Schiehallion has been one of those mountains on my 'to do' list for years now and finally i can tick it off as done!!
It's not a spectacularly pretty mountain to look at and its not one that has your hair standing on end as you climb it. Its a 'whale back' mountain, which in other words is just a slow slog uphill!! Getting there is a task in itsself. The car park at foss braes is tucked away in a beautiful glen on the road towards rannoch moor and is an empty land!!!
I had camped the night before at a farm that allows a small number of caravans and tents to pitch on its grounds for a very small fee (i'm not going to tell you where as i dont want its peace and quiet ruined by you all stampeding to stay there!!).
Left the car park at the mountains foot just before 8am. I started early so to enjoy the cooler morning temperatures as the day before had been very very hot and wouldnt have made comfortable climbing. I was taken aback when i saw that the car park had a pay and display meter, its in the middle of nowhere and i wondered who and hopw often a traffic warden did his rounds out here. But i duly paid my £2 fee for the right to park and started my walk. Its an easy path for the first couple of miles, following a well laid and maintained path (courtesy of the John Muir Trust). It zig zags its way through some trees and then makes its way, quite steeply onto the back of the mountain. It was already begining to heat up, but was still a bit hazy, the sun only just begining to melt the clouds. Its a tough old slog up this monutain until you get to a huge cairn on a small flat clearing. This is where the path ends and the 'scramble' begins. The remaining mountain is strewn with boulder fields and carins to guide you on your way.UP!!
There are numerous false summits on this mountain, but if you are a geologist there is plenty to keep your attention. The wind picked up and i had to don my fleece as I approached the top. And what a view. Its a very narrow summit with near sheer drops all around, which adds to the dramatic views over to rannoch moor and the black mount. I never saw another soul until i turned to start my return to the car and on my decent passed around a dozen people, including a couple of fell runners. It was a good day and i'm glad i finally took the time to tackle this one. The guide books say it takes a round trip time of 4.5 hours. I was back at the car for 11am, so just over 3 hours for me which was fairly quick, considering i spent around 15 minutes at the top taking photos and having something to eat. However, i do think i should have set off a bit later as by the time i reached halfway on my decent the clouds had all cleared and the views would have been even better from the summit, but i wasnt going to turn round and climb throughy the scree again!!Maybe next time.
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