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Second Taste of Winter - Give Me More!!

Second Taste of Winter - Give Me More!!


Postby dooterbang » Thu Dec 14, 2017 8:55 pm

Route description: Ben More and Stob Binnein

Munros included on this walk: Ben More, Stob Binnein

Date walked: 09/12/2017

Time taken: 7 hours

Distance: 12 km

Ascent: 1400m

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Tasting the white stuff the previous week on Beinn an Lochain ignited a thirst for more, Ben More that would be :wink: And with such a good forecast predicted for Sunday its neighbour Stob Binnien would also be included. This pair are a great winter outing, one I've done many times.

An early rise meant I was parked up just after 8am, the temperature showing -9 :shock: Parking minutes after me were June and then Sandy. June is from Easterhouse (like me), Sandy from Dingwall but living in Glasow the last 3 months. June is a friend, so we set off together. Sandy 5 minutes afterwards.

Ben More is pretty relentless from the off, becoming very steep near its summit. Ascending its North Face meant the forecasted sunshine wouldn't be experienced until reaching the summit, a nice pay off for all the hard work. Walking past 30 sheep we started the ascent, an orange glow bouncing of the hills North with the views opening up nicely 8)

Winter Wonderland :D
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June coming up the rear...her first time wielding an axe, aye right :crazy: :lol:
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We took a steady pace, Sandy catching us with 300m to the summit. We had a quick chat and he moved ahead. Coming to the crags he took a left, I took a right when reaching them. The path was covered in snow which made some of the moves through the steep rocky face difficult, as was solidly planting the ice axe.

It took over 2 hours to reach the summit, rewarded with the sun firmly planted over Stob Binnien :)
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Summit
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June - reaching her 5th Munro, and first winter summit 8)
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Sandy was having lunch in a nice sheltered spot, so we joined him. Good chat was had, especially his story of hitching a lift in Yosemite with Alex Honnold 8). Sandy had initially planned only doing Ben More however seing we were doing SB he joined us :) Only before June drooped my mitt in a small crevasse which required two ice axes and two helping hands to get her out of it :crazy: :lol:

So the 3 amigos headed down the Southern slopes of Ben More, the sun shining brightly and providing some heat from the bitter cold. Views ahead simply stunning 8)
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More impressive looking North, clearly visible the CMD Arete & Ben Nevis - what a view 8)
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The descent to the bealach was great fun in the knee deep snow. Sandy and I started the ascent of SB and never stopped till reaching its summit, a good wee physical workout. June kept to her own pace and soon was standing on the summit with us. We dropped down its West face out of the biting wind for some sunshine & Irn Bru :D

Nice spot for relaxing 8)
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Before making our descent we posed for some photos :)
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The descent was also good fun as the snow was pretty deep. On lower ground we followed a landrover track back to the start. The sun was setting, providing a nice backdrop for the end of our walk 8)
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We got back to our cars just as darkness fell. What a great day out the 3 of us had :D Sandy was very experienced and provided great stories and knowledge. June was a newcomer to winter walking/walking mountains however she aquitted herself well :thumbup: That's two people from Easterhouse I've met in the last month on the hills :wtf: :lol: 8)

A great start to winter with two cracking walks done already, long may it continue 8)
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dooterbang
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Location: Isle of Skye from Feb 2019 (Originally Glasgow)

Re: Second Taste of Winter - Give Me More!!

Postby Pointless Parasite » Fri Dec 15, 2017 3:00 pm

When I climbed these two in October, the wind on SB was so strong I was very nearly blown clean off the mountain :crazy: . In contrast, there was no wind at all on Ben More.
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Pointless Parasite
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Re: Second Taste of Winter - Give Me More!!

Postby ancancha » Fri Dec 15, 2017 6:09 pm

That does look like the best of winter wonderland 8)
Glad you got out to enjoy it :clap:
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ancancha
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Re: Second Taste of Winter - Give Me More!!

Postby BlackPanther » Fri Dec 15, 2017 8:17 pm

Still to do this duo... Too far south for us :lol: :lol:

They look fantastic in white, maybe I'll get tempted :D
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BlackPanther
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Re: Second Taste of Winter - Give Me More!!

Postby katyhills » Sun Dec 17, 2017 11:58 am

Another lovely report in superb conditions. :)
I particularly like the summit views across to SB from Ben More. Fantastic. It's a great feeling being out in that kind of weather.

I did these on a hot day many years ago (I know - a hot day - who'd have thought! :wink: ) so it was a real slog going up most of Ben More, but the clag was down nearer the top and Stob Binnein was a bit of a disappointment as it was pretty much invisible. Must go back and do it from the other side some time.
katyhills
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Re: Second Taste of Winter - Give Me More!!

Postby Alteknacker » Sun Dec 17, 2017 7:07 pm

Some fantastic mountain porn there! Like Katyhills, I particularly like the view of SB from BM, with the sun perfectly positioned - it really answers the question: why to we flog up in winter!

Summit in 2 hours!?! That's going some. There are some fit folk around.... :D
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Alteknacker
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Re: Second Taste of Winter - Give Me More!!

Postby spiderwebb » Sun Dec 17, 2017 7:45 pm

Great pics Dooters, can't deny being jealous, so hoping the snow holds this year :D
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spiderwebb
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