A white day in the Ochils

Hill/Walk: Ben Cleuch via Andrew Gannel
Category: Graham/Donald
Height: 721m
Out with the good folk of Ayr today where we headed to the Ochils for our exercise. It was a cracking day.
As we approached the start the hills were looking majestic with plenty of snow blanketing them.

Mill Glen

Starting from Tillicoultry we headed up the Mill Glen. After yesterday's rain the burn was fast flowing with lots of waterfalls of various heights and all showing well. Quite a few walkers around after yesterday's washout.

The Law

It didn’t take long to get our first view of The Law, the traditional route to Ben Cleuch, but  not for us today.

Single file

We took the right fork and were soon in follow the leader formation as the track narrowed.

Snow line

It was not long before we hit the snow line, a soft slippy consistency at this low level.

The Law again

Cracking views already.
Our route was to follow the track above the Gannel Burn eastwards. This was a long slog as nobody had been along here before us today, soon found out why. The track was at best just a white line but it disappeared many, many times.

Track in Andrew Gannel on left

Breaking the snow was arduous with hidden drifts knee high.
We could see the hill across the way but this track takes you past the high point before turning back to head west again to the summit.

Slopes of AG, Kings Seat behind.

The contours suggested a gentle climb to the top of Andrew Gannel. However the wind picked up considerably, spindrift conditions along with the heavy underfoot it was a bit of a slog but we got there. Black clouds on either side, were we in for some rain?
Again the section between here and Ben Cleuch would be a doddle normally but once again we were the trailbreakers, breaking deep snow to get there. 

Viewfinder

We were very glad to get to the top of Ben Cleuch. The views up top were stunning all the way to the Lawers range. Such a strange light to the north, it looked more like a dull edited snap rather than reality.

To descend we headed over to Ben Ever where the grassy downhill section was a real slippery slope with most of the group taking a slide or two.

Snow melting

From there we headed down towards Alva and the woodland walk back to the cars. It was a different world down here as a lot of the snow had melted away from the lower slopes.
A longer and more arduous walk than most expected but satisfying nevertheless. A good workout out in excellent company. 

Wildlife: None
Time: 6.11
Ascent: 2665 ft
Distance: 8.55 ml