free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
(Ok, not many muscles on me but the ones in my legs are in no too bad nick
.)
Got to the starting point about an hour later than planned but, with daylight until 6pm, I was not worried about time. The first 3km are pretty uninspiring along the farm track which does at least gain a decent amount of height.
Leaving the track and it was straight up the steepish SE ridge of Beinn a' Chochuill.
In the lee of the wind and early afternoon sun, the going was surprisingly warm for February (translation: I was sweating buckets
). Fortunately the views of Ben Cruachan were, frankly, superlative
.
Once I'd reached the summit ridge, it was just a simple wander to the cairn. There was less snow underfoot than it appeared from lower down and crampons were not needed. There were great views S to nearby Cruachan, N to Loch Etive and Ben Starav and E to everything from Arrochar to Rannoch Moor.
On my way to the bealach between the 2 Munros a hail shower threatened, but passed to the north
.
After a quick break it was just a 45 minute pull to the summit of the second Munro. I met a family of 4 here - the only other people I saw all day (the benefits of an 11:30am start in winter
).
The descent was unusually enjoyable at a very easy gradient for most of the way, aside from a short section from the ridge back to the track.
From the track it was just a 25 minute walk back to the car in the warm afternoon sun - it felt more like April than February
.