Ben Chonzie (no more deceit!)

Irvine Butterfield in his book, "The High Mountains of Britain & Ireland" describes Ben Chonzie as a "dull Munro". Cameron McNeish retorts in his "The Munros", that there are,"no dull Munros, only dull people", which seems unnecessarily harsh. Today I joined Mr Boom (a local typo of some repute) for a walk up this much maligned hill. It turned out to be anything but dull, in fact the views of Lawers, Beinn a Ghlo, The Lomonds in Fife, Vorlich and the Crianlarich hills were dramatic and expansive, and the harsh, icy wind positively bracing!

Today's walk gave me the opportunity to remove a deception from my life which has been something of a weeping sore on the conscience of my Munro chart for too long! Many years ago I attempted this hill with a friend in quite extreme winter conditions, and being somewhat under-equipped were beaten back by the weather...somewhere on the summit ridge. In almost zero visibility we failed to find the summit cairn within the time we had allotted ourselves, and instead tobogganed off the side of the hill on our bivvy-bags! Claiming to have got close enough to the summit for it to count, I duly ticked it off on my Munro-chart. However, I have always felt that this particular 'tick' was fraudulent, and almost mocking me every time I saw it!

Today, this grievous wrong was righted. I actually made the top this time - and realised just how far away from it we had been the last time I was up there. I was a bit shocked at how unfit I have become over the winter, but it was good to be back in the hills. I am however, the numpty who took his camera all the way up, but without a memory card in it!