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Andrew.
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March 15, 2026 at 11:36 am #21010
Ewart Pritchard
SpectatorGood morning,
Here are details of the upcoming club trip to Crianlarich, to be held from Thur 26th to Sun 29th March.Mountaineering & Weather
The SAIS Glencoe Blog for yesterday reports quite a bit of white cover, but this is only very superficial and only over 850 metres is there substantial snow depth. The lower areas will thus be vulnerable to any thaw in the coming days (BBC forecast is for a warm front tomorrow and 14 degrees in Aberdeen by Wednesday, which is likely to mean freezing level above many summits. Thus we will react to weather and conditions. Some outline areas of interest;KILLIN. Meall nan Taramachan and Taramachan Ridge. It gets a technical 1+ in winter. Possibly a good warm-up walk.
A82 BRIDGE OF ORCHY. (a) Aonach Eagach of Stob Gabhar. A narrow rocky crest leads to the Munro summit. (b) Beinn Dorain and Beinn an Dothaidh. Straightforward hills with potentially great views. Views to Jura on clear days.
Ben Cruachan and Stob Daimph. WEST OF A82. A narrow crest connects two Munros. There is a rocky obstacle and a key navigation point not to be missed.
GLEN ETIVE. Ben Starav. Ralph Storer describes the narrow ridges as for “budding alpinists”. York MC website has a trip report. “A beast” as someone else said – start is pretty well at sea level.
Ben More Webcam
See http://www.benmorewebcam.co.ukEating
A Communal Meal will be held on the Saturday night at £4/head.
Please ensure you bring all your food and dietary requirements breakfast, lunch and supper for all the other days. There are no shops or means for Cash£ in Crianlarich itself so its best to stock up on your travel up. There are shops in Tindrum a 20 min drive North west of Crianlarich.Hut Details
Currently we have ten beds secured in a single dorm – The ‘Auld Kitchen’ at the front of the building on a two-tiered alpine-style sleeping platform
The Ochils club have announced, following their AGM, and additional staying fee £2/pppn, If I could ask you all to transfer this to my account for your respective 2 or 3 night stay please.
Hut Details:
https://www.ochils.com/club-cottage-inverardran-cottage/Travel Plans
Six of us will arrive on the Thursday, four on Friday. A Whatsapp group will be setup to coordinate and communicate plans.Attendees
DaveM
Andrew +1
Ewart +2
Anabel Cole,
David Cumins,
Carwyn,
Martin P,Reserve:Alison Dyke
If anyone else is interested in the trip please get in touch and we will add you to the reserve.
Looking forward to seeing you all.
Regards
EwartMarch 15, 2026 at 12:34 pm #21015Andrew
SpectatorJust in case…… There always used to be a little shop in Crianlarich, and its website still seems to be working http://www.crianlarichstore.co.uk
Although having said that, the range of stuff available can be limuted
AMarch 15, 2026 at 1:36 pm #21016SpectatorBTW my Report on most recent ascent of Ben Starav which Ewart quotes, was 5 March 2022 if anyone wants to look. https://www.yorkmc.org.uk/ben-starav-and-percy-unna/ On that day, there was hardly any snow in Glen Etive so we chose Starav because it had some. Then Lawers the next day. There was a lot of engineering work going on which has interfered with the approach. One hopes that is done with now.
March 23, 2026 at 9:32 am #21027SpectatorI thought I might just update my commentary which Ewart introduced at the beginning of this thread, before my guest Jack and I head north tomorrow.
The SAIS blogs show patchy snow cover; but such patches can be big at close quarters and may be hard and icy when temperatures drop. This morning’s extended BBC forecast is sparse on detail but basically shows westerly winds and a series of fronts over the weekend. The MWIS outlook does include the words gales rain snow and hail, but not all the time. .
The hills mentioned before were up the A82. However if weather is coming from the west, one might think about hills to the east of Crianlarich, which might be less exciting, but perhaps shielded a bit from the incoming.
Ben Vorlich and Stuc a Chroin (Lochearnhead). These Munros stand on the south-east edge of the Highlands. Often an excellent day. Ben Vorlich out and back is a fair enough hill on a good path. If you cross the rocky bealach to Stuc a Chroin, there is a steep trod /mild scramble starting a few metres right (west) of the bealach. This used to be very faint, but has become quite well defined with use.
Ben Chonzie An unexceptional summit but straightforward. Much of it on a landrover track up to 800 metres
North of Aberfeldy there are two Corbetts = Meall Tairneachain / Farragon Hill. The latter I also remember as having a lot of track.
Schiehallion. “The Fairy Hill of the Caledonians” and the scene of Maskeleyne’s calculation of the mass of the earth in the 18th Century. A broad path most of the way from the car park, then a rock-strewn ridge. I have been up there 4 times and never had a view, so I’m unlikely to bother again unless it is clear !!
Shiel of Ardentonaig. East of Killin and south of Loch Tay, we once had a day on lesser hills here when the weather told us to.
Ben Vrackie. To really “escape eastwards” on a Sunday morning, it would be quite feasible to drive 90 minutes to Pitlochry (ie similar time as going from York to Kettlewell) and then the Corbett Ben Vrackie behind. And back to England down the A9.
ANDREW -
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