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Ben Vane - Sunday 3rd July 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Ben Vane - byn vain (middle hill)

(Entry by Shona)

After an eventful Sunday morning, Bracken and I headed off to hike up Ben Vane in the Arrochar Alps. We took a leisurely drive to Tarbet and stopped for a quick break, then on to the Butterbridge parking area where we kitted up and moved off. 

At 2pm, with the sun beating down, it was a pretty long and frustrating walk in to Ben Vane along a gravel estate road. We passed some liver coloured cows with calves and Bracken behaved well, not even glancing at them.

After what seemed like an eternity, we made it to plantation gates at the bottom of the hill and began to ascend the rather long and boggy grass slopes. The going was slow due to the heat and awkward terrain. I paused a few times to drink some water and admire the surroundings only to look down at the path way below and see Eric and Alfie wandering along. Eek! Time to get a shift on, I started powering up the hillside. That didn't last long as I began overheating and ended up moving slower.

Beinn Dubh from Ben Vane.

I made it to the top of Beinn Dubh at 773m and took 5 mins to check out the surrounding peaks. Then made a short descent before heading up the shoulder of Ben Vane. The terrain went from long, wet grass to big open areas with wide, deep lochans that just seemed to appear from nowhere.

Ben Vorlich from Ben Vane.

We kept on climbing the shoulder and made it to the summit of Ben Vane by 4.15pm. The sun was still beating down as the midges began to realise we were there. I cracked open a can of cola and waited for the boys to arrive.

Bracken and I with Ben Lui on the horizon.

A half hour later they joined us on the summit and we discussed the ascent, taking some photos of the surrounding peaks. After a while the midges had us making for lower ground. The descent was pretty uneventful but slightly easier as we were able to pick a better route now that we could see the terrain from above. We soon made it down to the gravel road and it felt good to have solid ground beneath our feet.

A' Chrois with Ben Lomond in distance.

Bracken and Alfie on Ben Vane.

Alfie with Ben Lomond in background.

During the long wander out we chatted and joked, then decided out of nosiness to check out the little bothy on the left as you walk out the glen. We got back to the parking area and got the dogs settled before swapping our boots for comfy trainers, then headed down to Arrochar for a post-hike shandy on the Ben Arthur's Bothy terrace overlooking Loch Long.

Creise, Glen Etive - 27th June 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Creise - kraysh (unknown), Meall a' Bhuiridh - mowl a vooree (hill of the rutting stags)

(Entry by Shona)

We left Eric's house and headed for Glen Etive. Pitched our tent and enjoyed a nice meal while we watched the dogs, "Alfie and Bracken" run around.

On Monday we decided to hike up Creise. We got our gear sorted and took a wander along the River Etive to find a place to cross. The water levels were pretty high, so we headed further downstream, but could still not find anywhere safe to cross.

Back at the tent we studied the map and found there was a bridge a short drive down the Glen. We took the car along, parked up near the bridge and started our hike around 1pm.

The going was pretty tough to start with, through long, rough grass and very steep hillside. I didn't feel too peachy, but wanted to push on as the midges were horrendous. Eric and I decided to play the FNG (Famous Name Game) which took my mind away from feeling unwell.

We made the summit of Beinn Mhic Chasgaig at 864m but had to descend 165m to join the bealach which connected us with the ridge up to Creise and it's 1100m summit.

After a lot of whining from me, we eventually made it to the summit and decided to continue north towards the end of the ridge at Stob a' Ghlais Choire. We took in some nice views of Buachaille Etive Mor then headed back past the summit cairn of Creise and towards the head of Mam Coire Easain where we made a steep drop onto the ridge which took us up the western side of Meall a' Bhuirdh.

Several shots of Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor) from the Creise Ridge.

After this hard push to the summit at 1108m we were rewarded with excellent views across Rannoch Moor and Loch Tulla to the south. (It is on this peak that the weather readings are taken for the snow forecast information provided at the top right of our blog.) We took a short rest on the summit before heading back down the ridge linking the two Munros. We needed another rest at the top of the step back onto the main backbone of Creise, and as we replenished some liquids the clouds began to close in around us.

Clach Leathad with Stob a' Choire Odhair beyond.

Clach Leathad with Stob Ghabhar behind.

View to Loch Tulla from Meall a' Bhuiridh.

A very tiny Kings House Hotel from Meall a' Bhuiridh.

Stob a' Ghlais Choire, Stob Dearg (Buachaille) and Ben Nevis top right.

Looking out on the Rannoch Moor.

Step onto Creise Ridge from Meall a' Bhuiridh.

 Bracken and I have a rest, Alfie remains on guard duty.

 Coire an Easain.

We trudged onwards, heading west to the bealach on the north side of the Coire Odhar. Here we decided to drop down into the coire and join the north bank of the Allt Coire Odhair. The map states there is a footbridge crossing the river then a path down the valley to Glen Etive. The going was pretty steep but stable enough and we descended at a gentle pace.

I was lagging behind a bit and accidentally triggered a small rock fall, which sent a football sized rock hurtling towards Bracken. She sized it up, contemplated catching it in her mouth. Eric shouted out for her to move and I watched as with a second to spare she ducked and the rock hit Alfie square on the rump a few metres down the slope. With a slight look of surprise on his face he moved to Eric for some reassurance. Thankfully he seemed ok and we kept on moving towards the river.

Time pushed on and it was early evening as we reached the river. There was no footbridge, so we crossed using a tricky route of large boulders and stones. The path was visible but very wet and uneven. I picked out points of reference to keep me moving, I could barely lift my legs as I follow Eric and the dogs.

The path didn't seem to be descending as the river dropped far below us which was disheartening. Eventually the trail began to drop and we were nearly level with the river once more. It was here that the trail began circling round to the south, but we wanted to be heading west. I thought I could see a gap in the deer fence so shouted for Eric to wait. After checking the map again we see that there should be a river crossing near by, but we had to be on the other side of the deer fence. I headed for the fence, only to find that there was wire where I thought a gap existed. Eric shouted that there was a gate further back along the trail, so I had to trudge through waist high ferns to reach it.

We crossed the river again and were back on the trail. After what felt like an eternity the little cottages near the road came into view. Another 30mins of walking over very wet ground and we were back at the car, wolfing down crisps faster than I should, I ended up feeling rather ill. We made it back to the tent and gave the dogs an extra big feed. We then decided to lie down and chill for a bit to let our muscles recover from 8hrs solid hiking. It was hard work, but good for the soul. I felt tired but great, before falling into a deep sleep.

Climbing at The Whangie and Neilston Quarry - June 2011

While the weather was good we decided to take a trip up beyond Milngavie to do some climbing on the Whangie. It's a 30-40 minute trudge from the car park to the crags. Once there the climbing is quite limited and not a good place to climb if you like to place alot of protection.

Somewhere closer to home where the protection is more plentiful is Neilston Quarry. This is a great little stretch of crags for both trad climbing beginers and those looking to get their hands on real rock away from the indoor walls. The recorded routes are up to around 6a in difficulty, but by varying these routes and traversing the walls you can make it as difficult or as easy as you require.

The North Cuillins, Isle of Skye - 1st and 2nd June 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Bruach na Frithe - brooach na freea (slope of the deer forest), Am Basteir - am bastar (meaning obscure), Sgurr nan Gillean - skoor nan geelyan (peak of the young men)

 

It was a special time of year again, Last year we spent most of Shona's "birthday week" up in the Cuillins of Skye. This year we had planned to visit Arran and do some climbing around the A'Chir Ridge. The only problem with going to Arran would be that we'd be depending on good weather, as taking the car on the ferry is costly to say the least.

Sadly the weather was not going to play ball. Winds were tearing down trees and the rain just didn't give up over the weekend. With Arran ruled out, we decided that regardless of the rain we'd take the road north to Skye again, with an overnight stop on the way in Glen Etive.

We camped at our usual spot beside the River Etive and Shona christened her new stove, cooking up a hearty meal of sausages and noodles. Also getting it's first use was her new Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag, which she reported later as having been suitably toasty.
Tuesday night was exceptionally wet, I don't think it stopped raining all night. When we peered out of the tent on Wednesday morning we were both shocked at the level of the river right next to where we had pitched. Raging torrents of water swept past us only 3 metres away.

We contemplated returning to Glasgow, but thought "what the heck" and continued onwards to Skye. First stop was at Portree. Shona was on the look out for a nice piece of antler she had seen last year in a shop window, unfortunately the shop in question appeared to have changed hands and was now selling outdoor clothing, oh err! Some obligatory fish and chips were purchased down by the harbour instead, and we drove back to the campsite by the Sligachan Hotel.

Not many tents were utilising the site. The warden told us that several had been taken out to sea the previous day by the gale force winds...  not very reassuring. It was a struggle to pitch, but once up, our tent seemed to cope admirably with the fierce southerly gusts. Just in case, we parked the car as close as possible to shelter it, then took refuge in the Hotel for some refreshments.

Another very windy night of camping was had. Aided by the soundtrack outside, I think at one point I dreamt I was camped on Everest's South Col. Fortunately the rain had decided to ease and by the time morning came the sun was doing it's best to peer through the clouds. We knew from our trip to Skye last year that on the Cuillins the weather conditions really do make much more of a difference. The day was brightening up fast and by the time we had packed up all our camping gear the three peaks of Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Basteir and Bruach na Frithe were now in clear view, beckoning us to take a closer look.

We parked at the Sligachan Hotel car park and crossed the A863 onto a boggy track which took us towards the Alt Dearg Beag. The track follows the north side of the stream for a while before allowing an easy crossing over a well made wooden footbridge.
The track continues south to Coire Riabhach, but as we reached the protruding slopes of the ridge which walls up Coire a Bhasteir we moved southwest onto higher ground and started climbing up towards the Knight's Peak and Pinnacle Ridge.

The ascent from around 550m to 700m beneath Pinnacle Ridge was the toughest part of the route. Several steep gullies cut down from the jagged ridge above and every turn provides challenging terrain of scree, boulders and difficult gully crossings. There is a more defined path which connects the Coire a Bhasteir to the Bealach a Bhasteir, but we had chosen to climb up to the base of the Pinnacle Ridge further east, moving onto West Ridge just below Sgurr nan Gillean. 

Once upon the West Ridge it's a good idea to find somewhere comfortable to sit and await the summit traffic jams to clear. To summit Am Basteir it's best to let anyone already on the top to get back to the bealach as it's strictly a single track ascent. Much more challenging is the summit of Sgurr nan Gillean which many climbers prefer to do safely with ropes, harness and helmet. On the west side of the Am Basteir summit there is quite a few tricky down climbs to gain access to Bruach na Frithe. We decided to give these a miss as we had the dogs with us.

After enjoying a quick bite to eat back on the West Ridge we got ready to head back down into the Coire a Bhasteir, this time using the track. Two gents trudged past us on the ridge towards Sgurr nan Gillean, both had their gaiters on back to front, which was a bit worrying! The track quickly took us down to the base of the coire. We decided to skirt across the top of the Alt Dearg Beag to the east and retrace our steps in reverse from our earlier ascent.

We made it back to Sligachan in good time and dogs seemed pleased to curl up in the back seat of the car as we set off on our long journey southbound on the mainland.