I headed north and east today towards Ben Vorlich for the second time in two weeks. A couple of weekends ago I’d intended to go walking here but it was a very stormy weekend and 85mph winds were predicted. I drove up anyway but even at the level of Loch Earn I was struggling to stay upright so I gave it a miss. No problems today though, with blue skies and a much lighter wind – strong enough still to make the loch a bit choppy though.
Ben Vorlich was looking good, its snowy slopes silhouetted slightly against a blue sky by the low winter sun.
I set off up the east drive of Ardvorlich House and onto the approach path to the mountain. There wasn’t any snow down here, just the golden browns of the heather as I looked back towards Loch Earn.
There was snow ahead though, left over from last week’s fall.
The path up from the bealach onto the summit itself was covered in ice, so after struggling (without crampons) up it so far I moved off the path to the south where there was less ice and more snow, which made the going much easier. When I got up onto the ridge I was rewarded with fantastic views to the south and east in particular.
As I sat having my lunch the cloud came in, obscuring the view, so I set off back down the mountain towards Loch Earn, this time keeping well away from the icy path!