Hillwalking Thread

[IrishBhoy]

Went up Ben Lomond early hours of Friday morning aiming to get to the summit at sunrise. Obviously the weather hasn’t been great but we thought we would see some nice colours coming through the sky as the sun appeared etc. We left the car park at 4.50am and were at the top for just before 7. As you can see from the picture, our idea of what we were going to see at sunrise was wildly different from reality.
 

 

The rain was literally coming in sideways and the wind was gusting to uncomfortable speeds so we spent about 30 seconds at the trig and decided to head back to the car to eat the soup and sandwiches I had brought. Even though the conditions were terrible it was an enjoyable walk and I was back home before lunchtime. About half way up we came across a flock(?) of Ptarmigans which was good to see, although my friend doubted my bird knowledge and thought they were ‘white pigeons’. 

[Swello]

Nice trip up to Ardgour to do Sgurr Dhomhniall, the highest mountain in that quiet part of the Highlands. I headed up on Friday after work with the Scotland game on the Radio and as we are now in November and the Highlands are a lot emptier, I rolled onto the 2nd last Corran ferry of the day with a bit of time to spare.

It's a decently long day of 20km+, so I headed off at first light and was enjoying the main bonus of this walk, a wander through the Aruindle oakwoods. I was probably a couple of weeks late for peak Autumn colours but it was still looking good

The path up though the woods to the old lead mine is good going (apart from a dodgy bridge over a gully) and so I made decent time for this part of it. 

After a tricky river crossing, it was then standard ridge walking in this part of the country - lumpy and hard going. The weather was really still and it was classic inversion conditions - I wasn't lucky enough to see a proper one but I'm sure other people were lucky this weekend

The summit was frustrating - I had blue sky right above me but I was in the clouds. I hung around for 45 mins in the hope it would clear but it didn't and I was getting chilled, so headed down and enjoyed the views all the way out.

Really nice Autumn walk this one - the early start had me back at the car at 2.30pm and back on the ferry 30 mins later. The sunset in Glencoe and down to Bridge of Orchy was stunning - I wanted to get home, so wasn't stopping for pictures.

[Benjamin_Nevis]

A couple of recent walks - firstly my "home turf" of Glen Clova. I got up a 5am for the shortish drive from Forfar to climb Craig Mellon - it's the hill that sits behind the Ranger Centre at Glen Doll looking right down Glen Clova. I'd worked out that sunrise would be right in line with the length of the glen it overlooks. Thankfully it's a shortish climb and I found a decent spot in around an hour or so from the car park, just below the summit ridge. The plan worked and sunrise was pretty cool.

After hanging about for half an hour I headed along the peaty, wide summit ridge to Davie's Bourach (an absolutely shite heatherbash for the last few hundred yards) then back down to the car park. The light at this time of year is glorious in the right conditions. 

All in all a fairly enjoyable 9 mile walk which doesn't bag anything as such but gives some superb views. 

Onto Storm Arwen. I took Friday off for our annual hillwalking group piss up at Corran Bunkhouse and somehow timed it perfectly. Left Forfar at 6am before the weather turned nasty with the intention of shooting sunrise from Meall Mor, a wee Marilyn (it's the hill on the left after the Loch Tulla viewpoint with the mobile mast halfway up). Anyway, parked up for a fag and a pish and almost got blown over by a gust of wind. Seeing some oncoming menacing snow clouds I quickly binned that idea and spent the day pissing about in Fort William, then back to the bunkhouse to catch up with friends and get pished. 

Saturday brought a better than expected forecast with clear conditions, winds "only" gusting to 50mph at 800m height and a wind chill of -15c. Splendid. We chose Stob a'Coire Chearcaill, a fine corbett south of Loch Eil. Weirdly the wind never really got over about 10mph on the summit giving us almost perfect winter conditions and some stunning views. It was weird with a few of us getting panicked texts from partners back home telling us to stay off the mountains because of the mental storm. 

Anyway, views. 

Loch Eil and Glenfinnan:

Benjamin Nevis and the Fort:

Streap (I think):

What was supposed to be a quick smash and grab in wild conditions turned into one of my favourite ever winter walks. This would be immediately eclipsed on Sunday. A slightly more sensible Saturday night first with only a few beers as I didn't want to chance a 3 hour home the morning after a skinful. We woke up to an unexpected covering of snow. 

Looking up to Stob a'Coire Chearcaill from Corran:

After saying our goodbyes it was time to head home. I had my winter gear with me so decided to climb something in Glencoe if conditions looked favourable. A stop at Loch Achtriochtain confirmed that today would be pretty special. 

I devised a plan to head up the wee Buachaille, climb both it's munro summits then if time allowed, head round to climb Meall Mor for sunset. The WB was busy as f**k and I got almost the last space in the car park. I quickly knew today was going to be stunning. 

I got to Stob Dubh slightly ahead of schedule in 1.5 hours and was treated to a surprise view of Loch Etive under a cloud inversion. It was absolutely stunning. 

Back to the bealach and up to Stob Coire Raineach for a bite to eat and more ridiculous views. 

Time to head back down. The descent took a bit longer than expected as the stone staircase was covered in thin layers of solid ice, and I then managed a full length dive after a stone brought me down for a stonewall penalty literally 5 minutes from the car. My knee smacked into another rock resulting a very loud and echoey FUUUUUUUCKKKKKKK. I hobbled back to the car just over three and a half hours after setting out. What a fucking day. With my knee bleeding and barely able to bend my leg properly I had to sack Meall Mor again and headed home, whereupon I had the joyous task of peeling my running tights from the thickened, half scabbed bloody mess on my knee cap. Showering and rubbing savlon on the fucker was an absolute joy. 

Genuinely one of my favourite hill weekends ever. 

Edited November 30, 2021 by Day of the Lords

[Swello]

26 minutes ago, Day of the Lords said:

A couple of recent walks - firstly my "home turf" of Glen Clova. I got up a 5am for the shortish drive from Forfar to climb Craig Mellon - it's the hill that sits behind the Ranger Centre at Glen Doll looking right down Glen Clova. I'd worked out that sunrise would be right in line with the length of the glen it overlooks. Thankfully it's a shortish climb and I found a decent spot in around an hour or so from the car park, just below the summit ridge. The plan worked and sunrise was pretty cool.

After hanging about for half an hour I headed along the peaty, wide summit ridge to Davie's Bourach (an absolutely shite heatherbash for the last few hundred yards) then back down to the car park. The light at this time of year is glorious in the right conditions. 

All in all a fairly enjoyable 9 mile walk which doesn't bag anything as such but gives some superb views. 

Onto Storm Arwen. I took Friday off for our annual hillwalking group piss up at Corran Bunkhouse and somehow timed it perfectly. Left Forfar at 6am before the weather turned nasty with the intention of shooting sunrise from Meall Mor, a wee Marilyn (it's the hill on the left after the Loch Tulla viewpoint with the mobile mast halfway up). Anyway, parked up for a fag and a pish and almost got blown over by a gust of wind. Seeing some oncoming menacing snow clouds I quickly binned that idea and spent the day pissing about in Fort William, then back to the bunkhouse to catch up with friends and get pished. 

Saturday brought a better than expected forecast with clear conditions, winds "only" gusting to 50mph at 800m height and a wind chill of -15c. Splendid. We chose Stob a'Coire Chearcaill, a fine corbett south of Loch Eil. Weirdly the wind never really got over about 10mph on the summit giving us almost perfect winter conditions and some stunning views. It was weird with a few of us getting panicked texts from partners back home telling us to stay off the mountains because of the mental storm. 

Anyway, views. 

Loch Eil and Glenfinnan:

Benjamin Nevis and the Fort:

Streap (I think):

What was supposed to be a quick smash and grab in wild conditions turned into one of my favourite ever winter walks. This would be immediately eclipsed on Sunday. A slightly more sensible Saturday night first with only a few beers as I didn't want to chance a 3 hour home the morning after a skinful. We woke up to an unexpected covering of snow. 

Looking up to Stob a'Coire Chearcaill from Corran:

After saying our goodbyes it was time to head home. I had my winter gear with me so decided to climb something in Glencoe if conditions looked favourable. A stop at Loch Achtriochtain confirmed that today would be pretty special. 

I devised a plan to head up the wee Buachaille, climb both it's munro summits then if time allowed, head round to climb Meall Mor for sunset. The WB was busy as f**k and I got almost the last space in the car park. I quickly knew today was going to be stunning. 

I got to Stob Dubh slightly ahead of schedule in 1.5 hours and was treated to a surprise view of Loch Etive under a cloud inversion. It was absolutely stunning. 

Back to the bealach and up to Stob Coire Raineach for a bite to eat and more ridiculous views. 

Time to head back down. The descent took a bit longer than expected as the stone staircase was covered in thin layers of solid ice, and I then managed a full length dive after a stone brought me down for a stonewall penalty literally 5 minutes from the car. My knee smacked into another rock resulting a very loud and echoey FUUUUUUUCKKKKKKK. I hobbled back to the car just over three and a half hours after setting out. What a fucking day. With my knee bleeding and barely able to bend my leg properly I had to sack Meall Mor again and headed home, whereupon I had the joyous task of peeling my running tights from the thickened, half scabbed bloody mess on my knee cap. Showering and rubbing savlon on the fucker was an absolute joy. 

Genuinely one of my favourite hill weekends ever. 

Stunning - top picture is a joke

[Benjamin_Nevis]

30 minutes ago, Swello said:

Stunning - top picture is a joke

Aye that was unexpected. Light was completely flat about 10 mins before that and I was partially seething that I could still have been in my bed 

[gannonball]

Looking to so the Carn Mairg circuit from Inverar,  is it easy enough to do in the snow by yourself I take it?
Was hoping to get up to 100 by end of the year so need to bash this as on 95 then working over xmas and newyear.

[Swello]

It's a straightforward circuit in the summer - but I'd imagine you'll be walking in snow for much of it, so it could be a reasonably tough day depending on how much accumulates. My main concern would be daylight given we're only a couple of weeks off midwinter...

I think it's also the infamous North Chesthill estate, who pretend that they are stalking full time in December, so discourage access of any sort - so I'm not sure of the situation there as they are the worst estate in the country for this stuff.

[Chinatoon Bairn]

Ben More and Stob Binnein early Sunday morning this week for my first bit of proper winter walking. Temperatures in and around the -15°, winds of 50-60mph and well over a foot of snow in places. Really enjoyable day on the hills even if my arse was going like a rabbits nose at points. 

A much steeper walk than I had initially bargained for with a staired start which I generally hate but weirdly looking forward to doing this again in the summer just to see exactly how far off the path I came

Got plenty of cracking photos but unfortunately I'm hamstrung by the 8MB limit so here's a carefully trimmed panoramic from Ben More's trig point sitting at 7.9MB.

If someone could recommend me some B2 walking boots, preferably light, that would be appreciated. I'll be adding some other winter walking gear to my Christmas list after this one.

[IrishBhoy]

Any posters got a suggestion for a  nice ‘safe’ munro to climb over the winter months? Desperate to get out and see the peaks with their snow caps on.

Just looking for a hill that’s known to be safe underfoot with no risk of falling down snow covered gulleys etc. Im thinking most of the hills around Loch Lomond will be within my capability in these conditions, Beinn Narnain the only one that might be a bit sketchy up the front way. 
 

 

[invergowrie arab]

12 hours ago, IrishBhoy said:

Any posters got a suggestion for a  nice ‘safe’ munro to climb over the winter months? Desperate to get out and see the peaks with their snow caps on.

Just looking for a hill that’s known to be safe underfoot with no risk of falling down snow covered gulleys etc. Im thinking most of the hills around Loch Lomond will be within my capability in these conditions, Beinn Narnain the only one that might be a bit sketchy up the front way. 
 

 

Sorry to be that guy but there are no "safe" winter hills and none that are safe underfoot. You need axe and crampons and the knowledge of how to use them. People have died on hills as benign as Ben Lomond in recent years.

The Arrocher hills are are steep and rocky. Horrible ground to be on when they ice up.

Best best are hills as broad and grassy as you can get. Something like Ben Chonzie or the Glenshee hills.

Creag nan Gabhar for me today. Absolutely baltic.

Edited December 12, 2021 by invergowrie arab

[Detournement]

Ben Ledi is an easy winter walk with nice views. 

Ben Lomond can be tricky in the winter in the last few 100 metres if there is a whiteout. 

[Swello]

20 hours ago, invergowrie arab said:

Sorry to be that guy but there are no "safe" winter hills and none that are safe underfoot. You need axe and crampons and the knowledge of how to use them. People have died on hills as benign as Ben Lomond in recent years.

The Arrocher hills are are steep and rocky. Horrible ground to be on when they ice up.

Best best are hills as broad and grassy as you can get. Something like Ben Chonzie or the Glenshee hills.

Creag nan Gabhar for me today. Absolutely baltic.

The Drumochter hills are the ugly stepchild of Munros as they are a bit featureless - but I did them all in full winter conditions and had a great time (and given they are done from the A9, they tend to be accessible even when the road conditions on minor roads would be bad/impassable and they are short-ish and compatible with daylight restrictions - so I would recommend them as long as your navigation and winter skills are passable (white outs are common on these types of hill and so it's really important.)

Some hills that have a "tourist path" up them are deceptively dodgy as these well built paths mask how steep the hills really are in a lot of cases and in winter when there is ice and the line of the path is hidden, they become considerably more serious.

The one time I've seen something really bad happening on the hills was on Ben Vane at Loch Lomond, (which is easy in Summer) when a guy in the group ahead of me coming down started sliding due to the fact that he had no crampons on and because his axe was on his pack(!), he went right over the edge. I believe he got badly injured but didn't die - so he was fucking lucky. At the time, it totally freaked me out and it's honestly the main reason that I practice self arrests every year as soon as I'm out in the right conditions (and with no real winter walking in 20/21 due to lockdown, it'll be extra important this year)

ETA - sorry, reply was meant to be for @IrishBhoy, not @invergowrie arab 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Swello

[invergowrie arab]

I should have said the reason I'm a fanny about winter conditions on the "easy" hills is going on a 100 foot slide down Ben Vorlich at Loch Lomond. I wasn't in any danger of going off a cliff but a fast tumble down rocks and ice isn't to be recommended.

I was on my own at the end of the day with the sun going down and I still get a bit freaked about what a snapped ankle or a bang on the head might have meant in those circumstances.

Anyone who has walked the hills in a downpour knows these man-made hill paths are also natural water courses which then freeze up and the compacting action of people walking on snow means the paths hold ice and snow long after the snow goes on the surrounding hill.

I hate the man made paths at the best of times, even a slight bit of mud or rain on polished granite leaves them treacherous to walk on at any time of year.

[Swello]

22 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

I hate the man made paths at the best of times

Just do Corbetts and you'll never need to worry about that again

[invergowrie arab]

Looks like we might be in for some inversions over the weekend and beyond according to MWIS. 

[Chinatoon Bairn]

Friday through to Monday seems like the weather is going to be cracking regardless of where you are. Next to no wind either which is always a plus.

[Benjamin_Nevis]

Think it'll be the Gaick Corbetts for me. Nice easy day with the bike in and out. Glen Doll is basically shut for anyone considering Mayar and Driesh. They'll likely need to be accessed from Glen Prosen instead

[invergowrie arab]

9 hours ago, Day of the Lords said:

Think it'll be the Gaick Corbetts for me. Nice easy day with the bike in and out. Glen Doll is basically shut for anyone considering Mayar and Driesh. They'll likely need to be accessed from Glen Prosen instead

For Mayar only it's a decent circuit from Auchavan at the end of the road in Glen Isla and no longer than either Doll or Prosen. 

Good walking around the corrie at Finalty or down into Caenlochan if you are feeling adventurous.

[Benjamin_Nevis]

1 hour ago, invergowrie arab said:

For Mayar only it's a decent circuit from Auchavan at the end of the road in Glen Isla and no longer than either Doll or Prosen. 

Good walking around the corrie at Finalty or down into Caenlochan if you are feeling adventurous.

Aye I've been meaning to have a wander into Caenlochan Glen for a while. It looks like an alternative route to Tom Bhuidhe as there's an old faint path that heads up to near Ca Whims. 

[invergowrie arab]

Caenlochan is a great wee spot. Very un-Angus/Perthshire. More like the big Cairngorms corries further north and very easy walking around the rim and i will say this for b*****ds on the shooting estates. I don't always hate a wee landy track or stalkers path.

As you would expect once you head off east towards Jocks Road it gets lumpy and haggy.