Over The Hill

Although the festive season is now behind us, the days are still quite short, therefore we opted for a short drive to make the best of daylight on the hill. And so, Inveruglas it was, with Ben Vane our objective for the day.

The walk from Inveruglas to the lower slopes of Ben Vane is a straightforward stroll along the good tarmac track that gives access to the Loch Sloy dam and electricity sub-station, with the views of Ben Vane and its neighbours, A'Chrois and Ben Vorlich opening up as you progress along the track; views that forewarned us of a snow line lying at around the 500m level.

Once onto the lower slopes of Ben Vane, a rough hill track winds its way uphill, through some rather wet and boggy ground to the south west shoulder, before it climbs steadily towards some very impressive looking crags and rock slabs, which at first seem to bar the way ahead. Fortunately, as you arrive at the base of the first large slab of rock, it offers not only a nice spot for a short break, but also brings to view the steep, twisting, and very eroded track that winds its way up through this very rocky section of the hill.

Among the rocks, the snow thickened considerably, and care had to be taken as we gained height and a layer of ice formed underfoot, forcing us to don our crampons as we transited beyond the 700m level. With our eyes on the route ahead, we were quite surprised to see just how quickly a thick band of low cloud had been approaching from behind, which soon engulfed the hillside, robbing us of the beautiful blue skies we had been enjoying up to that point.

Two minor, false, tops guard the approach to the summit of Ben Vane, and it was on the small dip between the first and second false top, at around 860m, that we came unstuck; we just could not see a safe way beyond a steep section of rock, and one large rock slab. I scrambled up on section, only to reach a dead end and have to retreat; around a corner, Lawrie tried a snow gully, which did look as if it may take us above the rock but were not fully convinced that it would. And so, regrettably, we decided to call it a day. We know there is a route there, and it is probable quite straight forward, but, unfortunately, we just could not find it. We made a steady descent back through the rocks, grateful for our crampons, as things were getting quite iced up and slippery as the temperatures dropped.

Back, below the snow line, and off the rough hillside, we made a slight detour down towards Coiregrogain farm, to visit an old stone arched bridge that spans the Allt Coiregrogain just south of the farm buildings, and a nice spot for a late break, before taking to the dam access track for an easy return to Inveruglas.

A fine hill and a good day, despite the disappointment at not actually making the final top - we shall probably go back there on a nice summers day and wonder what the problem was!