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After a lazy but ultimately successful winter walk last time out I was keen to get out again. After a 7 day stint at work I needed to get out of the town.
I'd be going solo, a fist 'winter' solo for me but where to go and what to do? I actually fancied smashing out a wee hill or 2 because of the forecasted strong winds but with MWIS offering a 90% chance of cloud free Munros you've just got to take those odds!
My brother was telling a while back about how he had to recover a dead body from Ben Oss about 1.5/2 years ago, this had put me off the hill slightly so when the time came to find the closest Munro(s) on my WH map I'd not done, guess what ones they were
The alarm goes off at 6:30am for me to get up with the missus but she insisted we snooze for 10 minutes, I don't take much encouraging for snoozing but the button was hit 3 times and it's now 7am. The bed was warm and the bedroom cold, frankly I could've turned over and went right back to sleep.
I was now a half hour late leaving which meant I had to endure the morning traffic
however this didn't dampen my enthusiasm for the day ahead
Once the car park was reached I geared up but decided to leave the 'pons n axe in the car.
Setting off along the old main road before turning off onto the dirt track I tried to get a picture of Beinn Dubhchraig but at this point it was in clag so took a snap of the closest hill.
Craig Riabhach?
Good Morning you two
Crossing the bridgeI was following the recommended route on from this site and I was also aware of the bridge being down along with the sodden ground.
It did cross my mind that about how much of a genius move I had made by choosing winter to do this route as I passed frozen puddles, ah the ground will be frozen...excellent.
WRONG once I had crossed the railway line I turned off the track at the cairn and straight into a fricken nasty bog
Up to the midshin a couple of times it wasn't looking good...is this gonna be 'Beinn Chabhair' all over again?
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=55172
Once across the first bog it was time to cross the burn but not via this!
The...bridgeI did decide to rock hop my way over but these stones, I kid you not, are the most slippery river stones I've ever stood on...needless to say with me being as clumsy as I am I ended up 1 foot in the water right at the other bank. Luckily, having waxed my boots in preparation last night for this walk my foot remained dry.
Stepping stonesNow on the other side I followed a path that runs along the burn and yes, as reported a million times its bloody boggy...walking through these woods was providing an enthusiasm sapping challenge. When will this end?! Why can't there be a chairlift here to skip this nonsense? Aaagh
Bog
Not all bad
Hi above the burn
Beinn Dubhchraig
Beinn Dorain & Beinn OdharIt took me an hour to get from the car to leaving the woods, longer than expected. I kept looking behind me expecting to see other walkers coming up the path but nobody came. I'll probably see some up top.
Just out of the trees
WaterfallOnce out on the open hill side it's a steady climb up and thankfully most of the bog was left behind but still had bits here and there. The ground was becoming more frozen the higher I got however the views were limited and as I walked in the massive shadow of the mountain I could feel the cold but the thought of being in the sun was keeping me motivated.
Straight onThe benefit of this sheltered walk was being out of the wind which still had touched me as of yet, maybe it wasn't going to be a problem at all.
A final steepish pull up to the ridge (marked by a cairn you can see form a distance) was only made challenging by the sheets of ice covering the path.
Ben More & Stob Binnein
Ben Challum and companyThe moment my head popped over the rampant so to speak I had it blown off by the bitterly cold wind but I got my first sneak peak off Ben Oss.
Ben Oss
The way Beinn DubhchraigThe ground was white with windswept frost structures on every rock, every blade of grass. I was forced to notice because the combination of strong wind and intense sunlight kept my head down. Every so often I turned my back to the wind just to get it off my face for a minute and a wee photo opportunity.
Ben Oss & Ben Lui
Looking to the Orchy lot...
and back to these two The final approach to Beinn Dubhchraig's summit is relatively easy going with excellent views if you are lucky enough to get any. Today, ultimately, would prove to be a very frustrating day for taking photographs. My phone just couldn't handle the intensity of the light and the hazzy sky didn't help. I couldn't capture what I was seeing so apologies for that.
Beinn Dubhcharig's summit
Loch Lomond
AgainI didn't linger on the top for very long, I snapped a few shots and headed off. The wind strength was increasing with each step, at one point it was blowing tears across my face, I literally cried tears from one eye into the other
Ben Oss & Ben Lui
and again
Grampian
Crainlarich Seven
Down Loch LomondI followed the path that runs high above Loch Oss until it drops much more steeply than expected down to the narrow pass between the hills.
Loch Oss
Loch Oss & Loch LomondI found a little shelter from the now consistent wind to enjoy a bite to eat. I looked over to the splendid Beinn Oss and Ben Lui as I munched away on a large Tiger roll.
Not far to goI could see the path up Ben Oss for a long distance away and thought to myself that's a fairly straightforward looking accent and sure enough once I left the path at the cairn to top Oss the accent was easy enough with exception of a rather cruel part where you lose height before having to reclaim it.
The bealach and path up
Ben Oss
Looking back to Beinn Dubhchraig
Further than I thought it was
That cruel dipBen Lui can now be seen it all its splendour. What a sight indeed
Ben LuiThere were a few snow patches to avoid on the accent, they were solid so I just walked around them.
Beinn DubhchraigA few times I thought the summit would just be over the horizon but after a couple of false summits the real one came into view.
The summitThis hill offers excellent views but there's definitely a overwhelming need to focus on Ben Lui. A massive steep impressive looking hill, fabulous.
The summit and Ben LuiI lingered a while longer on Oss to snap a few shots of the surrounding hills, when I say longer I might have been there 2 or 3 minutes at most. The wind was impossible to resist, it was winning.
Ben Lomond over yonder
From the cairn looking to Lui
Looking to Ben Nevis
Looking to Ben MoreI left the way I had come but despite the achievement of reaching the summit, my mood had taken a real down turn. The constant battering from the wind had taken it's toll, my thinking was... 'a little off' to put it mildly. An example being the disturbing idea that if I were to fall off a cliff right now I'd probably be happy to be out of the wind. There were moments where the wind was affecting my breathing, struggling to catch a breath before it was sucked from my lungs. It's so fatiguing to have the wind smash you for 2 or 3 hours straight, soul destroying even and now with a negative train off thought the climb back up Beinn Dubhchraig all of a sudden seemed so impossibly massive.
I got myself down off Ben Oss pretty fast and as I went to start the walk up the shoulder of BD I started to sing. If you asked Pieplough he'd tell you that this was a regular occurrence to help me through bits
It seemed to work as the climb wasn't nearly as bad as expected. I aimed to get to a large quarts rock because once there I knew the worst would be over. In my haste to get off the hill I tried to cut the across the hill but forgot about the little lochan so ended up walking around that anyway so I didn't save any time in the end up. Now it was all down hill form here in the good way
The long way backOnce down off the ridge the wind completely stopped, back in the shelter thank goodness! I even took my jacket off and managed to enjoy the rest off the walk. Still haven't seen a soul.
No Walk report of mind would be complete without the inclusion of my latest fall and yes, as I did last time out I managed to take a fall after slipping on some ice but rather than a nasty slam this time I fell kindly into a well place bank of heather. I had been distracted by looking at some clothing in the wee burn
Beinn Dorain & Beinn Odhar standing guardNow in the woods I managed to find a better path down, it was a more defined path with long stretches of hard ground.
Beinn Dorain & Beinn Odhar againOnce over the burn (I chose a better crossing point) it was a case of crossing the bog to the track. I was feeling it a little in the legs but being on the good track made the last few Kilometres a lot easier that's for sure
A last look of Beinn DubhchraigThe drive back along the A82 was the usual affair, stuck behind a massive truck
