A dull, dreary day and we could see the top clouded over. The path from Benmore farm very quickly petered out and it becomes a simple slog up a continuously steep, grassy slope. Graeme and Neil (son-in-law) hate this terrain, me less so as I find it easier to zigzag upwards. It is, however, very strenuous. Even Neil was feeling it although he was pounding way ahead of Graeme and me. Just before entering the cloud base at about 900 metres we spotted a path on the right. We had known there was one near the top but we had been going up too far to the left and had missed its beginning. Once on it the going was much easier. Paths tend to take the easy way up whereas if you walk up a slope without one you tend to go straight up which is more difficult.
Once into the clouds the visibility was bad but with the path there was no problem and it didn't stop Neil and Graeme spotting the cross standing below in a corrie. They had been unaware of the existence of this but I recalled reading somewhere that it marked the spot where someone had fallen. It certainly sobers you up when you see something like that. No problems though and the path soon leads to the summit.
I wondered what problems lay ahead as it was not clear in the mist which way to go from Ben More and I was ready to start walking by compass. A quick reconnoitre, however, showed a clear path and this was followed the whole way down into the col and up to the summit. Apart from being a drag there was very little to say about the easy, straightforward walk from Ben More to Stob Binnein. About halfway down Ben More the rain started and we had to put on all our gear. As we reached the col the mist dissipated and we got some, but not good, views but the mist soon closed in as we again gained height. The top was easily reached and was a bit of a disappointment. The snooker table aspect which you see when you view the mountain from a distance was nothing on the top. Probably it was because of the weather but it all
seemed a bit of an anticlimax.
Once back down on the col we headed off left down the grassy slopes. The way was not obvious but we just headed downwards until the mist cleared and we could see where we were going. At one point I sat down and the others dared me to slide down on the wet grass. With waterproof trousers this was easy and I went skidding down on my backside for about 100 feet just stopping short of some sheep turds. Heaven knows what would have happened if the terrain had produced a rock or two. At the bottom was a path and a river with a walk not too dissimilar to that coming off Buachaille Etive Mor. Only this was eventually on a full track leading downhill and then taking us back to Benmore Farm.
