Last night there was quite a severe storm with thunder and lightning close by. Overnight there wasn’t much wind but cloud greeted me in the morning. I set off at 8am to head off up through the snow. There were still partly covered footprints from those who’d passed yesterday so I had a trail to follow. As I got higher the trail started to get harder to follow as most of it was covered with fresh windblown snow. I reached the small loch on Ptarmigan which was frozen over and much smaller than I was expecting. I looked to my right, hoping to see something of Ben Lomond but I could only see cloud. The going had been slow but eventually I reached Bealach Buidhe, the flattish saddle below the steep climb to the Ben summit. I still couldn’t see much ahead so I had no impression of the steep ridge other than the contours on the map. There were no tracks of any kind to show me the way but as I got higher I could just make out the edge of the path in the snow. Before the steep section I’d fitted the ice studs to my boots and was glad of the extra security. For some of the steeper sections the snow was an advantage as I was able to kick steps. Perhaps the thick cloud was an advantage as I suspected I was on a very exposed ridge but couldn’t see below to confirm. After a steep section the route flattened before it steepened again.

Ben Lomond summit trig post

This happened a couple of times. For the final push there was no sign of a path and I was climbing up between rock outcrops and snow filled gulleys. It came as a surprise as I emerged from the last gulley and saw the summit trig post ahead. It was also a pleasant surprise to have little wind as I approached it to take a couple of photos. Unfortunately the post was all I could photograph as there were no views of any kind. My descent route was to the south and now I had a track to follow. As this is the main ascent route it is quite well used and was easy to follow. The summit ridge seemed to go on a long time before starting to head down steeply with some zig zags to take me down to a gentler slope. Part way down I came out of the cloud and could see the way ahead. I could also make out some figures in the distance as they headed up towards me. I didn’t get chance to meet them as my descent was to be to the NE and I now left the official path and headed off across the snow towards Sithean.

Camp below Ben Lomond

My original plan had been to descent to the buildings of Comer and follow the track towards Cruachan. Because the climb over the Ben had taken much longer than expected and as I’d packed an additional day’s supplies just in case, I decided to try and find a camp spot high up. With a covering of snow I didn’t have to worry about water. Continuing along my original route I came to a high point above Coire Fuar and found a good pitch in a sheltered gully. The wind was coming in from the east and I could see dark rain clouds and rain showers beneath. I got the tent up as quickly as I could and just got my pack inside as the rain and hail hit. As with yesterday the weather was extremely changeable and within a short time blue sky appeared and the tent was bathed in sunshine.

South view from the tent

The temperature outside was hovering around 0degC but in the tent the sun generated quite a lot of heat. By mid afternoon the cloud enveloping Ben Lomond had blown away and the whole mountain was bathed in sunshine. The ridge I’d climbed on the way up was round the other side so I still didn’t get the chance to see what I’d climbed. For a time it was clear enough to see the Wallace memorial in Stirling, many miles to the east.