About two thirds of the way up to the bealach between Cnoc Coinnich and the Brack we hit the snowline and it started to get very icy and slippy (at this point we saw a lovely fox crossing the path not far above us). Then we crossed out of the trees and on to the hillside and all of a sudden we were in very wintery conditions and the wind hit us like a steel blade. At this point with the wind at about 35 mph we decided that rather than climb the mountain we would just cross the pass (which is about 520m at its highest) and then walk home via Artgartan and the Rest and be Thankful.

This is the conditions and me in the conditions.

We climbed higher and the wind grew stronger and colder – even so I was enjoying myself at this point. Suddenly we came over a ridge near the high point of the bealach and the full force of the wind hit us. R who was going first was nearly blown off his feet and the snow and ice drove straight into our faces. As though as one, we simultaneously made the decision to turn back.

We got to the woods and descended by the waterfall path. At 300m the wind was down to a breeze and the sun was shining – it was literally almost impossible to imagine how horrible it was 200m higher up. So just goes to show that even at lowish altitudes the Scottish mountains in winter are definitely worthy of respect.

I opened my office door when we got home, only to see a small brown creature scuttle away across the floor and disappear under my PC. After ineffectually chasing it around for a while only to have it go from the PC to the leg of my desk and back again, I decided to turn the PC on its side to remove one of its hiding places. I was a bit surprised when I turned it over to see not one but two perfect little field mice sheltering underneath it. I managed to grab one of them and put it under a bush outside, but the other one proved more elusive. I’ve now left the door to outside open for an hour or so, and it seems to have gone, so I am hoping it got away into the garden.

I do love the poor little things and I wish Schrodi would not keep letting them go in the house. Superficially he is a great mouser, but on closer examination of the facts he is a rotten one – cats are suppose to remove rodent problems – not create them!

cnoccoinnich

The full article is here – Walk Highlands Website

These are some pictures from when I last climbed it a few weeks ago – it took me a little less than four hours.

Anyway, Cnoc Coinnich may be 1m short of being a Corbett but it is still one of my favourite mountains, because the views from the summit of Loch Lomond, Loch Goil, Loch Long and the islands all the way up the Firth of Clyde are second to none.

A lovely evening with enough wind to keep the midgies off. I saw roe and red deer (the latter was in our garden drinking at the pond), two frogs, a raven and a buzzard. Also many invertebrates and some fantastic flowers including the wild orchid in the picture.

My full account of the trip is here –

but basically we had a very hard but good day (left at 8am and didn’t get back until after 4pm) with the weather improving all morning, and sunny all afternoon. We got some cracking views, from Croc Coinnich in particular, taking in Loch Goil, Loch Long, Loch Lomond and the Firth of Clyde, with sight of most of the iconic peaks of the Arrochar Alps. Ben Lomond from that view point looked much like the ‘Lonely Mountain’ from ‘The Hobbit’

The only thing I will say against the day is that we made a mistake on the way back by trying to loop round the back of the Steeple rather than just retracing our steps. The ground was a combination of bog, marsh grass, and heather, with loads of hidden holes, deep channels and unexpected steps down. It took us well over an hour to do about 1km – and it was fortuitous in the extreme that we didn’t end up spraining an ankle.

When we got back to the house, both cats were at the bottom of the drive to meet us, tails up in the air which was a nice homecoming. And then we had homemade pizza and a Fyne Ale each – because we had earned it.