Traverse of the Lawers range - Day 1

With winter always being about keeping a close eye on the weather and being flexible with your plans, a friend and I had hoped to do some winter climbing but were now onto, about, Plan F in our preparations. Time and logistics had, so far, not allowed for any climbs but with a prevailing weather window of very low winds and potential sunshine above the clouds, we headed for the Lawers Range. The range takes its name from the highest of the mountains in it; Ben Lawers, the 10th Highest Munro (and by extension, mountain in the UK) but this range has a total of 8 Munros in it, and a Corbett. Neither of us had done a full traverse in summer or winter, so the plan became to do the main part of the ridge before you cross the road after which, including the first 7 Munros and with enough time and energy, we could then add on the Corbett. This would leave Meall nan Tarmachan and the famous Tarmachan Ridge for another day. The plan, therefore, would be to camp between the 5th & 6th Munros but with plenty of flexibility for plan changes once we were there.

Day 1: Munros 1 to 7 over Ben Lawers

6:30am and I was on the road to Stirling to pick up Sebastian, making it through Killin and to Lawers village just after 9am. A little faff to get ready, as is always the case, and we were on our way shortly after. The hills were clouded over as we made our way up the track, through the woods and out onto the moorland, so with fingers crossed we started the long ascent of Meall Greigh over Sròn Mhòr and into the thick cloud.

Plodding along;

‘Wait, is that a glimmer of blue sky above?’

Almost at the summit of Meall Greigh we popped out of the cloud and our breaths were taken away with the views. Phones out for pictures quickly, encase this is all we see but as we rose further to the summit, we could see we had gotten lucky. It was a cloud inversion rather than a gap in the cloud. Along with amazing views across to Ben Lawers we could also see the main part of our route ahead.

We eventually moved on and started the journey along to Ben Lawers above the clouds, taking in the views as we headed for Munro number 2; Meall Garbh. The ascent and descent felt a lot longer than you think it should but once up on it, we could see what may be the crux of the route; the ascent of An Stùc (Munro #3). A bit of a scramble in summer and a very steep gully styled ‘climb’ in winter. It appeared impenetrable but once at the bealach (col) we donned crampons, and grabbed axes, starting up the snow gully just to the left of the main rock buttresses in the centre. A steep, careful, ascent (a little heart fluttering for me with a full exped pack on) on such steep ground. We made it out onto the summit for yet more views of Ben Lawers but it also seemed to have become even clearer with some cloud disappearing further afield, and now we could see right across from Ben Nevis to the Cairngorms, and everything in between. Phone photos could not do it justice so we just marvelled in the views.

On to Ben Lawers and it looks closer than it really is, but given the conditions we can hardly complain! At this point the wind was picking up a little and we were getting on for time, summiting around 3:30pm so we pushed on to Beinn Ghlas (Munro #5) to avoid getting cold.

Adapting Plans

We started contemplating going on further than planned given just how amazing the weather and views were and what was going to be potentially a starry night.

And that was it, we changed the plan, remaining flexible, but intending to complete Meall Corranaich & Meall a’Choire Leith that day, as well, if the sky remained clear when it got dark to enjoy some walking under the light of full moon. Thus, from Beinn Ghlas we took the steep northerly decent down the ridge toward the Bealach before heading straight up to Meall Corranaich (Munro #6) while the sun set. The views all day, with cloud inversions and the clarity, had been stunning and now to finish it off, the sun setting just added colour to the sky. 100 horrendous days in cloud, rain and wind are all worth it for the day you get lucky like this.

As the sun set, and the moon lit the way, the stars started to show up and we walked without the need for a head torch to our final Munro of the day; Meall a’ Choire Leith. The lowest mountain of the day but in these conditions no less worthy of the walk, providing views back across to where we had been.

Whilst sat under the moonlit sky, star gazing and enjoying the views of the Lawers range, discussions of camping spots and the next day’s plan got under way. We had made it much further than intended and knew the weather was potential going to be similarly stunning the next day, albeit windier as the day went on, with Storm Ciara looming. The famous Tarmachan Ridge looked like it would be an option for the morning but we needed to be on it at a reasonable time to avoid the wind. This meant cracking the Corbett as well, and a beeline for the bealach was set. This involved a steep descent into a boggy traverse before dropping the bags (as we intended to camp just below the bealach). We could save time and energy as we would be returning to this point anyway. Marking these on the GPS and taking only vital kit, we headed up as the cloud came in, but once again got lucky popping through the cloud as we reached the final summit of the day.

The icing on the cake

Sat on the summit, our luck peaked as there was a very rare Moon bow / 22° Halo / circular lunar rainbow. This is effectively a rainbow in a full ring around the moon (excuse the poor phone quality picture). The perfect finish to an incredible day in the Scottish mountains. Just the walk down, locating of the bags, and finding a spot to wild camp followed before some well-earned rest…...

To be continued….. Day 2 coming soon…..

Day 1 Route – Approx: 22.2km of walking + 2150m Ascent

Munro Meanings:

Meall Greigh – Hill of the horse studs

Meall Garbh – Rough Hill

An Stùc – Rocky cone

Ben Lawers – Possibly; loud hill or hoofed hill

Beinn Ghlas – green / grey hill

Meall Corranaich – Notched Hill / Hill of the lamenting

Meall a’ Choire Leith – hill of the grey corrie

Corbett Meaning:

Meall nam Maigheach – hill of hares

References:

OS Maps

‘The Munros’ – Cameron McNeish