Meall Corranaich and Meall a' Choire Léith

30th May 2010

Two Munros today and my first foray into the Ben Lawers / Glen Lyon area. First things first, how do you pronounce the names of these 2 hills?

Meall Corranaich: Miaowl Korraneech (Hill of the Sickel) 1069m

Meall a' Choire Leith: Miaowl uh Horrer Leer (Hill of the Grey Corrie) 926m

I left Stirling at about 9:30 and had a great drive up over Glen Ogle and down to Loch Tay, then up the narrow road to the Ben Lawers nature reserve. Unfortunately the Ben Lawers Visitors Centre is now closed, so there's no facilities available there. The car park was full and plenty of people were heading off up towards Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers beyond. That's a ridge walk that I'm saving for next month. I carried on up the road and parked at the top of Lochan na Lairige. There were already a few cars there and the other parking spaces further up the road were full too. So it looked like I wouldn't have the hills to myself. To be expected given it's a holiday weekend and a popular area.

Checking the GPS I noted that the starting altitude was 540m, this seemed like cheating given the first peak was at 1069m. The initial hike was pretty heavy going crossing heather & peat moor with lots of tussocky grass and sphagnum moss. Fortunately I'd put my gaiters on from the outset, something I don't usually remember to do. Crossing this sort of ground is as hard going as it is up hill. I eventually reached the path up the shoulder of Meall Corranaich and slowly eased my way to the top. Great views to the west of Meall nan Tarmachan, with a cloudless top, though looking north dark clouds were gathering. The summit where I was heading was clear. Further up the shoulder good views to the south of Loch Tay and Ben Vorlich beyond. All those folk heading up the Ben Lawers ridge had cloudy summits.

The top of Meall Corranaich was pretty uninteresting, with no real cairn to speak of. The wind had really picked up and was pretty cold, especially turning north to head for Meall a' Choire Leith. The route was clearly laid out in front of me, with the impressive Coire Liath forming the bridge between the two mountains. After stopping was a bite and a drink I was soon on summit number 2. Meall a' Choire Leith is a broad rounded top mountain. The cairn was better than the previous hill, but again not that inspiring so I quicky turned and headed south west down a very steep slope.

On the descent I started getting the MC Hammer pants effect again. I don't know what it is with my hiking trousers; no matter how well I tighten the belt they seem to slip down to a Hammer-Time look. I have a second pair of the same trousers, same size, just a different colour and don't have the same problem. Weird eh?

Once down off the steep slopes it was another slog across the peat, heather and sphagnum moss. I passed a couple of large groups of folk at this stage, all heading back to the same car parks. I'm not sure that I could enjoy the hills walking in such large groups.

Fortunately the rain kept off. A good day in the hills, although the summits were a tad dull, the surrounding mountains were stunning and I'll be looking forward to getting up on the Ben Lawers ridge, hopefully on a clear day.

Distance: 10.8km

Time: 3:20

Ascent: 882m

Munros: 2 (total 7/283)

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Ben Ledi 25th May 2010 - An office trip out

For a while now there has been discussion around the office about getting out for a walk in the hills straight after work. Ross took the initiative and suggested a date, time and hill to walk. Ben Ledi was chosen. Ross had only been up it in the winter, Crispin hadn't been up it all and I went up last Autumn.

So a 5pm dart from the office was decided with no faffing. We got away by about 5:15! But, following a short stop off in Doune to pick up Crispin's boots we were kitted up and ready to walk by 6:05, so not too bad.

The initial part of the walk is up a steep path through the forest. Having done this last Autumn I knew what was coming and sure enough I was soon breathing hard and wishing Crispin would slow down a little. Once out of the forest and onto the shoulder of Ben Ledi we were fortunate to have a fabulous clear evening. We soon got good views north to Loch Lubnaig, Glen Ample and Beinn Each.

Progressing along the shoulder the walking became easier and the views better. At the point where the route turns from heading south to north west we were greeted with fabulous vistas to the south and across to the west. The guys pointed out various peaks, including those on Arran in the distance.

Ross was tracking the walk using the GPS on the blackberry. I had my old Garmin tracking the route and giving us the altitude. Comparing the altitudes given on both there was about a 40m difference between the two. Once at the top the Garmin was about 1m off the spot height for the trig point.

We reached the summit after about 1hour 40mins. More stunning views at the top in all directions. Ben More was exceptionally clear and the views beyond into the far distance gave some debate as to which ranges we could see. Waiting to see some of the arty shots that Ross will have taken, the light was pretty good so I'm sure there'll be some good un's.

We headed down from the summit following the path to the north, heading for Stank Glen. The descent was extremely steep, certainly preferable heading down it rather than going the other way. Ross was pointing out various birds he spotted en route. On the forestry path a small bird with pink feathers was spotted. Not sure what is was at the time, but I think it may have been a Whinchat.

The return route wound it's way down the hillside, through the forest again until we reached the end of Loch Lubnaig, with the final stretch along a tarmac road back to the carpark, just before 9:30. All in all this was a top notch way to spend an evening after work - a good straight forward walk, with excellent clear conditions, fabulous views and good company along the way. Will certainly plan to do another after work trip out. Maybe the Ochills next?

Walk time (including photo & food stops): 3:19

Walk distance: 8.44km

Total Ascent (if you believe the Garmin): 1168m

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Ben Lomond 9th May 2010

I’ve been looking at Ben Lomond on my walk to work for months now, thinking I’ll have to walk that one, but have always been put off by the guide books stating how over crowded it is. The over crowding is due to it being the most southerly Munro and being in easy day-tripper proximity to Glasgow. So, checking the weather for Sunday and needing a relatively straight forward and near-by hike I decided to give Ben Lomond a crack but make an early start to avoid the crowds and make sure I got a parking space at Rowardennan Pier. I also decided to take the “round the back” route up the Ptarmigan Ridge rather than up the easier tourist high way on the Southern slopes.

Sunday morning, looking out to Ben Ledi from our bathroom window the day appeared as forecast; dry but over cast with high cloud – good conditions. I left Stirling just before 8am, had a great traffic-free drive West to Loch Lomond and was parked and kitted up by 8:50. Lots of campers were just getting going for the day; cooking breakies and brewing up on camp stoves. Looking North West from the loch side there were great views of Ptarmigan and Ben Lomond, clearly showing where I was about to head.

Walking North along the “Bonnie Bonnie Banks” of Loch Lomond I first passed the impressive granite ring war memorial . After passing the Youth Hostel and following the West Highland Way briefly I soon left the main track and started the steep ascent upto Ptarmigan. You quickly find yourself onto open hillside with great views South across Loch Lomond , but you’re always very much aware of civilisation near by, with the A82 providing a sound track from the opposite bank of the loch. Quite a contrast to my previous outing on Ben Vorlich and Stuc á Chroin.

The climb up to Ptarmiagn was initially pretty hard work, but isn’t the first hour always the worst, especially when the going is up? Up infront of me a saw a group of 10 or so people straggled out along the route. The path was extremely straight forward and clear, with no real need to refer to map or guide book. This was the case for the whole walk. The rapid climbing soon provides clear and expansive views West to the Arrochar Alps, with the distinctive shape of The Cobbler (Ben Arthur) taking prominence .

Whilst ambling up these slopes (well, taking it step by step, breathing hard and sweating buckets) I noticed a walker approaching, following the same route as myself. Within 20 minutes he’d caught me up, commented on what a splendid day it was and zoomed passed me, out of sight in no time. He was probably in his late 60’s! Got to start running again.

As the path started zigzagging like a replica Alp d’Huez I caught the group of people walking ahead of me. They were a bunch of French students, mostly dressed in jeans and trainers. I wondered if they knew where they were being taken and if the weather changed how they’d get on. Further along I passed their teacher who asked if this was almost the top. I responded by saying that that depended on where they were heading. “Lomond” replied. As I pointed East to the summit she looked more than a little deflated. I was thinking to myself that it looked pretty challenging too!

The Ptarmigan was reached and the views were stunning across the Alps to the West, Loch Sloy to the North West and North to Ben Lui and Ben More. The path levelled out at this stage as it arced round to the East before starting the climb up the ridge to the summit. The path up was pretty steep with quite a few points requiring grabbing the rock in front of you. Having said that it was nothing compared to Stuc á Chroin a couple of weeks earlier. The local schists were quite stunning, really lustrous in the sunshine, with some fabulous folding on display.

I’d spotted a group of walkers on the way and stopped to say hello as they passed. They were all kitted up with swathes of Gore-tex, trekking poles, hats and gloves. They were clearly a happy bunch. The last guy told me that they were from Ayrshire and that this was their first Munro. He also told me that there wasn’t anyone else on the top. 5 minutes later I saw the trig point. This took me by surprise as I felt that there was still more climbing to be done. Sure enough I had the top to myself for 10minutes or so – absolutely fantastic. I had great views in all directions. As has often been the case on recent walks I could spot the Wallace Monument and Dumyat near Stirling and the distinctive Dumgoyne just north of Glasgow. Loch Katrine, Ben Vorlich, Ben Ledi and Ben Venue were all clear.

A couple of the quicker French students arrived on top and started inspecting the trig point. Trying to explain the purpose took some effort. I then headed off South down the highway. The view of Coire a' Bháthich was fantastic. The return to the loch side was quite a contrast to the climb to the top - decidedly dull! The sun came out and so did the crowds, though I don't think it was as busy as it could be. The National Trust were out repairing some of the path. They had an impressive little machine with caterpillar tracks for for moving rocks and boulders around.

Sure enough there were heaps of folk out on the hill and saying hello to everyone got a tad weary (I'm with Wainwright on that score), but it's great to see so many people out enjoying the countryside. Not sure if the guys I passed towards the bottom eating their picnic and getting stuck into the Buckfast made it to the top though. I completed the route in 4 hours 20 min, just about what the guide book suggested.

So that's my 5th Munro ticked off, not that I'm counting! Yes, of course I am. I really enjoyed the climb to the top via Ptarmigan. The route down is worth bearing in mind for a future walk with my nephews.

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