ben lomnd

[sproot]

we decided to go for ben lomond today me koki (my dog) and m8 james,,,
not to bad a day to start with but clouding over on way up, we went for round route starting up ptarmigan walk, never saw any ptarmigans though we saw some pellets from either grouse or ptarmigan???
the climb was quite steep and going marshy but was a good climb,there were still spots of deep snow in places
and one quite tricky part near summit where deep snow covered the path and a very steep fall to left but nothing too alarming,not usually into the tourist trails up the likes of easy climbs to ben nevis or ben lomond but this way up was good and fairly quiet,,,, though the path down was boring and like sauciehall street it was not a bad day for a walk
up our local munro,,,,

[Alan S]

hi sproot

i done ben lomond twice last year and have to say i really enjoyed it on both occasions but i think this was due to the fact i like to get on the hills early.
this was my first munro and on both trips we were the first on the summit by setting off from the car park at 6:30 and heading up the normal route and returning by the ptarmigan.
past around 50 walkers on both trips coming up this way but was surprised by the amount of cars in the car park when we returned it went from about 3 to 100 in around 4 hours.
am i reading this right that you were up there today if you were you must be really quick.
surprised by the lack of snow im hoping to head to crianlarich next weekend hope the mild weather keeps up

alan

[Paul Webster]

Nice pics there.

am i reading this right that you were up there today if you were you must be really quick

I think Sproot meant yesterday - we're in Cowal researching routes at the moment and only yesterday had that sunshine - though it's been fairly dry. Could have given Sproot a wave! There's very little snow in the SW Highlands at the moment - what a change from the far NE last week.

[sproot]

hi alan yes paul was right i was up thursday left at 11am was back in car park at 15.00 so 4hr all in ,
met some nice people on way up and down also surprised how many dogs do hill walking these days ,some fit dogs out there,,,,

[Alan S]

yes your right there are a lot of dogs on the hills
ive got a border collie shes nearly 11.she done 7 munros last year with me i would take her all the time but sometimes im a bit wary of scary ridges etc.the only one im glad i never took her was an casteal theres a bit near the top with a wee bit of scrambling with big deep holes at the side of the path

[sproot]

too true alan my dog is only 7 mths old, and im very wary when she gets too close to the edge ,i think a good idea would be a sticky post of dog friendly hills and ones that are a definate no no,,, as there seems to be lots of people who take there dog out on the hills,,,,

[fatdogwalks]

The Fatdog has now done something like 48 Munros and 16 (I think) Corbetts. From discussions I've had with others there are only a relatively small number of Munros where a medium sized dog couldn't go (mainly Skye). Depends on the dog, its temperament, conditions, type of terrain. You just have to take a sensible approach. Eg we were on Devil's Ridge in the Mamores last year. Having had a discussion with another dog hillwalker before hand I knew there was only one point that would be a problem, and even that had a bypass. As it worked out my son had a problem with vertigo so we had to back up having gone half way across. That would have been the most "interesting" one we had tackled. On the other hand I had been advised by others not to tackle the ridge to the east of Devils' Ridge with the dog.

FD is hooked up for all ridges, near crags, and near summits...in fact anywhere where I can't predict the terrain or I think she might be distracted and it seems to work well. I have to say it probably works with Maisie becasue she is a very relaxed animal who more or less stays on the path and plods her way upwards.

Sharp scree is also something to avoid as is prolonged work in icy snow as you risk cut paws. Oh yes - deer fences - a real sod if you have a big dog.

It's a case of doing your homework before hand and you'll be amazed how many hills you have at your disposal.

To get you started most of the hills I have done are here...http://fatdogwalking.wordpress.com/

Good luck

[sproot]

cheers for that fatdog, i probably worry too much with her being a pup still, as you say common sense should prevail
she is a smart wee dog and on the whole quite obedient , so we will see how it goes in the coming months,,,
lots to do n see this spring

[BVCSK]

Hi Sproot
If I'm not mistaken your dog is a springer spaniel. I too have a springer called Kira who is 4 next month. She has accompanied me on almost all of my walks without any problems. There have been some interesting occasions though such as the time she went up to her neck in a bog and recently when she was being blown along a slope in severe wind and icy conditions.
I have wondered about her getting cold, we wear all the right gear but she only seems to puff up her coar to trap the air. I always up her rations when we go out and especially when it is very cold. I have read reports about townies who put their dogs in jumpers and coats which cause them to overheat but should we be concerned about them getting too cold on the hill? She never exhibits any ill affect and is normally back to her cock a hoop self after a bag of crisps and a half pint in the pub!!

Cheers

Bruce

[sproot]

hi bruce
yep she is a springer and she mooches food of everyone we meet on our travels, think il keep her of the booze though she is hyper enough as it is,,,, colds never affected her so far so no wee jumper for her was thinking of doggie crampons for next winter though