Ben Vane - 2nd Munro

[lomondwalkers]

I thought i'd pop my walk report cherry with Tammy and myselfs 2nd Munro, so go easy on me if i start to jibber!!

Having bagged Ben Lomond 6 weeks ago (from when we did Ben Vane) for charity (It was meant to be a one off!!! ) and having bagged a few smaller hills, we had definitely caught the bug!!! So we decided it was time to up the ante slightly, and Ben Vane seemed to fit the bill perfectly (and it did!!! ). Parked at Inveruglas Visitor Centre, and took the tarmac road towards Loch Sloy, as per the website. The hill was steep, slightly airy in places (for a pair of amateurs ), had a couple of short but fun scrambles, and stunning views across Loch Lomond, Loch Arklet, and Loch Katrine.

The walk in on the tarmac road that leads to the Loch Sloy Dam, was a surprisingly enjoyable one, with fab views of Ben Vorlich, and A'Chrois, and of course, todays target of Ben Vane. As the road swung round towards the Dam, we took the left fork and over the burn, and then a right onto the hill around 400m further on. The ground was very boggy from the start, but well worth the slog for the views that open up over the Loch Sloy Dam to your right and Loch Lomond, Arklet and Katrine behind you.

Loch Sloy Dam and Ben Vorlich

Loch Lomond, Loch Arklet, Loch Katrine

Once we got over the halfwaymark , the boggy stuff gave way and the crags began to appear, eventually leading to our 1st small scramble, just what we had been looking for. I bravely let Tammy lead the way!!

Tammy leading the way on our 1st scramble

Up until now, the weather hadn't been too bad with the tops clear, but as we neared the summit (false one of course!!!! ) the cloud started rolling along the top of Ben Vorlich to our right.

Ben Vorlich disappearing into the cloud

As we got towards the summit, the view behind us towards Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond, with A'Chrois in the foreground, was nothing short of stunning.

Ben Lomond, Loch Lomond and A'Chrois

Just as we were beginning to wonder if Ben Vane was secretly a hill of never ending false summits, we came across only the second group of walkers of the day, who assured us it was a wee scramble and 5 mins from the summit... and they weren't wrong... Good times!!!!

Final scramble before the summit

Narnain, The Cobbler and Ime from the summit

Cloud just about missing the peaks of the Crianlarich Hills

Feeling the chill in July!!

Yours truely also feeling a wee nip in the air

We had been slightly concerned about the descent, due to all the crags, but we pretty much retraced our steps without too many hassles. All in all Ben Vane is a great hill if you are inexperienced like us, path is fairly easy to follow ( though we did lose it briefly on the descent after the crags!! ). Steeper than we had anticipated, and slightly airy in bits to a couple of people that usually suffer vertigo 3 rungs up a ladder, but it all added to the sense of achievement I'd definitely recommend it.

[magicdin]

Good first report - Ben Vane is a great wee hill - and steep
I seem to remember reading that the southern side of the hill above Coiregrogain is one of the steepest grass slopes in the Scottish hills