The forecast was for strong winds and low cloud, so to avoid possible disappointment after a long drive to Drumochter, Ralph and I decided to try nearer to home. Beinn Dubhchraig and Ben Oss seemed like a good idea.
We arrived at Dalrigh just after 8 am, having driven through some sleet showers. But the weather at Tyndrum was OK, so we followed the track towards the hills looking for the bridge over the Allt Coire Dubhchraig. After a short distance, the bridge had not materialised, so we crossed the river on the rocks, joining a path on the other side. Here we were walking through the lovely remnant of the old Caledonian pine forest, which seemed to make the walking easier.
Coming out of the forest on to the floor of the coire, we encountered the first of the snow. Behind us, we could see quite clearly, but ahead the hills were in cloud. After climbing towards the ridge for a while, we put on crampons, and then entered the cloud. There was a breeze that was cold, but not too strong.
On reaching the wide and lumpy ridge, with poor visibility, we took out the GPS and discovered that we were not very far from the summit. After navigating over the confusing terrain using the GPS and map and compass, we reached the summit cairn. We could only see for around 15 metres, and the wind had become stonger and was bitingly cold. So we decided that Ben Oss would have to wait for another day.
On retracing our tracks down the hill, we found ourselves on a different path to the one we had ascended. This followed a delightful burn leading back into the forest. This path was boggy in some places, but frozen hard in others, and led us eventually to the bridge that we had missed on the way up.
The drive home was uneventful, (not like a previous one!) and we arrived home unusually early before 4 pm.
John Burton
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