Mike Vickers' Blog

Beinn na Lap

Beinn na Lap is a relatively easy Munro at 935 metres and you start at 419 metres at Loch Ossian right in the middle of the Central Highland.  There are no public roads to Loch Ossian and is easiest accessed by train to Corrour Station on the West Highland line from Glasgow or if you prefer from London via the Fort William sleeper.

But to the thoughts.  We talk of macro and micro.  Macro is reaching the summit of Beinn na Lap, Micro is taking care where you put your feet – too easy to trip over a rock or sinking into a sphagnum covered bog pool.  But as in the world of economics where micro and macro are often talked of, what about the midi; the midi is how you approach the summit, to take the line of least energy, to avoid the crags that are difficult to climb and burns not easy to cross and keep your feet dry.  Interestingly descending the mountain can be just as difficult, often there are high crags to impede the decent (crags are much easier to scale than to descend), and without a compass you can find yourself miles from where you wish to be.

So it seems to me that the micro and the macro are relevant views but the midi is at least as important.