The Corbetteer: Ben Ledi & Ben Vane

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Ben Ledi & Ben Vane

Full Report & Pictures

I had decided on Ben Ledi for my first Corbett, it is one of the first hills of the highlands to be seen when heading north up the M9. Standing high above Calander it offers big views over the forth valley and can be seen clearly as far south as Soutra.

A good clear day was needed and my two trusted hill forecasts gave very conflicting forecasts, the met office mountain forecast warned of a persistent cloud base of 2500 - 3000 foot, and my much preferred MWIS promised blue skies and sunshine.

A bright cold starry night offered great potential, but as so often in the winter months the break of daylight seen cloud quickly build.

The walk in from Brig o' Turk is a bit of a slog along a tarmac road (i just hate having to walk along a perfectly driveable road) after a mile or so a land rover track is followed to high on the western slopes of Ben Ledi, from here a short climb on heatherey ground leads to the summit ridge.

For all pictures and report Click Here

About this Blog

Having recently finished the Munros see link, I had promised myself never to get involved with ticking off hill lists again, however, a book on the Corbetts at xmas a few lagers too many and the decision was made.
What is a Corbett ??
What is a Munro ??
With the Munros I managed to get up north about once per month and averaged just over 30 Munros per year. Little has changed for getting away, so if I keep up the same frequency I should complete in about 7 years. (dec 2014)
One big change , in the last few years of Munro bagging, I became obsessed with having good weather, and some fantastic days were enjoyed see link and as such, I had to ask many big favours to get time off work at short notice etc. So with the Corbetts, I am having to arrange my trips in advance and will have to take whatever weather is thrown at me, so gone are days of blue sky, it's back to traditional Scottish hill days of driving rain, high winds and low cloud. Should be interesting!
As to the name "The Corbetteer" well, I thought I coined that name myself, while sat on top of Bienn Tarsuinn (letterewe), but far from it, not only has it been in use for many years, it also has a meaning "one who has completed" so maybe I should rename the blog to the "Wannabe Corbetteer"!