The festive period provided a good reset from work but also some time in between catching up with people to get some hills in. The first of these was to be Beinn Chuirn, at Tyndrum.
Beinn Chuirn is a Corbett and I wanted to finish my December Marcothon (running at least 5km every day) with a decent sized hill.
The forecast wasn't great - it had been a good spell of dry weather but it was all change on Hogmanay with northerlies coming in. I wasn't precious about bagging anything, and I was just happy to get out, so set out with the mindset that I could bail if I wanted.
I drove up to Tyndrum, having to stop at Luss to get some screenwash - the roads were salty and dry. I got to the wee car park at Dalrigh (quite a few vans in for the overnight - one to remember). I got everything ready, and set off onto some big icy patches on the path at 1145.
I headed up the road towards the Cononish Gold Mine and got some views of Eas Anie, the waterfall that doubles as an ice climb. It was already frozen.
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| Road to Cononish, Beinn Chuirn and Eas Anie (waterfall) |
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| River Cononish full of ice |
The river was well frozen as well but the air temp was just above freezing. However, as I gained a bit of height by the farm, I was starting to get cold, so I decided to put some waterproof trousers on and a hat.
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| Eas Anie |
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| Gold Mine Warning |
I got to the gate where I would turn up the hill and saw this sign - quite a terrifying prospect being on the ice climb while the earth shakes beneath you! I wonder what that mine is like underneath the mountain I was on.
The climb up was a slog - the ground frozen, but only a few solid patches. As I crested the top of the ridge, the wind really picked up so I had to add even more layers. Even so, I was still feeling that wind blowing into the side of my face. I moved along across the ridge, then dropped a lot of height before following the fence posts for the final ascent to the summit. There are two cairns, and I didn't have enough visibility to be sure I was on the right one. A quick check of the map proved I still had another 200m to go. I was on the top at 1338.
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| Summit Cairn |
Above 800m was covered in ice - there hadn't been any snow. I was in my Mudtalons so my feet were feeling a bit vulnerable, but once I got out of the wind a bit, I felt a lot more comfortable. The return route was fine, but I was feeling quite tired and dropping height quickly was making my quads scream out a bit.
I was back at the farm road at 1305 or so, and I saw a farm vehicle coming towards me - the farmer stopped me and she said "just to let you know there are some sheep coming up the road".
I crested the high point of a wee road to find 100 sheep facing me down. I got out their way and they headed off to their new year pastures.
I was back at the car at 1450, got changed and headed to the Green Welly for a Cullen Skink before heading home to bring in the New Year on the couch.
Run Distance: 18.67km
Run Time: 3h 09m
Ascent: 857m
Corbetts Completed: 12
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