M281 |
915 m. |
3002 ft.
Translation: Middle hill
Pronuncation: Ben Vane
On 27 April 2012 Frank and I had touched down in Edinburgh on time, picked up our car at the Hertz rental counter and then set out on the drive to our first Munro of 2012: Ben Vane. We reached the public parking opposite the Inveruglas power station in the early afternoon. There we packed our rucksacks for the 14 km trip up Ben Vane. The weather was good, no rain in sight, clouds and sunshine. We walked along the A82 until we reached the road beside the Inveruglas Water.
The walk is quite scenic and after a few hundred metres of climbing the road soon levels out in Coiregrogain, a fine basin with A’Chrois and Ben Vane at its western end. At a prominent bridge over the Inveruglas Water we took a left turn and continued up a Landrover track for about 500 metres. Then, at a cairn, we left the track and embarked on the climb of Ben Vane’s steep east ridge. First on grass and then through outcrops and over bands of rocks we treaded up the increasingly steep ridge. Views became more open as height was gained.
After three quarters of the climb my stomach sent clear signs that I had eaten way to little that day. Thus my legs got wobbly due to the fast-dropping sugar level in my blood. Alas, soon we reached the summit, touched the cairn and Frank was so good to give me two of his muesli bars for sustenance. The pause at the summit was nice. It was a quiet afternoon and there was hardly any wind blowing during our 15 minutes at the summit.
Then, with the beautiful hill bagged, we retraced our steps down the east ridge back to Coiregrogain, the Inveruglas Water and the tarmac road leading back to the A82 where our faithful car was waiting for us. The gear was dumped in the car’s boot and gulps of water were guzzled from a bottle left behind barely four hours earlier. Then it was a short drive to Crianlarich, to our hotel where we had a good meal and a relaxing evening! This was a perfect start to a holiday in Alba!
Description Ben Vane lies to the south-west of Loch Sloy in the northern part of the Arrochar Alps. It is one of the steepest and rockiest of this group of hills. The south face rises above Coiregrogain at an angle of almost 45 degrees for 600 metres, and on other sides it is not much less steep. It is climbed from Inveruglas on the west side of Loch Lomond. Go up the private road in Coiregrogain for 2 kilometres and cross the bridge over the stream flowing from Loch Sloy. The way to Ben Vane continues up the south-east ridge. Despite the many small crags, it is not difficult to find a route upwards to reach the summit plateau.