Almost a third Munro...almost!

Ahh I am disappointed to be writing this about an unsuccessful attempt at another Munro; I so wish I could proclaim '3 down, 280 to go!' That was certainly the intention. But common sense had to prevail over the determination to bag another mountain.

Myself and Dave set off this morning towards Killin. The forecast for today was 'cold and clear', and due to be the best day of the week. I was desperate to climb a Munro this week; or to rephrase that - I was desperate to achieve something this week. I knew there was a lot of snow on the mountains in the area we were heading to, but we had coped with Schiehallion...so, we'd be fine, right?

No. We were attempting Meall nan Tarmachan, another on Steve Fallon's list of 'Ten easiest Munros'. A laughable concept and surely an oxymoron: 'easy' and 'Munro'. I'd heard good things about this mountain, and as Killin is technically my ancestral home, it all seemed to make sense. But I think we were just too keen.

I have to decide whether I'm serious enough about climbing these mountains to purchase some serious mountain climbing gear. I will certainly not be going up another snowy mountain without some sort of ice grip on my feet or in my hands. I don't want to give up the idea of bagging Munros in the winter, because the snow does some absolutely incredible things to the scenery. But I know that I'm not going to be one of 'those people' who buys a different pair of hiking boots for every season of the year. So the compromise is surely to buy some gear (like ice grips for my boots or spiked walking sticks) and persevere.

I think today was a good lesson though, as the above paragraph would not have existed if we hadn't attempted Scotland's 89th highest mountain today. Did get away with Schiehallion, but that was a well-trodden path, so the snow was packed down and straightforward to walk on. Meall nan Tarmachan is a far less-trodden path, and the snow (and ice) was - this time - extraordinarily challenging.

We plodded on as carefully as we could, slipping and sliding along the way. The path weaved its way up. In the snow we could see fresh tracks created by two guys walking ahead of us. We could tell from the small holes in the snow that these guys had the proper equipment. In the distance we could see them at the top of a summit. We could also see a further summit in the distance, and Dave did say he reckoned it was the top of Meall nan Tarmachan. I refused to believe this, or I would've lost all moral. It was all white - and it was very steep. We kept plodding up to the first summit.

looking back towards Loch Tay

But when we got to the top of MnT's 'minor summit', it was clear to see that we still had that steep snowy bit to go. I think almost instantly, with a sinking feeling in our stomachs, we knew that this was one summit that would have to elude us - for now. We watched as the two guys ahead of us hesitantly attempted the final push for the summit. But we watched in dismay as they struggled and - gave up. Now, if they couldn't make it with all the correct equipment, there was just no way me and Dave were going to make it. Good intentions and determination can't always get you to the top of a snow covered summit.

It was a horrible feeling to head back down without having achieved another Munro. But it would have been completely foolish - and probably dangerous - to continue. Gutting, but the right call. Lessons learned.

Meall nan Tarmachan - I will be back!!!