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Once More Into The Bog...

Once More Into The Bog...


Postby Fudgie » Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:34 am

Route description: Ben Challum, near Tyndrum

Munros included on this walk: Ben Challum

Date walked: 30/12/2011

Time taken: 6 hours

Distance: 11 km

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After missing out on the Christmas Eve jaunt because of a dodgy knee, I was keen to get out and after a text sent to my friend Derek last night, we arranged to meet up and tackle Ben Challum. The forecast looked reasonable for this time of year and having read Rossco's report from yesterday, we thought the mountain shouldn't pose too many problems. We arrived at the layby on the A82 to find a few cars there already so we knew we wouldn't be alone.

We got off to a pacy start through the farm and across the railway but this didn't last long as we left the track and into the notorious bog which had a light dusting of snow on top of it making it doubly slippy. Very quickly the snow started to deepen but we were still making steady progress as we followed the fence up the hill and before long, we were into the cloud.

Still, the waterproof jacket remained in the bag along with my gloves as there was very little wind and the effort to push through the snow was keeping me warm. Every so often the depth of the snow would catch us by surprise and a foot would vanish into the soggy depths below followed by the all to familiar squelch as I pulled my foot out. We were still gaining height but underfoot it was starting to get icy so it was on with the crampons along with the jacket and also my gloves.

As we got closer to the summit, the wind made its presence felt and the snow which had been falling softly for most of the walk was now hurtling into us at great speed although mobility still wasn't too much of a problem. We charged on and after 3 hours made it to the summit in blizzard conditions but it was, as ever, a great feeling. After throwing down half a baguette and some lukewarm soup it was time for the descent.

About 5 minutes after leaving the summit I misjudged a step and ended up face first into the snow. I couldn't help but laugh at myself and for a lot of the descent, one of us would slip or stumble into deep snow but neither of us seemed to mind too much. Derek won the award for best fall of the day when he ended up chest deep in snow in a bog after the soft covering gave way :lol:

We continued our decent and eventually the views began to open up but it was obvious that a fair amount of snow had fallen whilst we were on the hill and it slowed our progress. Eventually we made it back to the car after 6 hours and we both agreed that it was a good day out in conditions which at times were testing.

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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby rockhopper » Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:03 am

well done managing this trip given the conditions - bog and snow sounds a bad mix - cheers :D
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby iainwatson » Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:05 am

when the views arent there i take on the 'challenge' of summiting if the weather is bad,never been beaten yet 8) even though today at corrour was the worst i've experienced(and should have really turned back),i still beat mother nature and got my two summits :D

well done for getting to the summit :D in reflection it(in my book) these turn out to be the most remembered days for battling the conditions :D
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby dannyboy2003 » Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:54 am

hey, we saw you on challum today! i was coming down with my son as you were going up...the weather really closed in later and i was wondering how you got along!

i enjoyed the day...wind wasnt too bad, nice and atmospheric! had a few nastly bum slides on the way down though!
challum is certainly a munro to do in winter when most of the bogs higher up are frozen!!!

the A82 cant have been much fun either!
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby Gavin99 » Sat Dec 31, 2011 9:24 am

Hi Fudgie, I reckon I met you too, I was having a cuppa on my way down when you stopped for a chat. Glad you made it , the weather got pretty nasty after that. Those half frozen bogs are certainly a bit of a trap !

Dannyboy , nice to meet you also , I would have been the first person making their way back down . I'm glad you made the summit, great to see the young lad motoring away up the hill in those conditions , it was truly miserable by the time I got back to the roadside.

Cheers y'all :D
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby Caberfeidh » Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:11 am

crampons on the wrong feet.jpg


Call me pedantic if you like, but your crampons are on wrong. The buckles might catch and trip you - you should arrange them so the buckles are on the outside. And if anyone else notices at the time, or you do something daft like post a picture of your basic schoolboy error on the interweb, your hill-cred will plummet like a crashing zeppelin. :lol:
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby Caberfeidh » Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:19 am

Caberfeidh wrote:
crampons on the wrong feet.jpg


Call me pedantic if you like, but your crampons are on wrong. The buckles might catch and trip you - you should arrange them so the buckles are on the outside. And if anyone else notices at the time, or you do something daft like post a picture of your basic schoolboy error on the interweb, your hill-cred will plummet like a crashing zeppelin. :lol:


You know, like the Hindenberg. Really crashing.... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby pollyh33 » Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:26 am

Yeeks that's a stinker :(

My husband and I did this one back in the 'summer' and it was a boggy miserable mess then too!!!! Oh yeah and no views either :( :(

Well done for getting out and about :thumbup: :thumbup:
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby quoman » Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:03 pm

Hi Fudgie
welldone on getting to the top, am waiting till the grounds a bit harder to do this one.
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby Fudgie » Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:41 pm

Danny and Gav, it was good to talk to you both and it always helps to talk to folk who have been to the summit to give us an idea of the conditions up there. Also, thanks to Danny's son for telling us his dad wears tights :lol:

Caberfeidh, the crampons are an old pair I inherited from my late father and I've never quite figured out the best way to wear them. I'm replacing them in the next week or so but I'll keep your advice in mind. I wouldn't want my hill cred plummeting the way I did into the snow yesterday :lol:

Polly & quoman, thanks for the comments and the snow over the bog kept us guessing as to when we would next disappear through it :D It's another one for my "return and do on a clear day" list".
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby Caberfeidh » Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:47 pm

Fudgie wrote:Caberfeidh, the crampons are an old pair I inherited from my late father and I've never quite figured out the best way to wear them. I'm replacing them in the next week or so but I'll keep your advice in mind. I wouldn't want my hill cred plummeting the way I did into the snow yesterday


They look good enough, a good Scotch ring fastening; much better and more reliable than step-ins or flimsy fabric bindings. Just on the wrong feet. :D
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby Fudgie » Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:58 pm

Silly me :lol: :lol: I never even thought they were on the wrong feet.
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby kevsbald » Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:38 pm

Well done Fudgie - glad the knee was okay - are you sure your knee played up last week or did you look out at the rain and think 'nah' - wouldn't blame you! :D Well done again.
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby Fudgie » Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:46 pm

kevsbald wrote:Well done Fudgie - glad the knee was okay - are you sure your knee played up last week or did you look out at the rain and think 'nah' - wouldn't blame you! :D Well done again.


Cheeky swine :D My knee had been bugging me all week at work so I thought I'll take it easy and go to the football. I got soaked there anyway :lol:
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Re: Once More Into The Bog...

Postby rockhopper » Sat Dec 31, 2011 4:57 pm

Fudgie wrote:Caberfeidh, the crampons are an old pair I inherited from my late father and I've never quite figured out the best way to wear them. I'm replacing them in the next week or so but I'll keep your advice in mind. I wouldn't want my hill cred plummeting the way I did into the snow yesterday :lol:


Looks like they may be Salewa 12 point classics from the 1980s - same as those which I still use. If so, they have 3 straps and 2 buckles and aren't "modern" or fashionable but they are flexible and I use them with Meindl Burmas which are B0 rated - just need to be careful but with the straps they do stay on well. (Also have Scarpa SL M3s but would need to adjust the crampons to fit them). Sharpened them for the first time with a file last winter. They can be adjusted to fit your boots (I still have the original instructions if any use). Two pictures below - the red arrow points to the area on the crampon where you'll see a "R" or a "L" (on mine they are R3 and L3) for right/left.

crampons.JPG


boot and crampon.JPG
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