narnain report

[mountain coward]

Ah so that's what it looks like! Great pics - thanks for those - never saw a thing on my visit... I thought it looked really daunting from the bottom, especially when walking buddy Richard abandoned me as he couldn't be bothered with something so steep in the clag, but I found it was mostly okay. Your pics make it look really scrambly so now I'm proud of coping so well on my own in the mist

[Jock McJock]

Nice report with some great pics Was up there recently and got much the same kind of day that you did. Really enjoyed Ben Vane a I found there was a wee bit of everything on there, from the grassy slope at the bottom to the wee scrambly bits as you get further up. The views of the surrounding hills are great too although it is quite a steep climb. I find that I like the steep stuff though as you gain hight very quickly and the views open up.

[mountain coward]

Yeah I like going up steep as you seem to get there in no time at all... hate coming down steep though!

[Jock McJock]

Yeah I like going up steep as you seem to get there in no time at all... hate coming down steep though!

Yeah, the knees!!!!!!

[mountain coward]

No not my knees, they're always fine during descent - just I find looking down the drop scary!

[walk aboot]

Told you...bum-shuffling's best

[Jock McJock]

No not my knees, they're always fine during descent - just I find looking down the drop scary!

My knees get really sore on the way down and my knees get all shaky

Told you...bum-shuffling's best

Will have to give that a try

[Graeme D]

I'd forgotten what a rocky little fella Ben Vane is - I did it on a really sticky hot day with leaden skies and to the soundtrack of thunder rolling around the Arrochar Alps. The thunder was quite cool but I'd rather have had a day like this one.