free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
I stuck the bike in the back of the car on this Friday morning (24/03/17) and set off towards Fort William. On the back roads on the south side of Loch Ness I realised the snow line was pretty low with the new snow this week. In fact it was down to the road at some points. I didn't have any particular plan but missed the train at Spean Bridge so got on my bike and cycled from there into the Grey Corries because I knew the way.
Here is the route I took shown one way.
An easy cycle from Spean on the tarmac until you turn off onto the track. I took no photos low down but here is one I found from last year that shows the track which is ok to take your car up but not far beyond this point.
Mrs. ST last year sometime with Cruach Innse to the left and the grey corries route to the right.
The conditions were different this day. Got up to the bothy with the bike pushing and struggling through soft snow at some points. This was as far as the bike was going. I met three guys from Yorkshire and other far away places inside
.
I stayed about half an hour and chatted about the surrounding hills. They had had a hard day on the CMD and the Ben the day before, struggling through deep snow before requiring crampons etc. for the last steep pull to the summit. We talked about our plans, they were off to do the one or two Corbetts and I decided I was going to go half way up Stob Ban as it looked like it would take about two days to get to the top.
We went our separate ways and I slithered across the dodgy broken snow covered bridge. I set off up the ridge and as predicted it was horrendous waist deep ploughing
Soon though things improved and the snow could be avoided practically all the way to the top of Stob Ban. On the final pull to summit I sang a wee song.
"Oh I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way"
Sorry to any one who reads this but at least you didn't have to listen to me singing
Approached the summit and launched my axe high in the air. This is what its all about.
On the way down I lazily chose to ski in my boots like Franz Klammer until the inevitable happened and I did a somersault and stabbed myself with my axe. Not clever but I then took it easy back to the bike. A great run out on the rough track where I stopped and chatted with one of the guys from earlier who had opted out of the 2nd Corbett and was chillin (wise man). Its a fine cycle on the tarmac alongside the river which you miss completely in the car.
It took a hour "walking"
from the summit to the bothy and a hour from the bothy to Spean Bridge on the bike.
Highly recommended a brilliant day all round.
I only took one other photo and its not pretty but I need to fill the space.
