{"id":638,"date":"2018-02-27T20:54:20","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T20:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/?p=638"},"modified":"2018-09-09T18:52:29","modified_gmt":"2018-09-09T18:52:29","slug":"mountaineering-scotland-munro-tyndrum-hills-20180227","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prwilliams-photography.co.uk\/?p=638","title":{"rendered":"Frozen conditions help on Beinn Dubhcraig & Ben Oss on a long day out."},"content":{"rendered":"

Today I had decided to do Beinn Dubhcraig & Ben Oss, a couple of Munros that I had been planning to do for a while\u00a0(Munros Completed : Beinn Dubhchraig (67), Ben Oss (68)).<\/em><\/p>\n

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The forecast was similar to yesterday, light winds, 70% cloud free tops, colder & some snow flurries in the West. These Munros I believe are best done in freezing conditions in Winter as the start through the forest is extremely boggy so frozen ground makes the start far nicer. I started from Strathfillan, walked along the path by the river to the stone bridge walking along the track to the next bridge over the railway. From here don\u2019t follow the track but bear right across the marshy field to the new wooden curved bridge. Cross the bridge & immediately turn L and follow the path along the river.<\/p>\n

Start through the Forest<\/h3>\n

From here there are numerous pathways that lead through the forest so it can be difficult to navigate so care is needed to emerge from the forest to where you expect to be. I was able to follow a trail that takes you away to the right of the river & to the right side of the burn. Once clear of the bog fest that is the forest (I made a good call to do this route on frozen ground) the snow lay deep but was firm and crisp making the going easy. The slope angle was very slight so I made good progress before I eventually reached a plateau. Visibility was excellent except for the tops which were in cloud. The original route I had planned takes you up the valley, to a steep angle to the col but I noticed to the left a nice looking ridge that takes you to the summit of Beinn Dubhcraid. After a quick check on the map I decided this would be a more aesthetic route & the only difficulty was crossing a wide burn which fortunately was completely snow covered.<\/p>\n

Weather closes in.<\/h3>\n

I reached the ridge quickly but no sooner had I done so than front came over bringing horizontal sleet, high winds & reducing the visibility to less than 30m or so. This was forecast however and I expected fronts to continue to come in throughout the day. Luckily they were weak fronts and moving quickly so the cloud wasn\u2019t thick and as soon as they passed the clear sky came into view. I stopped to put on crampons, take out my ice axe and put on my fleece before starting up the ridge once the front had passed. The ridge was great with a nice short steep patch up through the rocks.<\/p>\n