Ben Wyvis pictures...

well; it was a couple of days ago and now and after today it feels like a different world but....if you are sitting comfortably then let us begin.

Those (deluded few) who read this blog may recall that Claire and I had turned round at about 875m during an attempt on Wyvis on our christmas trip - a howling crosswind and very poor snow conditions making it not advisable for Claire to carry on (I could have got to the top but the experience would have been distinctly underwhelming as the visibility was not great for what is an excellent viewpoint)..

 So, round two was on Monday and, fresh from a nice big brekkie from the Aultguish Inn, and armed with 4 large sandwiches, we parked up at the car-park. The route climbs the right hand hill (An Carbar) before traversing to the actual summit which is in the middle - we then intended to add another top which is out of picture. One advantage of this walk is that there is a good path all the way to the top of An Carbar; although it is steep at the top. The first section through the forest was lovely and we crossed the forest road in good order (god I sound like W.H.Murray!) The next section had been profoundly tricky in the winter with icy sections; however this time it led upwards nice and rapidly and with a gentle breeze keeping the midges away as well, which are the bane of most people's lives in Scotland at this time of year....

We made the top in good time, much better than in the winter and were rewarded with views like this....right across the whole of the western highlands and also south towards the Cairngorms.

After a quick break for food and water we set off towards the summit of Ben Wyvis. A steady pull took us to the top and we dropped over the other side before having lunch. Several rather tasty sarnies later the two of us waddled rather slowly up Tom a' Choinnich, the third top of Ben Wyvis and the third one that counted that day [being very sad, I am trying to do the tops as well as the Munro's]. There is a fourth top; however that is a good 2 miles away and whilst it would have been easyish (if long) to take in; it was left for another time - on ski's the whole mountain would be very quick and straightforward.

The descent was a bit trying at first. Unbeknownst to us, the new editions of the Munro guide suggest veering towards the stream quickly and a trod has developed along it. Not knowing that, we descended for several hundred feet on heathery ground - quite hard going. We were angling towards the stream and we did eventually pick up the trod. The going was still quite rough and not a little wet as we headed towards the forest. After scrambling through a deer fence we descended a forest ride and picked up a very clever little path that descended above a river and back towards the forest road. However, with about 100 yards to go, Claire slipped off the path and pulled a muscle in her leg - leaving her with a very painful hobble back to the car as there was no way I could get the vehicle any closer to render any assistance.....Ibruprofen and some raising of the leg later has hopefully helped....

All in all though a very good day indeed; not as long as Sunday but with about 1100m of climbing it was still a sizeable contribution.