Over The Hill

"The Corbetts" guide describes the slopes of Beinn a'Choin as "easy going on the ridges". Either the writer was on some form of stimulants when he walked this hill, or we were having a bad day, all 4 of us, for the ascent took us considerably longer than planned for no other reason than we all found the continual minor peaks and deep troughs of the southeast ridge slow going - thankfully the weather and views were great and took our minds of the relentless slog, but more of that later.

We managed to find a small parking area a few hundred metres west of Corriearklet and set off up the farm access road and through the farm onto the steep, grassy slopes of the south east ridge, heading directly uphill towards the un-named 559m top and the start of the upper ridge line. We reached the snow line around the 500m height, and topped the ridge to find some glorious views east along Loch Katrine and south and west towards Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps.

Our route ahead was over the broad, grassy and snow covered ridge towards the old trig point at 684m and so we strolled off across the ridge at quite a leisurely pace. However, we soon found that we were constantly twisting and turning, climbing and descending around numerous small knolls that seemed to line the ridge, consequently we arrived at the trig point a little behind schedule, but on the plus side, the weather was as forecast, bright and clear, at least to the east, whereas out to the west it was looking quite dull and grey.

We stayed by the trig point just long enough for a short snack before continuing towards Maol Mor and Stob a'Choin Dhuibh, and it was over this section that time just seemed to stand still, each crest just plunged us down into another bottom before again climbing up only to drop down to another bottom it seemed endless. When we finally stood on top of the 645m Stob a'Choin it was to look down on the Bealach a'Mheim and yet another loss of height as we dropped 100m into the bealach. Some ridge, we were all glad to see the end of it.

Ahead of us now was an interesting looking series of rocky crags and steep slopes with a number of options as to how to make our way to the summit. Route chosen we set off on an enjoyable last climb, meeting up with a man and woman as they were descending from the summit - they had made their ascent from the dam at the head of Loch Arklet and were doing a straight up and down of the south ridge, which was to be our descent route. We passed greetings, commented on what a great day it was for the hills, and set off on our separate ways once again.

This last section made up for all the hassle of the ridge, it was a nice straight forward climb, and we were soon passing the small, frozen lochan on the plateau and heading towards the summit cairn at 770m. The views were just fantastic, the cloud in the west had broken, and we had an almost clear blue sky all around. The north face of Ben Lomond looked challenging, and to the northwest, Ben Lui topped everything around. We just sat and took in the views that making all the effort truly worthwhile. And so it was with some regret that we could not stay longer, but with the shorter daylight hours, it was prudent that we got on our way to ensure we were off the hill before we lost the daylight.

We retraced our steps from the summit for about 400 metres before breaking south and dropping down onto the western side of the Bealach a'Mheim and climbing steadily up the long, easy ridge to Stob an Fhainne at 655m. En route we were treated to the sight of a very large herd of deer which traversed the hill just in front of us before dropping down into Corriearklet Glen and then re-appearing on the eastern edges of the Bealach a'Mheim.

An uneventful descent was made from Stob an Fhainne via Maol Odhar, crossing a new and very high deer fence which thankfully has two gates strategically placed about 200 metres apart just before reaching the summit of Maol Odhar, which allowed us easy access to the lower slopes and our eventual return to the roadside in Glen Arklet.

When route-planning this walk, it was too easy to assume that at 770m, Beinn a'Choin would be a nice easy day on the hills - a silly assumption as the time consuming terrain of the south east ascent ridge was to prove. We had good weather, and the freezing conditions actually assisted us as the many peat hags encountered on the east ridge were well iced over making crossings very easy - these same peat hags may well be problematic in wet conditions, and in poor visibility, this ridge would certainly challenge your navigation skills - that said, this was a great day, and this is a great "little" hill well worth the effort, which, as is customary by now, was rounded off with a nice pint in the Clachan Inn as we drove back.

Great day, great company - Thanks Alan