KYQ4: Beinn Each and Stuc a' Chroin

Beinn Each, Stuc a'Chroin and Ben Vorlich from Thornhill

Friday, 31 July 2020

Beinn Each and Stuc a' Chroin

Ascent: 1140 metres

Distance: 13 kilometres

Time: 5 hours 45 minutes

Beinn Each 813m 1hr 33mins

Stuc a' Chroin 977m 3hrs 10mins

On any clear day, the view out of the kitchen window is of Stuc a' Chroin, its rugged profile beckoning. I have climbed it 8 times over the years, always with its partner Ben Vorlich until last year when icy conditions deterred us from continuing over to Stuc a' Chroin as we guided a novice walker down from Ben Vorlich. It was time to climb it from Loch Lubnaig via the outlying Corbett, Beinn Each, a route I had not taken since 1994. I had remembered the steepness of the ascent to Beinn Each but forgotten the long and undulating traverse that is required to reach Stuc a' Chroin.

It was supposed to be the hottest day of the summer so I left early but with road work diversions around Callander, it was 8:15am before I set out on the walk from Ardchuillerie More. The house and its estate were undergoing major landscaping work with gateposts announcing the enhanced status of the property. The initial kilometre is a steep narrow path along a new deer fence, over a cascading burn, through some conifer plantations with several fallen trees until a forestry road is reached that climbs to the open ground with a good track leading to Glen Ample.

Near the summit of the path, a signpost points confidently to Beinn Each. It is narrow and through waist-high bracken, the ground was boggy from recent rain and at a gradient that encourages the occasional pause for breath and to take in the views. There was a bank of cloud lying in the glen and as height was gained the profiles of Stob Binnein and Ben More hove into view. Apart from a northerly dogleg at the top of some crags, the climb is unrelenting. I had thought of undercutting Beinn Each and climbing it on the return but decided to get it over with and find an easier descent route from Stuc a' Chroin.

The winds that had been predicted had been as notable for their absence as the sun but they provided a blast of warm air at the summit. I huddled down to plot the next stage, discovering that I had left my food at home and had just a litre of water to see me through. It was still well before 10:00am so I took 15 minutes to catch up on the news and enjoy the sense of isolation, there aren't many visitors to Beinn Each despite its close proximity to the cities, the path was definitely not well frequented.

It is a steep and tricky descent through the crags from the summit of Beinn Each as the faint path follows the old iron fence posts northwards over undulating intermediate crags towards the 735m top. The path continues to follow the fence posts from here dropping to 660 metres before climbing another 300 metres to the summit of Stuc a' Chroin. Although I was in no rush, my pace was slow. I arrived at the summit and there were three other walkers, I had a chat with one about life in lockdown and our attempts to get back on the hills. By July I would normally have had 15 or so days in the mountains but this was only my third visit to Munros or Corbetts all year. I found another rock to shelter behind for a drink and a break before beginning the descent.

I followed the ascent route back to the 735m top from where I decided to take a direct route down to the Glen Ample track. It was rock-strewn at first but then mainly heather and bog grass for the 2-kilometre descent of 400 metres. It was hard on the feet but time was becoming tight, I had intended to be home by 2pm to prepare for a 3pm meeting. The Glen Ample track climbed up to the watershed and then I was able to up the pace for the final 3 kilometres back to the car. A young couple with a baby in a buggy were starting out on a walk and asked my advice on the difficulty of the path. I told them not to bother the steepness, tree roots, burns and fallen trees would make it impossible. I suggested alternative walks but they said that all the car parks and lay-bys were full. As I began the drive home I understood what they meant, the whole of the central belt seemed to have been fooled by the weather forecast, the heatwave in the south was no more than a muggy day in Scotland but the countryside was heaving. There would be heavy downpours and electric storms by 6pm.