KYQ4: Cruach Ardrain and Beinn Tulaichean

Cruach Ardrain

Thursday, 24 December 2020

Ascent: 1366 metres

Distance: 14 kilometres

Time: 4 hours 50 minutes

Beinn Tulaichean 946m 2hrs 8mins

Cruach Ardrain 1046m 3hrs 6mins

At last, a dry day with bright skies was forecast so Gregor and I decided to revisit this pair of Munros from Inverlochlarig at the head of Balquidder Glen. We were in no rush to start, the morning was forecast to have some cloud cover and the northerly winds were to be strong. We parked at the well-made car park and after a brief chat with a walker who was going to climb the pyramidal like Corbett, Stob a' Chroin, we began the walk through Inverlochlarig farm, over the burn and then up the eponymous glen.

It is never quite clear where the faint path starts for Beinn Tulaichean and as on previous occasions, we just headed north-west up the steep grassy slopes. Gregor was forging ahead as I found a steady pace calibrated to my age and the conditions. There are several rock outcrops to circumnavigate and from about 500 metres the ground became frozen with many patches of black ice to negotiate. I eventually hit the path at about 700 metres and was pleased to see that Gregor was only 10 minutes ahead as he headed into the rock outcrops below the summit. It had been cloudier than we had hoped but the visibility was excellent and the nearby twin peaks of Ben More and Stob Binnein towered above shrouded in their pristine winter whites.

Gregor had hunkered down to the south-west of the summit, the wind was blowing chunks of snow and providing true winter conditions. We had a flask of coffee, it was only midday, and took a few photos before setting off into a head-on wind that stopped us in our tracks. I began to think that this was going to make Cruach Ardrain a real challenge. I regretted that we had not brought crampons and lent Gregor one of my walking poles, The wind dropped as we reached the bealach and I decided to stop and put my shell jacket before what I thought would be a hard fight through the wind on the ridge ahead. The shell jacket had a better hood than my insulated jacket. I saw a handle of a walking pole sticking up from the snow and prised it out of the frozen ground, it had obviously spent some time there given the green growth on the handle. The catches were jammed and it was too short for me but probably worth rescuing for G.

It had cost me time and Gregor was halfway up Cruach Ardrain. As often happens when you stop to add layers, the weather had changed, the sun was out and the wind had abated. The soft snow made for easy walking and it did not take long to reach the fine summit of Cruach Ardrain, where Gregor was lunching in the sun. It was one of those unexpected pleasures, a chance to relax on the tranquil sun-soaked summit with the panorama of Munros of the southern highlands sprinkled with new snow. Covid had eliminated the magic of Christmas but this was a consolation.

I swapped sticks with Gregor and we began an easy descent to the bealach, five other walkers were on their ascent. At the bealach, we decided to follow a path down to the glen. The path was a frozen stream of black ice but it was easy walking down the grassy slopes on either side. We caught and passed a couple of well-equipped climbers who were wearing crampons on the black ice. The afternoon sun had receded from the glen but it was a pleasant canter down to the farm.

The farmer was in the yard and he gave me a cheery welcome. His father, who is now 88 years old, had once berated me for camping on Beinn a' Chroinn during the lambing season but subsequently, we got to know each other during the building and opening of the local community centre in Balquidder in 1997. He was the chair and had a presence and purpose that helped make the new facility a very successful venture for the community. The farm had had a good year despite COVID and the lamb prices had held up well. I was informed that a Brexit deal had been done but whilst that would be a relief to the upland farms there would be many subsequent issues to be resolved.

Gregor had gone on ahead and arriving back at the car park, we fell into conversation with the walker who had just returned from Stob a' Chroin, he was working for the government on the implications of Covid for vulnerable children. He seemed familiar and when I asked whether he had been a Director of Finance in the Western Isles, we realised that we had known each other during our careers. Robin Bennie had swapped accountancy for becoming a statistician. He was still hoping to climb all the European 4000-metre peaks but admitted that the Corbetts were proving hard.

We were home at 4pm, in good time for hot drinks around a neighbour's fire pit. Like the rest of the day, it was bitterly cold but the combination of heat from the stove and the warmth of friends made it a fine way to provide some Christmas cheer.