We’ve had a prolonged settled period of weather, here in Scotland: cold, little wind, and sunny. The weather was looking good for a summit camp and sunrise. On Monday the 29th, pal and I set off for a local hill, Ben Vorlich, close to Loch Lomond. Ben Vorlich (945m) means mountain of the Bay and is an easy, accesible munro from Glasgow. We packed a tent, stove, warm clothes, and headed off into the dark around 7 pm. The nighttime ascent of the hill was straightforward, with a clear path and only a little ice and wind.
We reached a nice spot, close to the summit: flat and grassy. The ground was frozen solid, but with the aid of a rock, the pegs went in fine. It was a cold night, about -5 °C. Some extra care is needed when it’s below freezing; for example, one needs to keep the water in the tent overnight to reduce the likelihood of it freezing, and gas canisters are best kept warm too, stored in a sleeping bag, so they can function in the cold temperatures.
At around 8 am, we stepped out of the tent to beautiful orange and red colours on the horizon. Sunrise was to be around 8:50, so we had lots of time to enjoy the changing light. Here’s a selection of our photos.
