Lui, a Chleib, Oss, Dubhchraig from Dalrigh along Cononish
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 1:15 am
Having read various reports, I decided that I wanted to approach the Ben Lui group along the track from Dalrigh by the River Cononish as it afforded the best views of the approach to Ben Lui.
[My track below is truncated to less than 500 waypoints as the activelog was too large]
Crossing the Erskine Bridge with first light just appearing to the east was magical – followed by ever increasing light over Loch Lomond. It was 2-3 Celsius all the way up until it dipped to zero at Crianlarich but better to be cold than wet.
Given the distance, I decided to cycle the first few miles – with hindsight, this probably doesn’t save much time as it means funding a return route to the bike instead of returning from Beinn Dubhchraig by the usual route, a 200 – 250m ascent by bike and extra hassle/stops to changeover and secure it. On the plus side though, the return down to Dalrigh was faster even with walking boots on rather than cycling shoes !
Part way up the track I rounded a corner and got my first glimpse of Ben Lui – a majestic site with the rising sun catching its eastern side which was also my approach route.
Close to the end of the track there’s an old rusty fence post with a diagonal strut set into concrete – very useful for securing the bike before starting to walk. From there I crossed the Allt an Rund burn, where there’s also an old dry stone walled sheep pen, and headed up into Coire Gaothach on the northern side of the burn which comes down the corrie.
There’s a good track all the way up and was not boggy. There are two straightforward approaches from the corry, ie the northern and southern flanks and I had picked the northern one. From lower down they look very hard but once inside the corry they are actually not too bad.
Heading on up the track I got to a point where it split to go to either side of the corry. There’s a small cairn at this point.
I headed off up to the northern flank of the corry with great views backwards. [At this point I had to stop to put on sock liners as my toes were frozen].
The view got even better when I reached the northern ridge where I turned south up towards the top of Ben Lui.
There’s a wee bit of scrambling and some steep drops but again it’s not hard going.
I got to the north top then the main top when, as luck would have it, the wind had got up and it got a bit cloudy. I waited a bit before going on Beinn a Chleib but it didn’t move away.
The path down to Beinn a Chleib is mostly loose stones/rocks but is easy enough and then there’s a good track upwards.
The top comes fairly early on but I walked its length to see the views over to Ben Cruachan and Loch Awe. It’s a very exposed ridge and the strong winds made standing upright harder but the sky had cleared again and the views were wonderful.
I then headed back down Beinn a Chleib now aiming for Ben Oss. However, rather than going back up to the top of Ben Lui and then down the flank via Coire Laoigh, I headed round more or less following the same contour line. There was no track here and the ground was a mix of soft grass and boggy bits with some streams to cross – it can also be harder on the ankles walking at an angle but the views more than compensated.
I rejoined at the Creag Dhubh bhealaich which is a fairly flat piece of boggy ground, offering some respite from the strong wind (stopped here in the sunshine for lunch), which then takes you north east to start the walk up to Ben Oss.
I did find some tracks but also tended to lose them but it’s a fairly straightforward climb up to the top. At the top, I met Graeme Dewar with his dog, Lucy - he had camped out the night before.
There’s a track from Ben Oss to Beinn Dubhchraig but I missed the first part of it as I wanted to have a look further over to the north. Picking up the track I headed on up to the last munro of the day with lovely views all round and down over Loch Oss. At the top of Beinn Dubhchraig the 360 degree view is fantastic and I could see over Ben More, Stob Binnein, Cruach Ardrain, An Caisteal, down to Ben Lomond and Loch Lomond, Arrochar Alps, round to Beinn Bhuidhe etc.
Instead of heading north east down from Beinn Dubhchraig I had to head north west back to get my bike. I had worked out a route which took me down the north ridge and then west along the bottom of Coire Buidhe. The going was fairly easy in long grass although it was boggy at time with burns and water to cross. On the plus side, I had some lovely views of Ben Lui with the sun now behind it from the south.
Then on to the bike and a nice cycle back down the track to Dalrigh. A fantastic day and a trip I’d love to do again but the next time I think I’d vary it a bit, eg walk up Cononish with the return down the north eastern ridge from Beinn Dubhchraig.
[My track below is truncated to less than 500 waypoints as the activelog was too large]
Crossing the Erskine Bridge with first light just appearing to the east was magical – followed by ever increasing light over Loch Lomond. It was 2-3 Celsius all the way up until it dipped to zero at Crianlarich but better to be cold than wet.
Given the distance, I decided to cycle the first few miles – with hindsight, this probably doesn’t save much time as it means funding a return route to the bike instead of returning from Beinn Dubhchraig by the usual route, a 200 – 250m ascent by bike and extra hassle/stops to changeover and secure it. On the plus side though, the return down to Dalrigh was faster even with walking boots on rather than cycling shoes !
Part way up the track I rounded a corner and got my first glimpse of Ben Lui – a majestic site with the rising sun catching its eastern side which was also my approach route.
Close to the end of the track there’s an old rusty fence post with a diagonal strut set into concrete – very useful for securing the bike before starting to walk. From there I crossed the Allt an Rund burn, where there’s also an old dry stone walled sheep pen, and headed up into Coire Gaothach on the northern side of the burn which comes down the corrie.
There’s a good track all the way up and was not boggy. There are two straightforward approaches from the corry, ie the northern and southern flanks and I had picked the northern one. From lower down they look very hard but once inside the corry they are actually not too bad.
Heading on up the track I got to a point where it split to go to either side of the corry. There’s a small cairn at this point.
I headed off up to the northern flank of the corry with great views backwards. [At this point I had to stop to put on sock liners as my toes were frozen].
The view got even better when I reached the northern ridge where I turned south up towards the top of Ben Lui.
There’s a wee bit of scrambling and some steep drops but again it’s not hard going.
I got to the north top then the main top when, as luck would have it, the wind had got up and it got a bit cloudy. I waited a bit before going on Beinn a Chleib but it didn’t move away.
The path down to Beinn a Chleib is mostly loose stones/rocks but is easy enough and then there’s a good track upwards.
The top comes fairly early on but I walked its length to see the views over to Ben Cruachan and Loch Awe. It’s a very exposed ridge and the strong winds made standing upright harder but the sky had cleared again and the views were wonderful.
I then headed back down Beinn a Chleib now aiming for Ben Oss. However, rather than going back up to the top of Ben Lui and then down the flank via Coire Laoigh, I headed round more or less following the same contour line. There was no track here and the ground was a mix of soft grass and boggy bits with some streams to cross – it can also be harder on the ankles walking at an angle but the views more than compensated.
I rejoined at the Creag Dhubh bhealaich which is a fairly flat piece of boggy ground, offering some respite from the strong wind (stopped here in the sunshine for lunch), which then takes you north east to start the walk up to Ben Oss.
I did find some tracks but also tended to lose them but it’s a fairly straightforward climb up to the top. At the top, I met Graeme Dewar with his dog, Lucy - he had camped out the night before.
There’s a track from Ben Oss to Beinn Dubhchraig but I missed the first part of it as I wanted to have a look further over to the north. Picking up the track I headed on up to the last munro of the day with lovely views all round and down over Loch Oss. At the top of Beinn Dubhchraig the 360 degree view is fantastic and I could see over Ben More, Stob Binnein, Cruach Ardrain, An Caisteal, down to Ben Lomond and Loch Lomond, Arrochar Alps, round to Beinn Bhuidhe etc.
Instead of heading north east down from Beinn Dubhchraig I had to head north west back to get my bike. I had worked out a route which took me down the north ridge and then west along the bottom of Coire Buidhe. The going was fairly easy in long grass although it was boggy at time with burns and water to cross. On the plus side, I had some lovely views of Ben Lui with the sun now behind it from the south.
Then on to the bike and a nice cycle back down the track to Dalrigh. A fantastic day and a trip I’d love to do again but the next time I think I’d vary it a bit, eg walk up Cononish with the return down the north eastern ridge from Beinn Dubhchraig.