Munro Bagging, ( Knowing When to Turn Back). Meall Glas, unbagged 25.11.2018
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- čas přidán 13. 12. 2018
- Sunday the 25th of November was to be my last Munro climb of 2018. An early start and a favourable weather forecast had things shaping up to be a successful end to the year taking my total to 23 Munros bagged, just 2 short of my target of reaching 25 Munros by the end of 2018.
However, the weather changed dramatically contrary to the Met office prediction for the day, and also the route up Meall Glas was just a complete quagmire which delayed the ascent time by at least an extra hour.
After nearly 3 long arduous hours of trudging through wet marshland, I was still not even near setting a foot on the actual mountain itself. The decision was made that taking everything into consideration, deteriorating weather, poor visibility, and the amount of remaining daylight left, it was absolutely the right decision to turn back.
I was truly disappointed at having to turn back, but on any mountain your personal safety has to be of paramount importance.
I decided to post this vlog anyway to show other Munro Baggers that turning back has no shame attached to it at all, and is actually to be commended as it is always the right decision.
The mountain will always be there on another day.
Well done mate great decision the mountain weather can be very harsh and unpredictable been there myself and made the wrong decisions but got away with it but was with company so much more dangerous when your out solo hiking great move turning back 👍
Thanks David! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. 😁🙌🏼
Good shout turning back. Safety first.
Thanks Andi, appreciate the comment my friend. 😁🙌🏼⛰
I did it in the summer took about 3 hours to get to the top ,did the one next too it on the right too ,then the sun came out ,thankfully i was on the way down by then ,but lovely views waterfalls etc as you follow a burn back to the road
I recognise that big, its relentless, I did it in the wet but no snow. Where you turned round it took me a good hour to get to summit, no paths most of the way , hard slog Munro... I turned back from Ben Oss last year on the Belach and the Cobbler twice ! Good videos , looks good on the big TV
Hi Gordon, thanks for the comment. I think next time I’ll be going via Sgiath Chuil first. I don’t mind so much the walk back down from Meal Glas, but the walk up is pretty soul destroying eh?
Great that you got to tick it off.
Best Regards,
Douglas. 😁🙌🏼⛰
Great call. Same happened to me just across the road in November. Got to top of Ben More and met with driving wind, rain and poor visibility not in the forecast. Despite over a 2.5 hour drive I left Stob Binnein for another day
I’ve turned back a few times. But it’s the sign of experience my friend.
just did this (meall glas & sgiath chuil ) today in August. It wasnt much better lol. Bogfest, up to the ankles in it and overgrown at most lower parts, then non existent trails higher up. Not particularly enjoyable. Obviously not as bad as the winter walking but yep, i nearly turned back in summer so can imagine how s**t it would b in the latter months. Nice videos man
Hi kev, I can’t tell you how happy I am knowing I’ll never have to climb Meall Glas again. Lol. Glad you managed to get the two bagged buddy.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Best Regards,
Douglas.
Good Call! 👍🏻
Jamie Burgoyne Thanks Buddy, I appreciate you taking the time to offer the positive feedback.
Best Regards,
Douglas 😁🙌🏼⛰
It pays to have good clothes, good knowledge and plenty of common sense especially if you're on your own. Subbed. Your now got a ton of subscribers.
Many thanks Alistair. I appreciate that very much 🙌🏼
Douglas.
May I respectfully ask what the risks would have been if you had attempted it?
Hi Louis, no problem asking at all. Several factors helped me reach the decision to turn back...
The light was fading and I only had about 1-2hours light left. The climb up to the area I decided to turn back from took much longer in the snow than I thought and coming back down off any mountain in the dark that doesn’t have a good path increases injury for sure.
The weather was deteriorating rapidly and the thought of reaching the top without a view was depressing (big part of the reason we go eh)? I’ve been on a few mountain ascents where a good clear day ended up in severe cloud and all that effort with no visual reward is just no fun in my opinion.
Plus, it’s always the ego that prevents folks from turning back and I in all good conscience couldn’t risk getting stuck and having to have rescue workers risk their own safety to come get me.
The mountain will always be there on another day and hopefully you’ll see I did actually reach the top in another vlog for this mountain I posted on my channel. As you may see if you watch it the wait was well worth it.
Hope that helps,
Never a problem to ask a question,
Best Regards,
Douglas.
@@DouglasGilgallon Thank you for the fast reply! I guess in Scotland at that time of year at the top of a munro the weather can get very bad very quickly. You probably could have made it but like you said: why risk it?
Thanks again for commenting Louis.
Best Regards,
Douglas. 😁🙌🏼⛰🏴