Our web editor Pete and local legend Rab Wardell opted to turn in early on New Year’s Eve and climb Scotland’s most southerly Munro for dawn.
While everyone was tucking into the champers and partying, Pete and Rab took to bed early to have the alarms go off between 4 and 5am.
Clear skies and light winds up high could mean only one thing. See in 2019 the best way. With a Munro for dawn. Ben Lomond was the chosen hill and boy did it deliver.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Rab makes a solitary streak of light along Ben Lomond’s southerly ridge that leads you towards the summit.
The stars faded as the sun started to pale the eastern horizon and warmer colours started to take over.
974m. 08:51am. January 1st 2019. That will do nicely.
We could have stayed and watched this view for the rest of the day but it was chilly enough once we stopped and Ben Lomond has an awesome trail back down to the car park.
Spend any time on Scotland’s most southerly Munro (hills above 914m/3000ft) and you will realise why it’s known as Beacon Mountain in Scots Gaelic.
Loch Lomond didn’t look too shabby in the morning light either.
Not even one third of the way down and already plenty of turns dispatched. From here on down we’d meet the throngs of people that give this hill a 30,000+ footfall a year.
Shortly before the views fizzled out into the treeline there was still plenty of rock to keep things interesting.
