On 12th May 2019, we tried to climb a munro. We succeeded in reaching the summit, however... this demon mountain was initially graded as a munro (mountains over 914.4 meters) until it was remeasured, someone went 'oops, that Mr Munro's ruler was out by 13 meters' and it was subsequently re-graded as a corbet. Far from being disheartened with that information, five of us headed up there Sunday morning.
I didn't have the best start to the day though. Only 5 meters from the car, I slipped and fell into the river! My first thought after any tumble (there has been a few!) is "do I feel alright, any pain, any breaks, did anyone see?" with my second thought in this instance being "wow, these trousers and new boots are really waterproof" – wish I could have said the same for my cotton t-shirt which took two hours to dry!
Dignity was regained 10 minutes later…
I love the Arrochar Alps and have completed all the munros in the area. As I climb, I'm really enjoying becoming familiar with the area, recognising other hills I have taken on and finding others that I haven’t. I had spotted Beinn an Lochain from neighbouring Ben Donich which we had climbed the previous week (incidentally, Donich is my new favourite hill)
We couldn’t have asked for better conditions – it was spectacular and the ideal weather for walking. The sun was shining, only a few clouds in the sky and a slight chill in the wind to keep us cool.
The Beinn an Lochain climb begins immediately and it is steep. And continues steeply although there are a lot of ‘well placed’ large areas (thank you nature) for rest stops (or camping) This walk is not for the faint hearted with many steep drops along the way to keep you on your guard! As we arrived at the summit, the chilly wind turned warmer and allowed us almost an hour’s break to eat, do yoga (yes, you heard right), take pictures and chill out barefoot. This is quite a rare occurrence with the elements usually chasing us back down – rain, hail, snow, impending dark clouds and extreme winds all usually bully us from respite so a day like this is such a treat.
We opted to descend the other side of the hill which is just as steep, has no track and has thick, bouncy terrain which was quite slippery - cue my second fall of the day. Unfortunately, no one saw my impressive splits but my left foot almost took Claire out as she sledged down hill to avoid a similar fall. I would say picture the scene but best not…
The day was finished with our usual Arrochar stop at Ben Arthur’s Bothy in the beer garden overlooking Loch Long in the shadows of the Cobbler (aka Ben Arthur)