5 in the Clag Ben Lawers

[jamesb63]

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While driving up Loch Lomondside first thing I noticed was that the clag was well down
on the surrounding hills !
Arriving at the Lawers carpark there was no change in it here

Looking up at Meall Ghlas CLAG

So I headed up the path taking the route to the left of Beinn Ghlas in the hope the clag
would start lifting by the time I reached the Bealach
But getting there and looking up Lawers was shrouded in clag !!

Ben Lawers

So I removed my rucksack and headed along to the Beinn Ghlas Summit
after a couple of pics I set off back along to fetch my bag

Beinn Ghlas Summit

Getting back and looking up I noticed the sun was trying to break through

Faint hope of the clag clearing

S it was with a bit of hope I set off the ascend Ben Lawers getting to the summit
the weather had other ideas and the clag was as thick as ever and a cool breeze with it
so I put a fleece over my base layer

Summit of Ben Lawers

So I took 1 pic and set of for An Stuc

Lochan Nan Cat the clag clearing again ?

Loch an Daimh ? not sure

Reaching the base of An Stuc I had a sit down for a bite to eat and feed Jake (My Dog)
so with both fed and watered we set off up An Stuc ,

A couple of residents watching us

The ascent of An Stuc was pretty straight forward and we reached the summit in no time
and back into the clag

Summit of An Stuc CLAG lol

Now for the part I read a lot on the descent on the east side
but jake was off down it like a mountain got
I do suppose after doing 46 Munros in 13 weeks hes learned a lot on the hills
I followed on and found it a fairly easy ascent but I have no doubts in winter weather
it would be a very different affair indeed

East descent of An Stuc looking back up

We headed along blindly to the summit of Meall Garbh and with it my 50th Munro
and even the clag could not take the smile of satisfaction of my face

Summit of Meall Garbh

So after a high five with my walking partner it was off ont the walk over to Meall Greigh
Along the fence line I noticed quite a few Golden Plover

Golden Plover

Heading down to the Bealach this was the only part of the whole walk that was boggy
on starting the ascent I met the first walker I seen all day
We shared a few words and then headed our separate ways he was just starting
and I was just finishing
Looking down towards the dam a few metres below Lochan nan Cat
I could see the landrover track winding along the hiilside that would be the route back to the car

The route back to lawers car park

So in noting the route we made our way up to the summit of Meall Greigh

Meall Greigh summit

the views around opened up a bit so was able to take some more pics

Lochan Nan Cat

From the summit we just dropped straight down toward a small gully just below the dam
then a slight rise up to reach the road
Headed briskly along the road I spoke to a worker with the Electricty Co
and he informed me of work going along the road and they were using a helicopter
and I thought best to put Jake on a lead just incase he got spooked
not long after this over came the chopper and jake never even looked at it

Near the end of the road there is a fork for anyone doing this route take the right side
And continue along there Is a drop down to another small dam then once up the other side
I contoured anlong the side back toward the carpark
Here you get a nice view of the village of Killin at the top of loch Tay

Heading around the base of Beinn Ghlas to join the path again where it enters the small
wooded area and drop back down to the car park
Looking over to Tarmachan and up to Beinn Ghlas the calg had lifted some but the tops
were still shrouded

All in I really enjoyed this walk despite the clag and now hopefully look forward
to getting a clag free day

[Alteknacker]

A great set of hills - sorry you didn't get the very best of weather (I was very lucky last Friday); but at least it wasn't a complete clag-out!

I'm impressed at how close you got to the Golden Plover - they were wonderfully everywhere when I was up there, but VERY shy.

[teaandpies]

Hoping to get a few of these done on Saturday...I hope I get better views than that

[jamesb63]

A great set of hills - sorry you didn't get the very best of weather (I was very lucky last Friday); but at least it wasn't a complete clag-out!

I'm impressed at how close you got to the Golden Plover - they were wonderfully everywhere when I was up there, but VERY shy.

I had read your epic report on your walk
the Golden plover were Very shy this one I was about 100m away so it is zoomed in on camera

[Alteknacker]

the Golden plover were Very shy this one I was about 100m away so it is zoomed in on camera

Aaaah! This technological cheatin' .....

[ancancha]

Thats a real shame you didn't get the views
Still An Stuc is fun and 50 munros, congratulations

[CarltheViking]

Very helpful report as I plan to do the same route later this year. Your photo and description of the descent from An Stuc has relieved me of the only apprehension I had of the route. Not as bad as the books suggest!

[BlackPanther]

Your story brings back my first time on Lawers ridge... For Ghlas & Lawers we had exactly what you had, clag so thick you could cut it with a knife! Then it suddenly lifted well over the tops and we couldn't resist continuing to An Stuc, especially that it was my 141st (halfway point). We were lucky. Sometimes mountain weather changes in seconds. Usually for the worse

46 Munros in 13 weeks sounds like a hill-sprint to me It took me about 3 years to get my first fifty...

[Petr Dakota]

Hi James, another nice route
Congratulations again you did yours 1st 50 so quickly
Nice area to get the milestone, just pity for the clag, you deserved clear views
Hope you will get a better weather for the 4 in Black Mount...

[Wanderlust7]

Nice report James, done the exact same route in heavy clag too, the long walk in was quite tedious though. Well done on reaching 50 so soon, you have been busy.

[jamesb63]

Hi James, another nice route
Congratulations again you did yours 1st 50 so quickly
Nice area to get the milestone, just pity for the clag, you deserved clear views
Hope you will get a better weather for the 4 in Black Mount...

Looking forward to Blackmount 4 ,was away working a few days so
need to get back out asap

[jamesb63]

Nice report James, done the exact same route in heavy clag too, the long walk in was quite tedious though. Well done on reaching 50 so soon, you have been busy.

The walk I found was a good one ! it was long the long slog out seemed to go on forever