Underrated exploration

Blackmount and Loch Tulla seen from Beinn Achaladair

The Blackmount is often seen but arguably little explored. This foreboding range of hills in the northern extremity of Argyll and Bute is well viewed from the A82 as it crosses Rannoch Moor from Bridge of Orchy through to Glencoe, but a combination of long approaches and rough mountainous terrain tend to put off all but the most intrepid. 

One of the most iconic peaks of this range, Stob Ghabhar, hides away behind smaller hills but can be teased into view by following the winding road around the side of Loch Tulla. Unfortunately for us the lazy winter sun was yet to stir, with our field of vision constrained to the circle or torchlight on the ground in front. As we climbed higher up the hill the morning drizzle turned quickly to snow and the ground became hostile and frozen. Coming here was a risk, but considering more promising venues were strictly out of bounds, this was the best option we had and so it was with great relief that arriving at the crag we found a winter wonderland. 

The tops of the mountains in Scotland can be a wild and unforgiving place in winter, but are always worth the effort

Our objective was the rarely visited east face, to climb a line that until recently I thought hadn't yet seen a winter ascent. Capricorn is a rock climb graded Diff, and climbs the bounding rib right of the Upper Couloir, a renowned mountaineering classic grade II gully.  It transpired Capricorn received a winter ascent in 2000 and was graded IV,4, but very little information existed on that ascent and nothing on anything done subsequently.

The face itself is accessed from the col, just short of the summit cairn and so has a fairly long (not to mention high) approach compared to a lot of Scottish winter crags. A short traverse under the lower crags on the southern side eventually lead to the gully and the rib itself. 

The first pitch is open to some interpretation, however we started up the left side of the lowest part of the buttress climbing a shallow groove with some bold and delicate moves before the angle eases and a corner is reached. After a step left, more corners and grooves are followed to a thread belay just before a sharpening of the arete (~40 m). The next pitch climbs the arete, which becomes well defined and is akin to a slightly harder version of Dorsal Arete over in Glencoe (another ~40 m). The last pitch climbs easy snow to the top, just below the summit (~20 m). 

Ben on the second pitch of Capricorn (IV,4) on Stob Ghabhar

Ben getting onto easier ground on the lower pitch of Capricorn

The final pitch, with fabulous arete seen in behind

 

The route was definitely worthy of its grade IV, with no particularly hard moves. We had some useful neve and good frozen turf, but cracks were often blind and few and far between. None the less, the route was easily comparable in quality to some of the better routes in the northern corries or in the Lochan in Glencoe and deserves at least 2 stars.  

A very idyllic setting in the glens below the Blackmount

Unlucky on Lomond

Local travels restrictions in Scotland have meant that winter climbing venues are somewhat more limited than usual. Thankfully Stirlingshire is quite extensive and even includes some pretty high mountains like much of the eastern Trossachs as well as the hills around Glen Dochart. 

With last season coming to such an abrupt end because of national lockdown, I was itching to get out and with the arrival of the first winter storms at the start of December, Seb and I rolled the dice and headed for Ben Lomond. This distinctive hill is often noted as one of the most frequented Munros in Scotland and was also once popular with climbers, but fell from favor in the 1900s when people realized it was more fun to climb in the sunshine on dry rock that wasn't covered in moss. As a winter venue, its low latitude and modest altitude means its not often in condition and because of that must only see a few visits a year. Given it was one of the highest venues in Stirlingshire and that it had been snowing in the glens in the days running up to our visit, it seemed like a logical choice of venue to kick off the winter climbing season. 

Our objective was Lomond Corner, the classic IV,5 that dominates the northern end of the remote corrie which is situated on the north side of the mountain. The corrie is often glanced into by summit aspirants taking a break on their way to the top, or those continuing more leisurely during descent, but must be otherwise rarely visited (intentionally at least..). Our approach from the loch side car park on Loch Lomond wasn't too bad on the scale of Scottish winter climbing walk-ins, being a mere 10 km with around 900 m of elevation. As we ascended the muggy air and light rain was quickly replaced with freezing fog, iced up rock and even the occasional snow flurry. It all felt very promising in terms of the route being in condition for climbing and as we descended into the upper corrie from just short of Ben Lomond summit, we were delighted to find rocks covered in snow and ice, and turf which looked equally icy and wind blasted. 

Looking up Lomond Corner. Promising from below but alas not to be.

Looking across the coire from just below the summit of Ben Lomond, just before we dropped down in search of climbing

To get to the corner itself required a descent into the corrie, then a traverse of a few hundred meters along the base of the cliff, past "A" and "B" Buttresses, to "C" Buttress. As we dropped into the shelter of the lower section of the corrie, favorable conditions quickly started to disappear, with the ground underfoot becoming boggy under the snow, and the rock dripping in the warmth of the morning light. In a fit of dismay, I went up the first pitch swimming through soft powder, cruddy ice and mud. A few crucial sections of steepness were overcome with little dignity as turf ripped and ice disintegrated. Whilst it looked passable from below, the route was definitely out of condition and so to avoid any more damage I lowered off and we retreated back up the corrie. Thankfully we managed to find a high section of cliff which was more exposed and was still frozen. With no topos or route descriptions we decided to make our own fun and climbed a 40 m line through some turfy grooves past a short and steep chimney crack in the headwall. We named the route "Break Dance" and graded in IV,5 with it being most III apart from the hard section through the chimney. After that we attempted another route, but with the temperatures rising and the turf thawing, it was impossible to commit to the gearless swing through a overhanging corner and thus an equally dodgy downclimb was proceeded by abandoning climbing altogether and heading for the summit. Whilst not ideal for climbing, the beautiful winter sunshine definitely made for stunning vistas from the summit of Ben Lomond.   

Seb on the steep finish to our new route, Break Dance, up on Ben Lomond

Escaping the coire and heading for the top. Conditions weren't at their best, but we still managed something

The Trossachs seen from the top of Ben Lomond. I've had worse views.