We had been planning to climb Ben More and Stob Binnein since Lesley's friend Evelyn recommended it to us a few years ago, but we kept putting it off as these two hills usually hang onto the snow for a lot of the year and if the reports were right that they are relentlessly steep. Our weeks holiday in Assynt was coming up soon which we hoped to climb Ben More and Conival, and we needed to get back into it before then. We couldn't have picked a better day for the walk, a cool and misty early morning with a low lying cloud hanging in the valley to add to the beautiful scenery. Thankfully we got parked near the access gate which saved us a bit of time at both ends of the day. The landrover track wound its way up the hill not too steep I thought, that didn't last as it gave way to a steepening path with me removing a layer as the heat built up in direct correlation to the work input. We made it to the top of the first Munro of the day Ben More in good time, with a wee stop for photos and calorie intake. The going wasn't too bad down to the bealach on the way to Conival, but what goes down must go up. It felt like a bit of a slog up the zig zag path to the top in what must have been 30 degrees in the sun. we got to the top and perched on the grassy slopes for more food and a blether with some of the other folks around, one of the guys was on his second round of all the Munros. We had a good laugh when five guys with what sounded like Glasgow accents appeared, taps aff and gallus like they were out for a carry on in the park, all touching the cairn as you do, they about turned and one of them mentioned having a lager tops when he got down, another piped up "mountaineers don't do cocktails", they all just carried on walking, brilliant stuff. We set off again back down to the bealach to take the hellish grassy route down to meet the river then a walk back to the car. What a stunning day which started with a very early alarm for the drive up, lots of sweat and hard work but more than worth it for the stunning scenery, the good laughs and pushing yourself just for the hell of it.
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