A STIFF CLIMB 97 



no chance of a beast made it all the more arduous. 

 When we got up about 3,000 feet we turned west 

 along the Braulen march, and had our lunch on a 

 very uncomfortable and draughty ledge of rock 

 with the mist blotting out everything; and as it 

 seemed to be getting worse instead of better we 

 reluctantly gave it up and climbed down again, 

 and returned to where we had left the car at the 

 old lodge: so our first effort at Benula was all toil 

 and no thrill, except the thrill of wondering 

 whether one was going to survive the ascent ! 



Friday, the 27th, we tried again and left Balblair 

 at 8.30 a.m., picking up Stone on the way, as he 

 had said he would very much like to come. We 

 got to Benula just before 10.30, and found 

 Finlayson awaiting us with three ponies, so we 

 were able to ride up, which was a great help, as 

 the ascent was very long, though not quite so 

 steep as on the north side. The morning was misty, 

 but Finlayson thought it would clear about 

 midday. We took one and a half hours to make the 

 ascent, and then the ponies were sent back to wait 

 for us at the end of Loch Longard, two miles west 

 of the lodge. We were on the ridge which ended 

 in Cam Eige, 3,877 feet, the highest mountain 

 north of the Grampians. The mist was trying 

 to lift and we soon spied a large number of stags 

 in the corrie below us, but owing to the mist we 

 had not been able to see them soon enough, and 

 they had got a touch of our wind and made off 



