Back To The Mountains

Back to the mountains for this weeks adventure as we tackle Ben Lui in Argyll.

Ben Lui is the highest and most famous of a group of four Munros that lie south of Glen Lochy, and about 10 km north of the top end of Loch Lomond. Having seen various images of its range of peaks we have been looking forward to conquer this one for some time.

It is early o’clock when we set of up the A82 towards Tyndrum where we turn left on to the Oban road for 10 or so miles to reach the well used car park at the foot of the climb in Glen Lochy. Recognising that it has been some time since we climbed a Munro, we set of in some trepidation as to the pain our thigh muscles may have to endure on the return down the 3703ft. It is not long before we meet our first obstacle in the shape of the free flowing River Lochy which thankfully is not in spate (we have heard stories of attempts on Ben Lui failing at this early hurdle). Managing to keep our feet dry we hop across some well placed stepping stones, this fine effort at even weight distribution to keep our pedis dry proves to be a complete waste of time as we immediately enter a forest with underfoot conditions that could only be traversed comfortably in fisherman’s waders.

After an hour trekking through the dense forest we break free of its confined enclosure and welcome our first view of the cloud covered summit above us. Hopeful that the summit will clear as forecast we press on up to the saddle which links Ben Lui with Bein a’Chleibh. From here we turn left and climb north east towards the summit. This part really does require the leg muscles and lungs to work in harmony as the ascent becomes increasingly vertical. As we reach the final plateau it becomes clear that there are in fact two summits to this mountain. There is a cairn marking the northwest summit, with the (true and the one most seen on film) southeast summit a short distance further across a dip.

Sadly the weather forecaster’s predictions turn out to be inaccurate as the clouds still remain at the summit and offer us only a brief glimpse of the beauty that spreads below us through intermittent breaks in the low cloud base. We decide to hunker down for 30 minutes in the hope that the cloud will disperse but depressingly the cloud cover becomes increasingly thicker and we decide to trek back down the mountain knowing the variances of the Scottish weather that the cloud will be clear and the sky deep blue by the time we reach ground level.

Coming back down our feet begin to dry off in time for us to re-enter the forest and get them reacquainted with the boggy conditions yet again and yes when we reach the car and look back at our conquered mountain we feel its inner smile as its tops are completely cloud free.

We may have straddled its peaks but its honour remains intact.

Beinn Odhar

For anyone lucky enough to travel north via the A82 Glasgow to Inverness road or aboard the scenic Glasgow to Fort William train, the mountain of Beinn Odhar will be a familiar sight as you climb north out of the village of Tyndrum, which stands proudly guarding the entrance to Glen Auch. The railway/A82 runs a wee bit too close to appreciate this hill's graceful form so it is best viewed whilst travelling south from the Bridge of Orchy, as seen in our photograph.

Beinn Odhar is a mountain that has been passed by us on numerous occasions as it has by thousands of commuters on a daily basis. It is also one that very few have attempted to climb. At a height of 901 metres (2956 feet) it fails to make Munro status (mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet ) by just 13 metres or 44 feet, thus making it the 18th highest Corbett (peaks in Scotland between 2,500 and 3,000 feet). Its failure though to achieve Munro status ensures a certain amount of solitude whilst climbing.
(In Scottish moutaineering circles, the majority of climbers attempt to ‘Bag a Munro’ whilst out climbing and anything below 3000 ft is regarded as not worthy of consideration.)

The anticipated weather conditions prove woefully wrong in their prediction as we park the car at the foot of the hill, 2.5 miles north of Tyndrum. A strong head on wind laced with sleet makes the lower part of the climb an unwelcome slog through boggy ground. We then find ourselves climbing or sliding up sheer ice where it is necessary to stamp the feet into the ground in order not to slide back down the mountain side. After quite a few slips and at one point Emma hanging onto dear life to a rickety old fence, to stop from blowing away, we reach a more sheltered landing. This has been a new experience for both of us and we feel that we have now progressed into the professional climbers club! Later we achieve considerable height and find that the wind/sleet sleet conditions have subsided and a beautiful vista over the Tyndrum and the surrounding hills has opened up.
Ahead of us lies the snow line at about 800 feet and a summit which proves to be false with a frozen unnamed Lochan nestling in its heart.

Tackling the final rise to the true summit the sun appears and warms our chilled extremities before we ascend the final plateau where the wind speed rises dramatically as the cairn marking the hills summit at 2956 feet.
Capturing a panoramic shot in such strong wind speeds proves to be a dangerous endeavor as the chill factor exerts extreme frostbite symptoms to the finger tips within 30 seconds of the removal of our gloves.

With our panoramic of the neighbouring Beinn Dorain captured we begin our descent from the summit in brilliant sunshine via the secluded south east flank with the Tyndrum Hills in our immediate horizon. The snow which is now disappearing rapidly provides a safe and comfortable foot bed as we bound down the hill at a leisurely pace and make our way back to the car 4 hours after our departure.