Thanks for posting. What a stunning day you had. My all-time favourite Munro. Good to know there is a way over (under) the Railway now. I did Ben Lui three times from Tyndrum in the lats 80s. It's on my list for this year again.
Hi Jerry. Thanks for watching. Agreed, Ben Lui is such a stunning Munro and I can see why you've been up multiple times. Apart from the bog, it's an absolute pleasure to climb. Hope you get as lucky as I did with the weather. Dave
Interesting regarding the wade. So on the way up, I took my boots and socks off and waded through (was a reasonable amount deeper than in your video, no surfacing stones) and it was *freezing* to the point of extreme pain, and I just had to precariously power on while maintaining my balance. I couldn't go through that again, so on the return leg, I just marched through in my boots and it was 10 times as easy, didn't feel cold, and it was much faster. Since coming home, I've learned that fording in boots is a commonly done thing and that wet feet aren't a big deal for one walk. Funnily enough, my feet were pretty wet by the end anyway even before the power-wade.
I'm not sure on the exact science behind it but when I was serving, we were always told to go across a river crossing with aggression and in full kit. Eventually the water would purge from the boot and your feet would start to heat whatever was left. I've not tried it any other way but if it's anything like how you've described, I certainly don't fancy it. Another trick to keep the feet dry is goretex socks. I think it was Seal Skins I used before and would recommend. Always worth having a pair tucked in the rucksack if you are going to be out for anything longer than a day.
Looks awesome and a great day for it !! 👍👍
Thanks for posting. What a stunning day you had. My all-time favourite Munro. Good to know there is a way over (under) the Railway now. I did Ben Lui three times from Tyndrum in the lats 80s. It's on my list for this year again.
Hi Jerry. Thanks for watching. Agreed, Ben Lui is such a stunning Munro and I can see why you've been up multiple times. Apart from the bog, it's an absolute pleasure to climb.
Hope you get as lucky as I did with the weather.
Dave
I assume the done thing was to cross the railway prior to the culvert walkway, or did you take a different route?
Thank you for the very informative video,this is one I've been wanting to do for ages and now after watching this I feel more confident in doing so
Hi William. It really is one of the most stunning mountains in the Highlands. I hope you get some good weather for your ascent. Enjoy.
Interesting regarding the wade. So on the way up, I took my boots and socks off and waded through (was a reasonable amount deeper than in your video, no surfacing stones) and it was *freezing* to the point of extreme pain, and I just had to precariously power on while maintaining my balance. I couldn't go through that again, so on the return leg, I just marched through in my boots and it was 10 times as easy, didn't feel cold, and it was much faster. Since coming home, I've learned that fording in boots is a commonly done thing and that wet feet aren't a big deal for one walk. Funnily enough, my feet were pretty wet by the end anyway even before the power-wade.
I'm not sure on the exact science behind it but when I was serving, we were always told to go across a river crossing with aggression and in full kit. Eventually the water would purge from the boot and your feet would start to heat whatever was left.
I've not tried it any other way but if it's anything like how you've described, I certainly don't fancy it.
Another trick to keep the feet dry is goretex socks. I think it was Seal Skins I used before and would recommend. Always worth having a pair tucked in the rucksack if you are going to be out for anything longer than a day.