This is the scene from the slopes of Sron Gharbh, South of Crianlarich, looking West.
Me and a couple of mates went winter hillwalking on Sron Gharbh and on to An Caisteal. It's about 5 miles north of the end of Loch Lomond. We were going to go to Glen Coe and do a few Grade II/III routes in Coire nan Lochan but we'd heard the forecast was pretty poor so changed objectives.
As you can see, when we arrived at the car park, not far from Crianlarich, the weather was fantastic and we were kicking ourselves (not with crampons on though). However, by the time we got to the top of Sron Gharbh and started along the ridge towards An Caisteal, it clagged in good and proper. Visibility down to about 20m. By this stage we had helmets, ice axes and crampons on as there were some long icy patches. We were navigating by bearing and distance (excellent nav practice).
Got to An Caisteal summit in a whiteout. Descended a little on the South-East slope to get out of the wind and had lunch. Then, decided that with the time getting towards sundown and the current conditions, we retraced our steps back to the car, getting back in the dark at about 1630.
Awesome day - lots of opportunity to practice navigation and winter skills. Also, perhaps most importantly, a good chance to do group decision making - this is often overlooked as a skill but needs to be spot on so that everyone is safe and everyone is happy to continue with current plan. Stood around arguing in a whiteout is not a good idea and it is important to learn that, whatever your own personal goals, sometimes these must be tempered for the good of the group.
Me and a couple of mates went winter hillwalking on Sron Gharbh and on to An Caisteal. It's about 5 miles north of the end of Loch Lomond. We were going to go to Glen Coe and do a few Grade II/III routes in Coire nan Lochan but we'd heard the forecast was pretty poor so changed objectives.
As you can see, when we arrived at the car park, not far from Crianlarich, the weather was fantastic and we were kicking ourselves (not with crampons on though). However, by the time we got to the top of Sron Gharbh and started along the ridge towards An Caisteal, it clagged in good and proper. Visibility down to about 20m. By this stage we had helmets, ice axes and crampons on as there were some long icy patches. We were navigating by bearing and distance (excellent nav practice).
Got to An Caisteal summit in a whiteout. Descended a little on the South-East slope to get out of the wind and had lunch. Then, decided that with the time getting towards sundown and the current conditions, we retraced our steps back to the car, getting back in the dark at about 1630.
Awesome day - lots of opportunity to practice navigation and winter skills. Also, perhaps most importantly, a good chance to do group decision making - this is often overlooked as a skill but needs to be spot on so that everyone is safe and everyone is happy to continue with current plan. Stood around arguing in a whiteout is not a good idea and it is important to learn that, whatever your own personal goals, sometimes these must be tempered for the good of the group.
