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Catriona Bamford
wrote on April 21, 2014:
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Eric, Susan, Lydian and her dog Pip, Yaingdoon, Adrienne, Catriona and myself set off from Inveruglas with a mission to climb Ben Vane. The first leg of the journey was a bit of a slog down the tarmac road, we started our ascent as soon as we neared the quarry.
The view was stunning and ever changing as we climbed. The ascent was steep and a bit of a scrabble in some places. The view from the top was equally as stunning. A beautiful mountain with a fun and challenging climb for beginners.
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Colin Mochan
wrote on May 8, 2011:
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weather not good on way up made up for it on way down,good day walking fun mountain.
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Brian Tyrrell
wrote on October 19, 2010:
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did it yesterday in a howling gale with rain all the way up and down ! the last 1,000ft were in cloud so I never saw anything ! good
workout though.
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Jim Fowler
wrote on September 29, 2010:
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Our small group of three tackled Ben Vane from Inveruglas ,Sunday 26th September 2010, 09:45,weather was fantastic,not a cloud in sight, up and back down in 5hrs then to the Tarbet hotel for a few beers.
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Kenny Wallace
wrote on September 26, 2010:
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Set off at 0645 and found the route to the bottom of Ben Vane with no issues. The only issue I had was wasting about 30 mins as the OS map says the path up starts just before the disused Quarry but it actually starts next to a bridge. You can't miss it, just look for the boot marks. Hard slog from start with some boggy bits at the start. A couple of false summits on the way but it was a beautiful day so didn't before me. Made summit for 1000 and then back to Inveruglas car park for 1145. Excellent day with superb views of Beinn Narnain, Beinn Ime, The Cobbler, Ben Vorlich and Loch Sloy.
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Steven Budd
wrote on August 14, 2010:
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Excellent route although turned right at bridge at junction and went straight up the hill. Quite steep all the way up but the views were great.
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James Corrigan
wrote on March 20, 2010:
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Nice steep climb is Ben Vane.The wet section after you cross the burn is soon past and it quickly gets steep and then much steeper.Mini scramble on the final rocky mound.There is a large puddle on top and it looks kind or permanent.Two Cairns are up there, the bigger one giving great views out to Lomond.Views of Ben Ledi and Venue are very good with the stunning A`Chrois the pick of the bunch.The large and broad Vorlich broods in front of you.The steep faces of Ime and Narnain make up the spectacular view.
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Andrew Blair
wrote on July 22, 2009:
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Climbed twice from Inveruglas with bro & neph 30/12/2008. Surreal upper slopes coated in icy, doves feather-like formations. Frosted upper slopes kept disappearing into cloud but looked awesome against blue sky - they looked for all the world like pyroclastic flow from a volcano. We had cloud inversion at the summit and Brocken Spectres made for an unforgettable day. Returned in Feb with the missus, much more ice & snow this time. We had to abandon the climb at the final summit ascent as we had no crampons and were in fear for our lives on the sheets of ice.
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Bruce Donachie
wrote on March 19, 2009:
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Firstly: I lost my camera here 190309,eastern path up shoulder, so if you find it, a crate of beer is yours;-) A good, and for a beginner like myself, interesting climb, and a nice introduction to a little bit of scrambling.
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Darren Tuffs
wrote on January 18, 2009:
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I did Ben Vane on my own last March and in the snow this is a beautiful climb, but after the bridge it is very boggy and for this reason i'd suggest going around and assend via the path marked on the map, nothing worse then up to your knees before you even start! an then take that boggy path as your exit. The snow makes this a much more challenging climb add patchy cloud an its easy to take harder routes then needed, but the views were stunning, well worth it. once summited however it became tricky, the top was a solid sheet of ice an the wind was pushing me along to the edge, time to exit!
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Kevin Woods
wrote on October 30, 2008:
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I climed Ben Vane 26th September 2008. I found this a much more enjoyable ascent than I'd first anticipated - we watched the sun rise from the approach track and final section to the summit was enjoyed. Mist made false summits hard to identify, though each reascent offered it's own point of scrambling. This hill hugely exceeded my expectations and will be one to visit again when the clouds arent down.
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Gary Mccann
wrote on September 29, 2008:
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This was my third munro phew it was a hard 1 the weather wasnt so good . It was muddy n boggy from the outset.the scramble at the top (aye the top b careful there are a few false summits ) if id have known about the scrambling then id have never have taken the dog but we managed it in the end (gawed my wee legs r sore).
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John Gilchrist
wrote on July 10, 2007:
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Like most, found it a fair slog but height gained quickly and the views well worth the trachle. You can avoid the worst of the mud at the beginning if, instead of taking the first and popular path by the little bridge, you continue on the road a hundred metres or so and go up the obvious shoulder then skirt to the right of the peat hag as the gradient flattens. At least you can start with dry boots.
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John Wilkie
wrote on February 6, 2007:
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Quite an easy climb, but the weather did an excellent job at making it challenging. As soon as we hit the solid snow line the clouds rolled in and dumped a load of snow on us. The many false summits set up a new challenge each time we encountered one, each had its own technical merits. There was a bit of climbing to be done and the soft new snow made the
going deep and tough. Two minutes to pause for a few photos at the summit was all we could bear before the steep ascent. Long walk back to the car park took its toll on our legs a bit, but very worthwhile.
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Leon Mooney
wrote on September 24, 2006:
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This was my first Munro and the steepness of it gave me quite a surprise. The weather was kind in that it didn't ever rain, and it was clearest at the summit. My colleagues turned up and informed me that we were climbing Ben Vane (I was totally in the dark, and had assumed it would have been Ben Vorlich since it was nearer the car park). We missed the path at the burn and instead had to trudge up the uneven grassy south side until we found the path, almost by accident. It looked to me as though it would never end (all those false summits!), but the views from the top were stunning. I was really exhausted afterwards (and a little deflated at how I could have seriously misjudged the art of climbing a hill), but looking back it was a worthwhile experience, and didn't put me off after all.
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Heather Turner
wrote on August 10, 2005:
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I liked Ben Vane very much the climb was very exciting and fun with spectacular veiws of Ben Arthur (the cobbler) which is not a munro but we saw some that are munros and we have some excellent photos of veiws from the top. I think you should try this too is was great.
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Aileen Mackenzie
wrote on July 11, 2005:
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Climbed on 09/07/05. Surprisingly quiet hill for this part of Scotland it was like being on the hills north of Inverness, especially as it was a lovely Saturday. We found the asent pretty unrelenting this may have been due to the heat and lack of breeze. Having decended 500m we decided that the 600m to do Ben Ime was asking too much of our legs on such a warm day!
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Steve Kerr
wrote on May 28, 2005:
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Ben Vane Fri 27 May 05. Followed the tar road under the railway to grid NN299095 where you turn SW and cross Inveruglas Water by the bridge. On the map the path begins about 300m short of the quarry and recognised by old railway sleepers embedded in the hillside. A more direct route is to leave the track at grid 295093 where the burn cuts into the forest and wade shin deep through the bog and straight up the hill. Cloud cover was down to about 500m, so no reward at the summit and it must have been close to freezing with driving rain so don't forget your warm kit and gore-tex.
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Doug Clark
wrote on May 18, 2005:
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Climbed this one alone on 15th May 2005. I followed the tarred path from the power station, turned east at the junction, and followed this path to what appears to be a transmission mast. I left the road at that point heading up through a series of craggy outcrops to the ridge. Then along this ridge to summit. Excellent weather. Mild breeze at the top with marvellous views in all directions. Glad I took this approach as the climb from the dam appeared steep. However, I descended by that route and it was fine.
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John Malcolm
wrote on May 12, 2005:
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Ben Vane.... Although it's small, it's tough and very wet. All over waterproofs are required for this, even if you think it's a dry day as certain parts are very boggy and there's lots of water flowing. I climbed this on 1 May 2005 and had a failed attempt a few weeks earlier due to the wind. This mountain seems to catch the wind very well despite it's height. Look out for a cave-like shelter about 1/3 of the way up and have a break and a sarnie there. You get a good view of the Loch from here. Up and down in four hours.
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Sandra Macleod
wrote on December 6, 2004:
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Climbed on a dry and mild December day so there were a few others out and about with some very interesting mountain stories! Enjoyablly steep on the up and certainly gets the heart rate going. We were quick to the top and watched the Narnain/Ime appear and disappear in the cloud. Impressive views are to be had up Loch Lomond. Care required if coming down when wet underfoot - the boyfriend slipped several times on the way - for once it wasn't me making contact! Had a great day and given the other comments would love to go back in snow.
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Stephen Langston
wrote on September 19, 2004:
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What a great day out. Not too wet so the midges were out in force. Started through a bog up to the first plateau and saw little tiny people miles away. All of us gulped and thought we would never make it. However, we kept going and it was a fabulous climb. Lots of scrambling. Decided to come down a different way because one of our group was scared of heights. Came down around the east side. Had to pick our way through many crags and it took longer to get down than up. Advice - go down the way you came.
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Stewart Davidson
wrote on August 18, 2004:
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Ben Vane demonstrates that size isn't everything. Despite being the smallest Arrochar Alp, Vane is by far the most eccentric and interesting of the group. We climbed this quirky beast on the 8th of August in hot but unfortunately cloudy weather. A steep start soon levels off for a while before you are faced by some 'interesting' rocky sections near the summit. Care must be taken on these sections, especially when under cloud cover like we were, as there are some steep drops on the west side. Still, this is one of the most enjoyable munro's I've climbed yet - I'll be back for the view one day!
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Ray Humphreys
wrote on November 28, 2003:
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Climbed this back in May 1989 as the 3rd Munro of a round trip after Narnain and Ime - I thought Vane to be the best of this group. Ascended steep but easy grassy slopes from a low bealach. The summit views were fantastic - this is a small mountain with a big character. My descent was via the ascent described, so I discovered the rock architecture on my way down - it also provided relief from the intense and hot sunshine. Cut through a fire break in the forest to shorten the return to car by Loch Long - had to climb some big fences though!
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Paul Watson
wrote on October 22, 2003:
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Climbed in April 2003 from Glen Kinglas, up the steep slopes of Beinn Dubh, then rough going to our camp on a ledge above a small lochan at 750metres! Spotted some deer and later heard them around the tent during the night!! Awoke to be shrouded in mist, but a quick ascent along the bumpy ridge to the summit, and then a very steep descent along the very badly eroded path into Inveruglas valley.
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Craig Coid
wrote on September 30, 2003:
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A very pleasant walk in ever improving weather which provided an excellent view to all Arrochar Alps. The path is easily found once you emerge onto the obvious ridge seen in the walk in from Inveruglas. The mountain has great potential if you wish to scramble and in winter it should not be underestimated.
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Roger Green
wrote on May 15, 2003:
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What a great, interesting and rugged mountain. Following the usual route up there is even a large, dry cave very obvious in the crags about half way - perfect for sheltering from the worst of Scotland's weather with a cup of tea.
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Robert Wall
wrote on January 9, 2003:
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Climbed Ben Vane via SE ridge - in January 2003. Beautifull crisp winters day with very little in the way of wind.Cold but sky perfectly clear and blue. Views from Ben Lomond to Mull! My first ever winter munro and couldn't have asked for better conditions. Just makes munro but after a gentle walk inland rises steadily and steeply to summit. No technical difficulties met but effort should not be underestimated. Lower ground very churned up but frozen. On normall summers day conditions would be very boggy and initially a slog. View stunning - Great day out. Bought ice axe -a must!
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Peter Chisholm
wrote on October 25, 2002:
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I first climbed Ben Vane on 31/1/98 and there was a good path all the way but now on the 20/10/02 (4th trip) the path is severly eroded on some sections which could be tricky in wet or icy conditions. There also seems to be a newer path on the lower slopes starting at the bridge over the burn. The main path is a few meters further on and I think easier than this newer route which joins the main path higher up.
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Joanne Mckay
wrote on July 22, 2001:
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Obvious path to summit but very badly eroded.
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