We knew An Stuc was going to be tricky, as the ascent was up the north face and had snow in parts. We had already done 2 of our 3 Munros and had met up with a lone hiker, Paul. He tagged onto us. He was a nice guy, but we really didn't want company whilst trying to decide whether we could do this steep ascent in relatively wintry conditions. Anyway, we stopped for lunch and had a good look at the route up. We weren't feeling it. And Paul, wasn't filling us with confidence. He'd clearly decided that he'd come with us if we decided to do it. It was a mild day though and conditions were not all icy, which was in our favour. It was a very difficult decision. Anyway, long story short. After much deliberation, we decided that the hill would always be there, and we'd do it another day in summer conditions. But we felt we were missing out, being just so, so close! After lunch we walked off, passing the bottom of our nemesis. We stopped again. Looked up, and saw a possible route up. Suddenly a man appeared at the top, having walked up from the other side and somehow he gave us confidence. So, we donned the crampons, Paul and all, and set off. A real change of heart. It was an exciting ascent and a delight to reach that lovely small patch of snow at the top. We are so happy to have done it. The walk off the ridge was no bother at all as it was south facing and had very little snow. Thank you to that hiker who appeared at the top of An Stuc at just the right time to encourage us to give it a try.
In the background of this image you can see Ben Lawers, one of the hills we'd walked the previous day.
Another accomplished hike/walk & a wonderful feeling of exhilaration at the top... Must be magical to stand at the top & survey the beauty. This capture is quite stunning..
A stunning vista! It can be so tough to gauge weather, energy and apparently the company when tackling something like this. Glad you considered carefully, and glad it was a great outing in the end!
Careful thoughtful climbers….that’s good to read…you must be very experienced by now but it must still have been hard to decide especially as you had a tagger on! A bit if a responsibility I expect! You don’t always want company!
Well done for this frightening looking climb! A great achievement!
@happypat Yes, I'm afraid Paul was one of the reasons we were both hesitating. A nice guy, but a major responsibility for us to do it with someone whose abilities we didn't really know ... there was potential for an incident of some sort, but thankfully that wasn't the case. :-)
@jamibann Well I’m sure Paul wouldn’t have tackled it on his own & it will be an achievement he will be telling & remembering for a long time! Your names will crop up many times I suspect! 😃
Well done for this frightening looking climb! A great achievement!