Ben Lomond 18th December 2011

Just over a month since my first walk up the easy side of Ben Lomond in the blistering November sunshine, the opportunity arose to head up the Ptarmigan ridge in winter conditions. This was going to be a good test not only for me, as it was my first walk requiring crampons and ice axe, but also for my new boots. I'd finally taken the long overdue decision to replace my ragged old Karrimor KSB's with a pair of Scarpa SL M3's and this seemed like as good a way as any to break them in properly.

The drive along Stockiemuir road was a quick and easy affair but from Drymen to Rowardennan the road got a bit on the hazardous side so we arrived at the Rowardennan car park slightly later than planned at 11am. I'd tried and failed over a year ago to head up the Ptarmigan ridge; an embarrassing combination of the heat, the dreaded midge and my severe lack of fitness at the time. So there was a third reason to head up this route, I had a point to prove.

I'm prone to overheating so I always perform better in the cold anyway. This time round we were climbing at an excellent rate and in no time we had finished the initial steep climb and the path had flattened slightly as we approached the ridge itself. We were high enough to need to get the crampons out. A good chance to stop and take in the view of the Loch we'd left behind.

The Loch looks particularly beautiful at this time of year as it's waters are so undisturbed. Gone are the wakes and sounds of speed boats and jet ski's. Couple that with the quieter route on Ben Lomond and you get a real taste of tranquillity.

The Arrochar Alps were looking spectacular in the distance, I'm hoping I get the chance to get up them over the festive period.

The entire day was beautiful, clear blue skies, views for miles... And then the blizzard started. The picture above was taken just before visibility dropped to zero. The remaining climb was great, the crampons and axe came in very handy on the last push to the summit. I'm glad to say both myself and the SL's passed the test and the latter were well and truly broken in by the time we made it back to the car park.