Well after a long winter it was time to get back to the hills.
The forecast was to be glorious on Saturday, but certainly ok for Sunday also. However Rona was working nightshift Sat night, so in an effort to allow her maximum rest time agreed with Jon to plan something for the Sunday, and hope we'd get a break with the weather.
Agreed to head to the Lawers area as there were lots of decent paths and we wanted to ease ourself into 2011, neither of us having been out on the hills since about October. Decided on a single Munro, that of Meall Nan Tarmachan - a 1044 Meter Munro with a well defined path all the way up.
To our delight the forecast had improved over the weekend and Sunday was set fair with a high chance of good visibility. Woke up 2 mins before my alarm at 0638 and Left Anniesland about 0730 to get Jon in Greenock, then after a quick Tesco stop it was up the A82 to Crainlarich then along to Killin.
The beauty of the Lawers area is that there is a tarmac car road that rises from the main road through a forest and climbs significantly before there is space to park up. This means you begin the ascent from about 600m altitude and several kilometres away from what you might term civilisation. They are also part of the Ben Lawers National Park so there are a number of well maintained paths and routes that have been developed.
We arrived just before 1000 and there were a lot of cars around, clearly many people taking advantage of the good weather. We got set up and headed off just after 10 and there were a stream of people heading up before and after us.
There is a landrover path, then a footpath breaks off to the right from there. The path climbs at a steady rate and has clearly been well built and maintained over the years. No prospect of getting wet feet or getting lost at all.
The path heads over a ridge and we hopefully thought the top of the ridge may be the peak, but after getting to the top there was a drop down then a final steep incline. The final part has been built up with a lot of stones to form a rocky staircase and really it was no problem to get to the peak, even with our limited fitness.
We got decent views, although it was a little hazy and it was very comfortable on top with the sun shining and a light breeze. We ate a hearty lunch then headed back via the same route. It was now past 1pm, but still there were a stream of people heading up - perhaps having made a late decision to come out, or even attempting their 2nd or 3rd Munro of the day.
It really is great that a public interest body exists to create these paths and make these areas more accessible. Hopefully more routes will be taken care of and a lot of the Munro's will become more accessible.
I've now done 14 Munros and while some had no path other than the natural features and a beaten track, I'm well aware that most of what I've done would be classified as 'easy'.
As time goes on, if I am committed to doing more and more Munros I will a - have to start driving a lot further and b - take on more and more challenging routes that require more navigation and a lot more shoe leather.
I'm sure there are more than a few that will be very difficult to access and will require anything from 15-25km of walking. Perhaps as the years go on, more of these routes will be built up to the less accessible peaks. Although perhaps that would make it a lot easier to 'compleat' and this would then not be quite as selective a club of those who have done it.
No doubt there will always be some that remain difficult, and I will just have to get to them when the time comes.
Pic to follow later.
Monday, 11 April 2011
Monday, 14 February 2011
Scottish Rugby Rattled... again.
Well after a promising start to the 6 Nations with 3 tries, ultimately in vain, in the Stade de France - it was business as usual as we surrendered dreadfully to a Welsh side without a win in 9 internationals.
No tries scored and only two Dan Parks penalties meant there was precious little to cheer about for any Scots who had made their way to Murrayfield on Saturday evening.
From Andy Robinson naming an unchanged side following an exciting performance in Paris (albeit Richie Gray was withdrawn on Saturday due to illness) there will now be calls for wholesale changes as we return to Murrayfield in two weeks hence for the visit of always competitive Ireland.
We can all bemoan the lack of vision, funding, coaches, pro-teams etc that plague the Scottish game in comparison to other Nations of similar size but the short term problem is to pick a team in two weeks and get a group of players who can go to the World Cup and get out of a tricky group containing England and Argentina.
So what will Robinson do on the 27th? I don't imagine he will make massive, sweeping changes with new caps and 10 alterations to the current line-up.
In the pack, Richie Gray will come back into the 2nd row, with Hines dropping to the bench. Johnnie Beattie has surely now proven his fitness and will hopefully replace Richie Vernon at No. 8. This will reunite the 3 Killer Bees who were such a success in Scotland's recent run of good results. Beattie is the most genuine try threat of the Killer Bee's and can have a big impact on the game, along with the return of Gray.
Moray Low will replace Euan Murray at prop for this game on the Sabbath, although I think it is fair to say Murray's place would otherwise have been in doubt and Low is surely worthy of his place on merit. Expect Ross Ford and Alan Jacobson will retain their places.
I personally can't envisage any other 8 forwards starting, although Beattie's fitness may be the only question mark over that.
While the forwards pretty much pick themselves, barring injuries, the same cannot be said for our tortured back division.
So what of the much maligned Dan Parks? Reborn last season, he won his place from Godman and didn't really look back for the whole of 2010. However he has been getting mixed reports following his move to Cardiff and hasn't controlled games this year the way he did last term. However, I think he will retain his place. His understudy at Glasgow, Ruaridh Jackson, has finally got plenty game time this year with Glasgow but hasn't yet started for Scotland.
On Saturday, Robinson didn't bring him on despite Parks having one of his least effective games. So why is he in the squad when perhaps Robinson doesn't feel confident to give him game time?
Personally, I don't think Jackson has made the progress that a lot of Scottish Rugby fans had hoped. His career has been besieged with injuries and Glasgow's results this season have not shown us that Jackson has filled Parks boots at Firhill. Arguably his younger Glasgow team mate, Duncan Weir, is making better progress and will overtake him with more matches under his belt.
I think simply Jackson is in the squad because there is no one else available as cover at 10. So that being the case, Parks will retain his place despite two quiet games. However all is not lost, Parks has come back from almost two years without an International start to win countless MoM awards last season for Scotland and Glasgow. He is a confidence player, but a confident Dan Parks is probably the best kicking fly-half in the world, and Scotland can play to his strengths and win field position and games.
So the other backs? Arguably Lawson has had his chance at scrum half and Mike Blair has just edged him when he has come on in the previous two matches. Therefore I think Blair will start vs Ireland.
Wing? Well Nikki Walker has done very little in his two starts and I can't imagine he will retain his place. Perhaps Danielli will be brought in? Max Evans has offered some hope, but his best position is undoubtedly at Centre and I think he should be moved here. If Rory Lamont is fit, he would be an adequate replacement on the wing.
IMO, the centres pick themselves and the pace of Joe Ansbro and Max Evans has potential to be a world class centre pairing.
Sean Lamont has no doubt secured his position at full back with two good showings from the bench. He was the only player on Saturday to beat a man and scored a great try in Paris.
So that's the team...
1. Jacobson
2. Ford
3. Low
4. Gray
5. Kellock
6. Brown
7. Barclay
8. Beattie
9. Blair
10. Parks
11. R. Lamont
12. Evans
13. Ansbro
14. Danielli
15. S. Lamont
And for the World Cup? Well Euan Murray may regain some form and fitness to challenge Low at Prop. 4 to 8 pick themselves if everyone is fit in my view, and Ford and Jacobson will continue in the front row.
I think Parks plays at 10, given our lack of options and we just need to hope he finds some form. Chris Cusiter is weeks away from playing again for Glasgow and I feel will be our 1st choice Scrum Half when fully fit.
I'd like to see Robinson persevering with Ansbro and Evans in the centre and not resist the temptation to play Evans on the wing. However when Graeme Morrison is fit again, Robinson may feel Evans is better used on the wing in order to try and get as many of our best players on the field.
Sean Lamont has looked in good form in the past two weeks, but he has lost his place before and brother Rory has been out of the squad since a bad injury against Wales last year. Southwell too seemed to have nailed down his Full Back place and seemingly finished Chris Paterson's international career, but he now has a bad facial injury and his place is up for grabs.
Likewise, places on the wings are available for anyone who can match scoring threat with sound defence. Thom Evans has been a big loss for us, and it is worrying that coming up to the world cup we really don't have these places nailed down, even in the hypothetical situation of everyone being fit.
Only Andy Robinson knows... I hope.
No tries scored and only two Dan Parks penalties meant there was precious little to cheer about for any Scots who had made their way to Murrayfield on Saturday evening.
From Andy Robinson naming an unchanged side following an exciting performance in Paris (albeit Richie Gray was withdrawn on Saturday due to illness) there will now be calls for wholesale changes as we return to Murrayfield in two weeks hence for the visit of always competitive Ireland.
We can all bemoan the lack of vision, funding, coaches, pro-teams etc that plague the Scottish game in comparison to other Nations of similar size but the short term problem is to pick a team in two weeks and get a group of players who can go to the World Cup and get out of a tricky group containing England and Argentina.
So what will Robinson do on the 27th? I don't imagine he will make massive, sweeping changes with new caps and 10 alterations to the current line-up.
In the pack, Richie Gray will come back into the 2nd row, with Hines dropping to the bench. Johnnie Beattie has surely now proven his fitness and will hopefully replace Richie Vernon at No. 8. This will reunite the 3 Killer Bees who were such a success in Scotland's recent run of good results. Beattie is the most genuine try threat of the Killer Bee's and can have a big impact on the game, along with the return of Gray.
Moray Low will replace Euan Murray at prop for this game on the Sabbath, although I think it is fair to say Murray's place would otherwise have been in doubt and Low is surely worthy of his place on merit. Expect Ross Ford and Alan Jacobson will retain their places.
I personally can't envisage any other 8 forwards starting, although Beattie's fitness may be the only question mark over that.
While the forwards pretty much pick themselves, barring injuries, the same cannot be said for our tortured back division.
So what of the much maligned Dan Parks? Reborn last season, he won his place from Godman and didn't really look back for the whole of 2010. However he has been getting mixed reports following his move to Cardiff and hasn't controlled games this year the way he did last term. However, I think he will retain his place. His understudy at Glasgow, Ruaridh Jackson, has finally got plenty game time this year with Glasgow but hasn't yet started for Scotland.
On Saturday, Robinson didn't bring him on despite Parks having one of his least effective games. So why is he in the squad when perhaps Robinson doesn't feel confident to give him game time?
Personally, I don't think Jackson has made the progress that a lot of Scottish Rugby fans had hoped. His career has been besieged with injuries and Glasgow's results this season have not shown us that Jackson has filled Parks boots at Firhill. Arguably his younger Glasgow team mate, Duncan Weir, is making better progress and will overtake him with more matches under his belt.
I think simply Jackson is in the squad because there is no one else available as cover at 10. So that being the case, Parks will retain his place despite two quiet games. However all is not lost, Parks has come back from almost two years without an International start to win countless MoM awards last season for Scotland and Glasgow. He is a confidence player, but a confident Dan Parks is probably the best kicking fly-half in the world, and Scotland can play to his strengths and win field position and games.
So the other backs? Arguably Lawson has had his chance at scrum half and Mike Blair has just edged him when he has come on in the previous two matches. Therefore I think Blair will start vs Ireland.
Wing? Well Nikki Walker has done very little in his two starts and I can't imagine he will retain his place. Perhaps Danielli will be brought in? Max Evans has offered some hope, but his best position is undoubtedly at Centre and I think he should be moved here. If Rory Lamont is fit, he would be an adequate replacement on the wing.
IMO, the centres pick themselves and the pace of Joe Ansbro and Max Evans has potential to be a world class centre pairing.
Sean Lamont has no doubt secured his position at full back with two good showings from the bench. He was the only player on Saturday to beat a man and scored a great try in Paris.
So that's the team...
1. Jacobson
2. Ford
3. Low
4. Gray
5. Kellock
6. Brown
7. Barclay
8. Beattie
9. Blair
10. Parks
11. R. Lamont
12. Evans
13. Ansbro
14. Danielli
15. S. Lamont
And for the World Cup? Well Euan Murray may regain some form and fitness to challenge Low at Prop. 4 to 8 pick themselves if everyone is fit in my view, and Ford and Jacobson will continue in the front row.
I think Parks plays at 10, given our lack of options and we just need to hope he finds some form. Chris Cusiter is weeks away from playing again for Glasgow and I feel will be our 1st choice Scrum Half when fully fit.
I'd like to see Robinson persevering with Ansbro and Evans in the centre and not resist the temptation to play Evans on the wing. However when Graeme Morrison is fit again, Robinson may feel Evans is better used on the wing in order to try and get as many of our best players on the field.
Sean Lamont has looked in good form in the past two weeks, but he has lost his place before and brother Rory has been out of the squad since a bad injury against Wales last year. Southwell too seemed to have nailed down his Full Back place and seemingly finished Chris Paterson's international career, but he now has a bad facial injury and his place is up for grabs.
Likewise, places on the wings are available for anyone who can match scoring threat with sound defence. Thom Evans has been a big loss for us, and it is worrying that coming up to the world cup we really don't have these places nailed down, even in the hypothetical situation of everyone being fit.
Only Andy Robinson knows... I hope.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
This is a report of my 1st Munro.
Where - Ben Vorlich (Loch Lomond)
When - Saturday 13th March 2010
Who - Me, Rona and Daisy the Dog.
Weather - Dry for the most part with a stiff breeze and broken cloud. However VERY cold, damp, cloudy and windy on the summit.
Time - About 7 hours.
We left Glasgow about 0800 and after a quick stop at Sainsburys on Gt Western Road for supplies (and a Mothers day card) it was back on the A82 up to Inverulgas.
Parked up about 0900, got our boots on and headed off. There were a couple of guys ahead of us, and we half thought about keeping in touch with them in the hope they would show us the best route. However Daisy put pay to that by going to look at some sheep.
We got her back and on the lead, and by then it seemed like the two in front of us were off West to Ben Vane.
We continued up the tar road as suggested on the map until we got within sight of the dam. It is here the route just veers off into the hillside with not a hint of a path in sight.
We felt we could see beaten tracks where people had been before us, but to be honest I think we were kidding ourselves on and just had to scramble up the open hillside. There was no one else about at all, however eventually we made it up to where we could see a gap in the crags and there was a semblance of a path that seemed to form.
We continued up here until the path dived into a small valley that had obviously been shaded and still had a lot of snow lying. Rona was a bit cautious about continuing here however I'd had two failed attempts at mountains the previous two weeks and wasn't to be denied here.
Just before we headed into the snowy abyss I managed this snap of the valley with Loch Lomond in the distance.
We met an N. Irishman on his way down who advised us there was no view at the summit but that we would definately make it without too many problems. So upwards we headed.
There was a further bit of scrambling that was awkward given the ice, but we made it ok, before it leveled out slightly to a trudge up a slope through deep soft snow.
We then ran into the 3 other ascenders who we climbed the rest of the mountain with. We managed to largely follow footprints the rest of the way as visibility was very poor by now and the wind was picking up.
It was a tough slog but barring a few steep bits there was nothing more than hard work, and eventually we made it to the summit.
Here are the three mountaineers we met.
They kindly took our pic... forgot my gloves (a harsh lesson, well learnt!)
On a better day I would have liked to have stayed at the top for a while and posed for more pics, but this was not a day for that. My camera was also getting a lot of moisture on it with the driving wind carrying rain / clouds through the air.
We headed back having bagged our 1st Munro. The descent was pretty tough. Decided on sliding down a few of the steeper snowy bits. Stopped for a bite to eat on the way down, and there was no sign of the horrendous conditions we'd experienced a while earlier on the summit.
The descent was a slow one as the open hillside we'd scrambled up was very sore on my feet going down but thankfully we made it back to the tar road for a leisurely stroll back to the car park.
1/283 bagged!
Intro - Munro Bagging
Hi,
I am Grant. This is my Munro blog.
I will use this blog to record all Munros I climb, or bag. As well as any other trips, that perhaps failed, or didn't involve a Munro.
Munro bagging is a popular past-time in Scotland which involves climbing each of the 283 peaks over 3000 feet or 914.4 metres.
I first thought about climbing Munros in February this year. I was on a short skiiing break at Aviemore one Friday. I became fascinated by the number of people out on the hills in the middle of nowhere on a workday and really enjoyed the aspect of escapism - getting away from work and the city. Although I enjoyed skiiing, I quickly realised this is a very expensive hobby and clearly very seasonal in Scotland.
As the spring came round I started doing regular walks each Sunday with Rona, and as the weather improved managed to start getting to Munro peaks - despite it being VERY winrty on the summits and having a few failed attempts.
To date I have currently hauled my 15 stone ass up 12 Munros.
My current list (in order) is as follows;
12th March - Ben Vorlich (Loch Lomond)
13th March - Ben Chonzie
27th March - Ben Narnain (guess date)
10th April - Ben Vane
11th April - An Castail & Beinn a Chroin
25th April - Ben Lomond
3rd May - Ben Ime
9th May - Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn)
15th June - Ben More
5th Sept - Beinn Ghlas & Ben Lawers
Some problems I will encounter on my quest for 283...
Me - I have modest levels of fitness, which is generally ok for a 5 or 6 hour hike up one, or even two peaks on a route, but as I harvest the 'easy' Munros - harder routes will require 15 or 20km+ walks which would require legs of steel!
Geography - So Scotland is not a big country, and as I go on I accept that a 2 hour drive to the start of a route will become a 3, 4 or 5 hour drive. Obviously that will provide restraints, timewise and financial what with the fckin cost of petrol!
However, there are also plenty peaks that require scrambling or climbing to access these. I am not experienced at this, and will obviously have to add this string to my bow as and when I come to less accessible peaks.
Navigation - I have had no formal navigational tutoring. Most of the Munro's I have climbed thus far have had a well defined path or beaten track to follow. However less popular ones will not have this. I can just about read a map, but would hit major problems when visibility is poor. Already I have climbed a few Munros with maybe 10 or 20 metre visibility at the top, due to being in the actual clouds. If there was no clear route, and no visibility I would be pretty much jiggered... and could die.
Solution to this is hopefully to get a GPS device which would allow me to see precisely where I am and check progress. My mate Jonathan, has an iphone which he has managed to get a GPS system loaded onto - this has proved a handy luxury on certain routes thus far. Hopefully a fit for purpose Garmin type device plus software would be within £100 or so.
My Feet - As a hefty chap I have managed to give myself some very painful toes upon descending Munros - and even bleeding stumps for toes upon a well paced descent from Ben Lomond. I guess this is just something I will have to manage, and perhaps investigate more suitable footwear that may appease this problem slightly.
Weather - During the winter months there is a LOT of snow on almost all high ground. This makes peaks difficult to access, slippy and dangerous. There is also the chance of avalanches, which are tricky to forecast as well as heavy wind and rain (in all seasons) that can make walking near impossible.
There is often poor visibility - which makes peaks less rewarding as views can be down to just a few metres, but still accessible.
Anyways - that's enough for now. Will try and start putting up some reports of the peaks I have already climbed, as well as new reports as and when I get to any more Munros!
I am Grant. This is my Munro blog.
I will use this blog to record all Munros I climb, or bag. As well as any other trips, that perhaps failed, or didn't involve a Munro.
Munro bagging is a popular past-time in Scotland which involves climbing each of the 283 peaks over 3000 feet or 914.4 metres.
I first thought about climbing Munros in February this year. I was on a short skiiing break at Aviemore one Friday. I became fascinated by the number of people out on the hills in the middle of nowhere on a workday and really enjoyed the aspect of escapism - getting away from work and the city. Although I enjoyed skiiing, I quickly realised this is a very expensive hobby and clearly very seasonal in Scotland.
As the spring came round I started doing regular walks each Sunday with Rona, and as the weather improved managed to start getting to Munro peaks - despite it being VERY winrty on the summits and having a few failed attempts.
To date I have currently hauled my 15 stone ass up 12 Munros.
My current list (in order) is as follows;
12th March - Ben Vorlich (Loch Lomond)
13th March - Ben Chonzie
27th March - Ben Narnain (guess date)
10th April - Ben Vane
11th April - An Castail & Beinn a Chroin
25th April - Ben Lomond
3rd May - Ben Ime
9th May - Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn)
15th June - Ben More
5th Sept - Beinn Ghlas & Ben Lawers
Some problems I will encounter on my quest for 283...
Me - I have modest levels of fitness, which is generally ok for a 5 or 6 hour hike up one, or even two peaks on a route, but as I harvest the 'easy' Munros - harder routes will require 15 or 20km+ walks which would require legs of steel!
Geography - So Scotland is not a big country, and as I go on I accept that a 2 hour drive to the start of a route will become a 3, 4 or 5 hour drive. Obviously that will provide restraints, timewise and financial what with the fckin cost of petrol!
However, there are also plenty peaks that require scrambling or climbing to access these. I am not experienced at this, and will obviously have to add this string to my bow as and when I come to less accessible peaks.
Navigation - I have had no formal navigational tutoring. Most of the Munro's I have climbed thus far have had a well defined path or beaten track to follow. However less popular ones will not have this. I can just about read a map, but would hit major problems when visibility is poor. Already I have climbed a few Munros with maybe 10 or 20 metre visibility at the top, due to being in the actual clouds. If there was no clear route, and no visibility I would be pretty much jiggered... and could die.
Solution to this is hopefully to get a GPS device which would allow me to see precisely where I am and check progress. My mate Jonathan, has an iphone which he has managed to get a GPS system loaded onto - this has proved a handy luxury on certain routes thus far. Hopefully a fit for purpose Garmin type device plus software would be within £100 or so.
My Feet - As a hefty chap I have managed to give myself some very painful toes upon descending Munros - and even bleeding stumps for toes upon a well paced descent from Ben Lomond. I guess this is just something I will have to manage, and perhaps investigate more suitable footwear that may appease this problem slightly.
Weather - During the winter months there is a LOT of snow on almost all high ground. This makes peaks difficult to access, slippy and dangerous. There is also the chance of avalanches, which are tricky to forecast as well as heavy wind and rain (in all seasons) that can make walking near impossible.
There is often poor visibility - which makes peaks less rewarding as views can be down to just a few metres, but still accessible.
Anyways - that's enough for now. Will try and start putting up some reports of the peaks I have already climbed, as well as new reports as and when I get to any more Munros!
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