Ben Hope and Ben Killbreck

Ben Hope and Ben Kilbreck are the the most northerly Munros and so the ascent of these involved a long 9 hour journey from York to get to the Forrest View Bunkhouse near Ullapool where I based myself for a few days. Both were ascended in one day. Although not demanding. since the ascent of both of them is very straightforward, the appalling weather on Ben Kilbreck made it a more trying day than I had imagined!

The first Munro of the year was very much of a run up and down affair. The Inno8ate running shoes were donned and it was good to start up the mountain. Conditions under foot were very wet and a bit cold in the shoes. I was looking forward to the possibility of seeing Orkney from the top but the mist closed in so I did no manage to see any view.

After completing Ben Hope I made my way back to the start of the ascent of Ben Kilbreck. A spot of lunch was had then the ascent was started in reasonable weather. The climb above Loch nan Uan was steep but quite satisfying however the weather turned for the worst after this point. Severe winter showers were now the name of the game so it was quite a struggle to get to the top and especially descent safely in the very limited visibility and horizontal driving snow. A clearing in the mist gave a positive sighting of the Loch below to confirm my compass bearings were right. A boggy final section of the descent finally lead back to the car after a much more trying day than I anticipated.