Beinn Ime, Arrochar - 1st May 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Beinn Ime - byn eem (butter hill)

This was the first Munro that Alfie my Springer did last year when he was just on the turn of pup to young dog. On that occasion we took the route up between the Cobbler (Ben Arthur) and Beinn Narnain.

This time we tackled it from the western side with Shona bringing Bracken along for her 3rd K9 Munro-bag. Beinn Ime is the tallest peak among the Arrochar Alps, and ascending from the west is a relatively short route. It is however a very steep trek up constant grassy slopes.

Starting from the Butterbridge car park in Glen Kinglas we headed into the glen then veered right onto the hill and steadily upwards towards the Glas Bhealach between Beinn Chorranach and Beinn Ime. Two gullies cut down from the Bhealach and in my opinion it's best to stay on the left of both during the ascent. A pair of hikers ahead of us attempted to go up over to the right of these gullies and seemed to find the terrain much steeper and slower.

A mixture of spongy moss and springy heather in places made this route quite tiresome on the thighs. Such slopes always seem to look far tamer from below, where the eye automatically assumes that the greenery is close cropped. It comes as some relief to make it to the Glas Bhealach. The ground underfoot is much firmer and you now feel like you're progressing towards the summit of Ime. It's now just a case of climbing due south to the summit. There are a few visible tracks that can be taken, but you really can't go wrong as long as you keep the apex of the route as your target.

On this occasion the weather could not have been better and once on the summit, views in all directions were stunning. There is a very elaborate summit cairn on Beinn Ime, almost like a little turret which can be used to shelter from the wind. Today the wind was whipping in from the east, so Shona and I took to the western outside wall of the cairn to grab our lunch. We chatted with the hikers who had been ahead of us on the right side of the gullies on their ascent. I think they had been surprised that we had reached the summit cairn a good 10 minutes before them. Another group arrived on the summit from the southern approach, so we got our packs back on and headed back down to the Glas Bhealach.

We were pondering the possibilities of crossing over to Ben Vane to the east. Instead we decided to drop east into the Gleann Uaine for a pleasant longer walk off the mountain. Heading north we arrived at a controlled mixed forest plantation skirting the top of Glen Kinglas. Ironically the deer fencing set up to prevent red deer from stripping the young trees had in fact trapped a large group of deer inside the plantation.

From here we stepped onto the estate dirt track and followed it leisurely back down to the junction on the A83.

Being a Sunday before a Bank Holiday Monday, the Drover's Inn was packed out. No seating available, so we boosted on up to Tyndrum to get to Paddy's Grill before they stopped serving food for the night. Paddy's in Tyndrum is great. Good pub grub with big portions and no fuss. Well behaved dogs are allowed in the bar too, which is a necessity for us.