Meall An Fhudair

Ben Lui 4 from Meall an Fhudair

Ben More range from Troisgeach

Meall an Fhudair

Ben Lui from Meall an Fhudair

Ben More behind boulder vegetation

Ascent:      920 metres
Distance:   13 kilometres
Time:        4 hours 10mins

c  Meall an Fhudair     764m      2hrs 18mins

At last a given day as they say in Shetland. I defrosted the car and headed off at 8:20am, there was no news on the radio because of a strike by BBC journalists opposing compulsory redundancies. A temperature inversion meant that the low-lying valleys that the roads follow were in mist. The A85 before Crianlarich was being resurfaced so it was after 9:45am before I was parked by Glen Falloch farm to climb my nearest unclimbed Corbett. It was still cold and after following the zig-zags of the track through a herd of cattle, over the railway line and past the phone mast, I began to climb a steep ramp to the ridge leading to Troisgeach. There was a walker ahead who was taking the same route. I was overheating badly and had to stop to strip off my jacket, hat and gloves. After a drink, I felt at one in the still cool air but the sun was warm and there was not a breath of wind. This was more like a day in the Alps.

The snow level was down to 500 metres and the crusted and granulated snow surface eased the ascent although there was the occasional collapse of snow to keep me alert. By the summit of Troisgeach, I had caught up with the other walker, he was 69 and attempting the Corbetts after recently completing the Munros. He had set demanding targets for himself but he was well-equipped and had an air of confidence and an easy cadence as he walked. We had a drink and chat before walking and talking our way across to Meall an Fhudair. The conditions were perfect and the views were impressive with the four Munros of the Ben Lui range on our right and a view down Loch Fyne and Loch Lomond to the south.

At the summit, we stopped for a drink and continued our discussion until I decided to return on a similar route but cutting under Troisgeach.  He decided to descend to the south and make his way back along the glen. The route back involved avoiding the small lochans, which were frozen over and covered with snow, and then coping with the rough ground before eventually hitting the track at 300 metres. I was down just after 2pm and decided to return via Loch Lomond to avoid the traffic on the A85. The views were sparkling all the way home; this had been a good start to what I hope will be a full year of walking.