It had been 8 years since Iain had last been up there and I had been planning on doing some of the Lawers Group Munros for a while now so decision made and Loch Tay was our destination. A slightly delayed start was further delayed by a quick visit to a London friend who was up for the weekend and in the west end but we were soon on our way again and arrived and set off from Ben Lawers car park at exactly midday.
Strathyre had looked nice on the drive up and the hills were clear but it wouldn't last for long...
Setting off from the car park:
20180915_120500 DSC_6141 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAs we head up the path Meall nan Tarmachan on our left has white bags of rocks set on the path for some improvement work:
20180915_120600 DSC_6144 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBeinn Ghlas up ahead, the path takes us up through the nature reserve then the hillside and the summit is retiring behind what looks like three summit mounds:
20180915_120602 DSC_6146 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe head through the gate and up the good paths:
20180915_121500 DSC_6151 by Chris Mac, on FlickrLooking back down hill, Stob Binnein and Ben More now visible to the west but not for long...
20180915_122401 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBehind us to the South Ben Vorlich, Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Each are now peeking out, again not for long...
20180915_122701 DSC_6164 by Chris Mac, on FlickrTime for the steep ascent now as we pass another path that joins this one from Coire Odhar that we'll take on the way back:
20180915_123500 DSC_6166 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMeall Corranaich summit on our left:
20180915_123600 DSC_6168 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe continue uphill but it's looking ominous behind us as Stob Binnein starts to disappear... hmmm we may not have such good visibility for long, better up the pace:
20180915_123700 DSC_6172 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMeall nan Tarmachan directly west with Meall Garbh summit sticking out:
20180915_124400 DSC_6181 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAaaand... they're gone!
20180915_124401 DSC_6183 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMeall Garbh and Meall nan Tarmachan summits close up:
20180915_124402 DSC_6185 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMeall Corranaich, looking pretty steep from this side:
20180915_124500 DSC_6192 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe make good progress up the path despite stopping briefly to chat to a few people and overtake some others:
20180915_124501 DSC_6194 by Chris Mac, on FlickrIf only conditions were going to stay this clear...
20180915_125100 DSC_6196 by Chris Mac, on FlickrIt appeared that we were now on a time-limit... Ben More and Stob Binnein have completely vanished:
20180915_125500 DSC_6199 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe make haste again and continue up the path to the level section below the 3 sub-summit mounds:
20180915_125900 DSC_6209 by Chris Mac, on Flickr
20180915_130300 DSC_6217 by Chris Mac, on FlickrDirectly south Ben Vorlich and Stuc a' Chroin are gone too now...
20180915_130301 DSC_6219 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMeall Ghaordaidh:
20180915_130302 DSC_6221 by Chris Mac, on FlickrFinal zig-zag path section:
20180915_130500 DSC_6223 by Chris Mac, on FlickrThe weather was still closing in fast to match our pace:
20180915_130900 DSC_6229 by Chris Mac, on Flickr
20180915_131000 DSC_6231 by Chris Mac, on FlickrCar park and Loch Tay in the distance:
20180915_131500 DSC_6232 by Chris Mac, on FlickrIain with Meall nan Tarmachan behind him:
20180915_131501 DSC_6234 by Chris Mac, on FlickrPast the three sub-summits the actual summit comes into view:
20180915_131900 DSC_6236 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAs does Ben Lawers summit beyond it:
20180915_132100 DSC_6238 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe reach the top and the view over to Ben Lawers, An Stuc and Meall Garbh is a cracker:
20180915_132300 DSC_6239 by Chris Mac, on FlickrOur route ahead, Lawers then Stuc and we'd see if we had the time or energy to add Meall Garbh, at this point we fancied a double scramble down then back up...
20180915_132301 DSC_6245 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBen Lawers summit:
20180915_132302 DSC_6246 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAn Stuc, Meall Garbh and Creag an Fhithich just peeking out:
20180915_132400 DSC_6248 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMeall Corranaich's long summit ridge can be seen well from here now although the clouds were still closing fast behind it...
20180915_132401 DSC_6249 by Chris Mac, on FlickrA bit clearer to the north:
20180915_132402 DSC_6250 by Chris Mac, on FlickrTo the west it was a different story...
20180915_132403 DSC_6254 by Chris Mac, on FlickrGoing, going...
20180915_132404 DSC_6257 by Chris Mac, on Flickr...
20180915_132405 DSC_6258 by Chris Mac, on FlickrI bag the big camera and switch to waterproof camera phone in preparation as we don't hang around for long on Beinn Ghlas' summit and make a bee line for Ben Lawers:
20180915_132757 by Chris Mac, on FlickrNice...
20180915_133804 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBeinn Ghlas, Meall nan Tarmachan & Meall Corranaich, this would be the last we'd see of the tops:
20180915_134139 by Chris Mac, on FlickrJust the final ascent to go, will they make it...
20180915_134143 by Chris Mac, on FlickrHold... hooold!
20180915_134220 by Chris Mac, on FlickrThey say timing is everything, ours was perfect it seemed... bye Beinn Ghlas...
20180915_134747 by Chris Mac, on FlickrOur luck was about to run out:
20180915_135014 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMeall a' Choire Leith starting to go now, the clouds have caught up with us...
20180915_135018 by Chris Mac, on FlickrTypical, just as we make the final summit approach, I blame Donny for our morning coffee pit-stop!
20180915_135415 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBeinn Ghlas a goner now:
20180915_135419 by Chris Mac, on FlickrThrough the mist to the summit:
20180915_135753 by Chris Mac, on Flickr
20180915_135851 by Chris Mac, on FlickrView indicator and trig point, we've made it:
20180915_140138 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAh well, looks like we're left with a "classic" hill summit view...
20180915_140311 by Chris Mac, on FlickrI think this was the 3rd or 4th summit of Ben Lawers for Iain? Perhaps he can confirm...
20180915_140426 by Chris Mac, on FlickrI checked and we were on the summit of Ben Lawers 2 hours after we started, a good 30 minutes ahead of Naismith... hmmm, maybe I do have a fast hillwalking pace after all! We were being chased by the rain but didn't exactly run uphill, we just went at our (well, my) usual pace...
I take a few shots of the view...
we'd head over this way for a lunch break shortly:
20180915_140434 by Chris Mac, on FlickrThat's the direction we're heading next, to the east and Creag an Fhithich:
20180915_140444 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBut first up, lunch! Looking back at the summit:
20180915_140803 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWith no view to enjoy (another hill added to my 'you owe me a view' list) we blether and observe a few people summiting:
20180915_142746 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAs we approached the summit I had mentioned my disappointment and not being greeted by the local summit Raven, well it must have heard me as it appeared from nowhere and put on a little display for us!
20180915_143542 by Chris Mac, on FlickrRe-fuelled and now quite damp due to the mist we decide to set off towards Creag an Fhithich, An Stuc behind it here:
20180915_144942 by Chris Mac, on FlickrApproaching the Tump:
20180915_145207 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMade it, summit cairn:
20180915_145512 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBy now the clouds were coming and going a bit, making it very atmospheric which was the one word we guessed would sum up this walk when discussing the weather during the ascent:
20180915_145520 by Chris Mac, on FlickrPanorama looking north:
20180915_145545 by Chris Mac, on FlickrIn an instant the view would clear up for us and Lochan nan Cat appeared down below:
20180915_145626 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAn Stuc & Meall Garbh:
20180915_145630 by Chris Mac, on Flickr
20180915_145634 by Chris Mac, on FlickrA few more summit shots before we head for An Stuc:
20180915_145747 by Chris Mac, on FlickrIt's clearing we may be in luck...
20180915_145901 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAn Stuc panorama 1:
20180915_150017 by Chris Mac, on FlickrLochan nan Cat:
20180915_150030 by Chris Mac, on FlickrCreag an Fhithich:
20180915_150041 by Chris Mac, on FlickrHeading down to Bealach Dubh:
20180915_150451 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWell that window didn't last long, An Stuc panorama 2:
20180915_150509 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAt the bealach, time to enter the mist again...
20180915_151208 by Chris Mac, on Flickr
20180915_151404 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBy this point we were both pretty soaked and tired but still enjoying the fleeting views and the walk:
20180915_151407 by Chris Mac, on FlickrTiny scramble up the easy side of An Stuc:
20180915_151708 by Chris Mac, on FlickrApproaching the summit...
20180915_151911 by Chris Mac, on Flickr
20180915_152034 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBen Lawers behind us:
20180915_152226 by Chris Mac, on FlickrFinal section, clearing up again:
20180915_152601 by Chris Mac, on FlickrCreag an Fhithich below Ben Lawers:
20180915_152605 by Chris Mac, on FlickrCairn and mound, we made it:
20180915_152754 by Chris Mac, on FlickrThe happy hikers:
20180915_152916 by Chris Mac, on Flickr
20180915_152934 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAs you can see the view was still very changeable, taken from the mound east of the cairn looking towards the steep scramble side of An Stuc:
20180915_153000 by Chris Mac, on FlickrLooking back to Iain and the view decided to play ball, result:
20180915_153014 by Chris Mac, on FlickrI grasp at the opportunity and take out the big camera again while it's dry:
20180915_153200 DSC_6263 by Chris Mac, on FlickrLochan nan Uan and Loch Tay to the south:
20180915_153300 DSC_6266 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMeall Garbh to the east:
20180915_153301 DSC_6267 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe were still humming and hawing about whether to add in Meall Garbh and do the scramble twice but by this point we were both pretty tired due to our rapid pace uphill and along to this point. We decided to check it out anyway... looking down, yeah it's steep!
20180915_153956 by Chris Mac, on FlickrA path heads to the right and then downhill, Iain investigates and refreshes his memory:
20180915_154000 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe discuss our options...
20180915_154020 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAs the cloud had returned and we were soaked through already so the thought of adding a 4th Munro and leaving just Meall Greigh on its own didn't appeal, better to leave two here and walk those two another day.
We spotted a couple down below descending An Stuc and they were using a rope which we thought was perhaps a bit much but better safe than sorry...
20180915_154026(0) by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe set off back to the summit rocks to get our bags then headed back down, stopping at the edge overlooking Creag an Fhithich:
20180915_154911 by Chris Mac, on FlickrI let Iain go ahead for a bit so I could get him in a dramatic shot for scale:
20180915_155231 by Chris Mac, on FlickrDown the steep section:
20180915_155416 by Chris Mac, on FlickrLooking back to An Stuc and Lochan nan Cat, both coming in and out of view:
20180915_160147 by Chris Mac, on Flickr
20180915_160311 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBack up Creag an Fhithich:
20180915_160701 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBack into the clouds...
20180915_161300 by Chris Mac, on FlickrTowards Ben Lawers...
20180915_161811 by Chris Mac, on FlickrLooking back:
20180915_162320 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBen Lawers summit approaching again:
20180915_163457 by Chris Mac, on FlickrAnother quick break at the top:
20180915_163738 by Chris Mac, on Flickr
20180915_163752 by Chris Mac, on FlickrThen we're off again heading down to take the Beinn Ghlas bypass path on the right at the bottom here:
20180915_164908 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe contemplated heading up and over again but decided the variety of the bypass was worth exploring:
20180915_165319 by Chris Mac, on FlickrBeinn Ghlas up to the left:
20180915_170243 by Chris Mac, on FlickrContinuing around the bypass:
20180915_170248 by Chris Mac, on FlickrMeall Corranaich is just over there apprently...
20180915_170811 by Chris Mac, on FlickrWe pass the cairn at the top of the Burn of Edramucky and head down the path:
20180915_172612 by Chris Mac, on FlickrThis part of the walk was a bit of a slog but possibly due to the fact we were even more soaked through now and hadn't seen much else than hill sides or clouds for the last hour or more, at least the end was approaching but we were still in high spirits due to being out at high altitude:
20180915_173451 by Chris Mac, on FlickrGetting there...
20180915_174239 by Chris Mac, on FlickrA left after here and we were soon back at the start:
20180915_174248 by Chris Mac, on FlickrThere was only one other car left in the car park, we wasted no time changing into dry clothes then fending off the Ben Lawers car park midgies... yeah I remember them from Tarmachan a few years back... they are well trained to home in on hikers as soon as they relax back at the car and get changed, the wee bisms!
One frantic change later and we were heading back through torrential rain at Strathyre to return home to the south side of Glasgow via the motorways. I dropped Iain off then enjoyed a hearty home-made meal, result. It was yet another excellent walk and we're already planning the next one for this weekend... i'll be back here again to climb the other Munros and Corbetts around Loch Tay at some point, looking forward to it already.
