The high level walk saw ten members, including Shirley who had

travelled down from Fort William, attempt Ben More and Stob Binnein in glorious sunshine. Starting from Benmore Farm at 9.45am we followed a track for a short distance before heading south-east up the long, long slopes of Ben More, eventually hitting snow at around 1500ft. Some icy patches made progress slow at times, but the deeper snow higher up made progress easier. We reached the summit at about 12.45pm and enjoyed lunch with superb views all around including Ben Lui to the west, Ben Nevis to the north and Killin and Loch Tay in the east.

From the summit we headed south down to Bealach-eadar-dha Beinn at which point Chris decided to head back down as he had a sore knee. The rest of us started the climb to Stob Binnein, although around a third of the way up Linda and Shirley sensibly decided to turn back as it became increasingly icy. The remaining seven put our crampons on at this point and made quick progress to the summit. A similarly rapid descent followed and we met up again with Linda and Shirley at the bealach. The descent westwards saw us encounter deep snow before heading north along a very icy track back to the road. Christmas presents of headtorches came in very useful as we got back to our cars well after sunset!

Special mention must go to Joe and Nicola, two new members who did two Munros in a day for the first time - it won't be long until they are doing the South Glenshiel Ridge! And also to Mick for cajoling Carol-Ann into completing Stob Binnein - no mean feat when you see her expression in the photo!

And so we headed for the Rod and Reel pub in Crianlarich to meet up with those 21 (yes, twenty one!) members who had done the Killin walk. All in all a very successful day for the club and an idea that will no doubt be repeated - any volunteers?!

Steve Morley

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