free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Kicked out of bed at 3am by Mrs 2d - apparently I was already walking up the hill in my sleep. She indicated that I was seriously disrupting her beauty sleep!!
I went down stairs to have a cup of tea, and after half an hour I thought I might as well just get ready and go and I might get the chance to see a sunrise in the hils if mother nature co-operated.
So we (Ruby and me) set off just after 4am, heading towards Killin and the Lawers reserve finally reaching the parking spot at Loch An Daimh. As we arrived just before dawn we were treated to the magnificent sight of a large herd of deer.
. (I suspect the first people to arrive at the car park each day have a fair chance of seeing this herd). After a brief staring contest the herd slowly moved off across the hillside. Phew! I dont think either us fancied walking through the middle of all those stags!!!
5 minutes later we were off and heading up the hill. At this point conditions were just perfect. Only one or two clouds in the sky and very little wind. That would soon change
The initial climb up the steep hillside was a real drag with boggy and very slippy conditions underfoot. However the views as the sun broke the horizon more than made up for this. I was delighted to see An Stuc in the Lawers range basked in early morning sunshine - the climb from the previous week. I got a better view from 15 miles away than I did from 15 feet last week!!
As we gained height I started to get a great view of Stuc An Lochan across the otherside of the Dam. I can't wait to get back to tackle this one!
- Stuchd an Lochan panorama
Just as we pulled up out of the first climb and I settled into my walking rythmn I noticed a storm moving in from the west. If the walk had been more difficult with scrambles or steep climbs I would have seriously considered turning around at this point. However I knew from the map and reports that there really wasnt anything too difficult ahead and so we carried on. 20 minutes later it felt like we were in the middle of a full scale hurricane with a mixture of snow and sleet lashing us in the face and we pushed on up the hill.
- An Stuc quickly disappearing from view
As we reached the summit ridge the wind and the windchill was absolutely ferocious and I was really thankful for the marker cairns dotted along the top.
I think at the point Ruby would gladly have called it a day!
- summit ridge
As we pulled along the ridge the clouds began to clear although the wind was still as bad as ever. Probably the worst I have felt so far on a summit ridge and I guess because I happened to be there just as a squall hit the mountain.
- First view of the summit cairn as the clouds begin to clear
And after 1hr 50 minutes we reached the summit, staying just long enough to take a few pictures. At this point I think we were both starting to get frostbite on the tips of our noses!!!
- summit cairn panorama
- another one for Rubys scrapbook!
- Summit cairn looking over towards Stuchd an Lochan
Once back down off the summit ridge the wind dropped to almost nothing and the sun came out again. It was almost warm enough to sunbathe!!!
- Ruby with the new collar Mrs 2d bought for her. Think I will remove this for future photo's - she is a Tomgirl Dog afterall!!
The walk back to the car was uneventful although we did stop and have a brief chat to the only 2 other people we had seen all day - a couple of guys who had driven up from Edinburgh to tackle this munro. Nice chaps.
A final glimpse over to Stuch An Lochan - we will be back soon to walk that one. It looks like a superb day out!
- Stuchd An Lochan
We also saw this beast in the distance - not sure which one Nevis, Starav???? anyone confirm.
- Ben?????
So after almost 3 hours we were back at the car just around 9am with the whole day still ahead of us. Unfortunately plans back in Stirling meant no more walking though!!
Still a brillian way to spend Saturday morning