It was our last day in the self catering cottage in Tyndrum. I woke up before 6:30am. Hearing my friend turn I whispered across the room 'are you awake' We decided to get up and get out on the hill. At 8am we parked the car up. Shortly after another car also parked up and 2 men had just finished a night shift were going to climb the hill too. We crossed the partially frozen River Fillan.
We followed the track before deciding to cross via the level crossing rather than the bridge. We headed up the hummocky hill knowing that if things got navigationally difficult we should follow a fence which was to our right. It was good to use walking poles rather than the axe. I had also learnt that I could get away with thin liner gloves on the ascents but waterproof gloves were stuffed in my pockets.
Eventually we found a fence which had to be negotiated. The snow looked inviting to walk on.
The south top of Ben Challum loomed up ahead.
The views all around were opening out and were looking spectacular
As we carried on and the snow got deeper I noted that someone with rather large feet was ahead of us. I was grateful not having to break trail again. Eventually the climb got steeper and there was a bit that neither Cathy or I enjoyed. We lived to tell the tale and decided that it was time to put on the crampons, particularly as we were hitting wind scoured snow.
There were 5 men ahead of us. The cloud came down temporarily so none of them saw a summit view. As we traversed from the south to the true summit to the north I thanked two of the men for making us some excellent steps to tread in. We continued on and the cloud started to lift as we arrived to plant axes gratefully in the cairn just before 1pm.
We looked around at the hills and many had an upper layer of cloud.
The view back to the south top looked good.
I couldn't resist climbing the cairn.
On the way down we could appreciate the work of nature.
On the way down it was so much easier but we could see how much the snow pack can vary.
As time was on our side we could stop for a reasonable break, enjoy the views and sandwiches from our lunchboxes. We decided to sit on the left hand hummock below and dubbed it Cath's Crag in honour of ourselves.
The view were very good from 'Cath's Crag'
And the combination of sun and snow meant it was surprisingly warm.
Eventually we set off and used the path that hill walkers tend to use. It was a combination of tussocky grass and thick ice. I do remember having to cross a stile with crampons on. The technique was different for instep crampons compared to full crampons. The crampies were removed long before the ladder stile over a deer fence. I took over both rucksacks to ease Cathy's nerves.
We had plenty of daylight to read about St Fillans before going back to the car. A quick drive back to Tyndrum saw us both having a celebratory swift half in the pub and I still had enough energy left to dance to the music being played. We declared the week a success!
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