UKC

Looking to walk the Ramsay round next year, how many days would be realistic to do this in spring?

In reply to dazmac:

If you're walking and carrying gear, and if its snowy I think it could easily be a four to six day round. Fastest 1 mamores,, 2 fersit hills, 3 stob ban grey corries, 4 aonachs, cmd and the ben (and these would all be very hard days). If you can do it much faster than this then my advice is of no use to you.
I've given up all thought of a 24 hour round of these hills.

In reply to andrew ogilvie:
Looking to do it when free of snow and go as light as possible.

In reply to dazmac:

I've supported a few RR attempts and I'd say that you'd be better looking at June as the earliest time for a "comfortable" time but it does depend on how much snow there's been the previous winter and how quickly it thaws. The Abhainn Rath is a big river to cross if it's anything above its low level - the flood debris is disturbingly high.

In reply to dazmac:

I did the Tranter Round in 4 (quite reasonable) days once. Question strikes me as how long is a piece of string, I would expect to be able to do this personally in 5 days backpacking, others more or less, perhaps its a question of how well you know yourself? What mileage you do per day and just subdivide it across the route.

Am I right in thinking the Ramsay Round doesn't actually cross the Abhainn Rath?

In reply to kwoods:

The RR does cross the Abhainn Rath, it's just a question of where. You could follow the true right bank of the AR from Loch Treig but it's pathless - the main path is on the true left - so you'd be losing time and energy for no real benefit, it's not as if you'd have dry feet

If the AR is reasonably low then you can cross without wading about 200 metres upstream from the ruin at Luibeilt.

In reply to Bob:


While I might agree with June as much on hill condition grounds as the river crossing, I wouldn't rule out May on either, and was across there twice in May this year with no bother after all that high-up snow (a big, mid-level loop on 5 May and again supporting Nicky Spinks's Ramsay on 31 May). So very much 'wait and see', though note that 17 of the 79 finishes Charlie's got recorded have been in May and only one earlier (Jon Gay's winter round).


Normally a good kilometre *downstream* of Luibeilt, so you basically cut the corner and don't go near the ruins.


Not completely pathless but, sure, the better path is to the north. Though I'd quite happily take the south bank if presented with no alternative... on which note, the original anticlockwise route gives you the early choice!

In reply to petestack:

Not arguing/disagreeing as I've only been in the area a handful of times.

I've ridden the path on the north (true left) bank on a mountain bike, it was a bit on and off and a little hike-a-bike, but I don't remember seeing anything similar on the opposite bank. Obviously different when running but again you need to consider how much either path would cost in energy vs the discomfort of a river crossing. On my last support (for Bill Williamson) we used Meannanach bothy as a support point, on previous occasions we'd used the ruins at the end of Loch Eilde Mor. I've used the shortcut you mention, I seem to remember crossing just upstream of a set of rapids, it's *very* boggy and cut up by estate vehicles, rather bizarrely I came across a golf umbrella stuck in the ground.

Going via Luibeilt/Meannanach is probably better if you are taking the NE slopes of Sgurr Eilde Mor rather than directly from the ruins/track.

As far as the Tranter is concerned - John Fleetwood reckoned that going anti-clockwise you were better doing Binnein Mor - Sgurr Eilde Mor - Binnein Beag - then cross the valley at around the watershed to Stob Ban. Going clockwise he thought Stob Ban - Meannanach - Sgurr Eilde Mor - Binnein Beag - Binnein Mor was the better route.

In reply to dazmac:

Will aim for 5 days and adapt accordingly looking like beginning of September.

Thank you