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When I decided to go hiking in Scotland, the Ben Lomond kept coming up as a must and favorite. Seeing the difficulty level and the reasonable number of hours, I decided to make my first attempt at bagging a Munro!
It was raining when I started, but quite warm. So me and some others on the trail kept switching gear: jacket of, raincoat on etc. I chose the route for its views on the Lochs, which I didn’t see at all making my way up. Due to the rain and clouds in general, I couldn’t see more than 100 feet ahead... So, I put my head down and followed the footsteps of those who came before me that day. An intriguing and beautiful climb even with little visibility!
As I made my way up, the rain stopped and was replaced by an increasing amount of snow and wind. But, having prepared myself reading this site and mountain-forecast, I had the proper gear on me and put my crampons on. Due to bad visibility, the final push and climb up was quite tricky navigating a steep patch of icy snow and then being exposed to some gushes on the open plain that followed (see pics). But how rewarding was making it to the top! Even though I couldn’t see anything, me and a few others who did make it felt elated and accomplished. I had planned to take the alternative route back, but seeing that no one had ventured that way yet and therefore would lack other people’s track to follow, combined with the tricky circumstances, I made my way back the same way I came. Many people I’d past did not make it up, mostly due to lacking gear (regular shoes and jeans) I suppose.
Then I got rewarded again on my way down, as the sky cleared up once I’d past the snowy part and I finally got to see the view of the lakes. Absolutely stunning and 100% worth the climb up
:) I sat down on a rock halfway to take it all in for a couple minutes and devour the tea and pie I had taken up. Beautiful. Couldn’t have picked a better Ben to bag as my first!
A true Scottish romance, with Ben Lomond and all 4 seasons in a day.
