Cycle 6.3km, 230m. Walk 10.2km, 1330m. Cycle 6.3km. 6.50am to 2.40pm
Cycled from Dalrig, past Cononish, to nearly the end of the track (7.45am). Headed up into the corrie (8.45am), hitting the snow, and decided Central Gully was not on due to the large amount of debris from cornice collapse and snow melting off rock. Decided to go up the east ridge (grade 1 at top) and topped out at 10.10am with fab views. walked out to Beinn a'Chleibh (10.50am) where I met my first person of the day on their way up. Then faced with the delight of regaining 440m back to the summit of Ben Lui (12.15pm) where I hit the some cloud making it impossible to see where the north east ridge started. Decided to head down the north ridge and not run the risk of the cornices. A bit lower I dropped out of the cloud and was able to get back across to the north ridge and follow it down. Back to the bike and a blast down the track back to the van before heading off to the Real Food Cafe for some really good soup!
Area :
Inveraray to Crianlarich (Ben Lui)
From the Arrochar Alps to Ben Lui, this area is home to nine Munros. Half of the peaks in the area are within the boundaries of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, while the others lie to the west. The three summits of The Cobbler (884m) contain some of the best climbing in the Southern Highlands while Ben Lui in winter looks positively Alpine. Access is relatively straightforward from the A83, A82 or A85.
