by slparker » Wed 11 Jul, 2018 4:12 pm
It's hard to avoid the talus fields of Rodway valley if you go by the route that you intend unless you skirt the northern end of the Valley and meet up with the Vale of Rest at the Eastern end of the escarpment. Again, leaving from the ski village makes more sense if you want to both avoid Rodway valley and go south to Stacks Bluff.
In regards to minimising your exposure to the Rodway Valley (but still crossing it) In the past, in summer, I have crossed the Rodway valley after coming through the opening between giblin fells and coalmine crag and crossed SSE over the saddle across Johnston Moor to Lake Youl. A bit of boulder hopping but not as much as going up to the Long Valley - it's also more direct. The talus in Rodway Valley has to be seen to be believed : it is a massive boulder field.
I once boulder hopped up the entire valley when I went to Lake Baker from Carr Villa - but attempting that when it is icy is probably a shortcut to a femur fracture.
In regards to camping near the 'summit' - I have never camped near Legges Tor (It's pretty rocky up there) but the Meenamatta Tarns (to the west) is a lovely camping area - again, very exposed though. You could possibly find a site above the tarns near the rocky outcrops to the NE which have some flat spots but it's a walk to the water if you need it and it is only relatively sheltered. My tarptent got shredded in summer up there but i was in a pretty exposed site.
If you are good to go for alpine conditions just be aware that the weather can get atrocious up there and you can expect poor visibility at any time of year, I really don't know of any sheltered spots that would make acceptable tentsites in poor weather apart from near lake baker and I believe it is still a bit tenuous.
I am not a good enough x-country skier to advise you on conditions on the route that you intend but i imagine you would need snowshoes or skis depending upon how much snow has fallen recently. Perhaps microspikes for the boulder field but again, someone with more alpine experience up there would be best placed to advise you. I would avoid the rodway valley boulder field if it were me but perhaps a good covering of snow would make it a trivial undertaking on skis - I don't know - hopefully someone with winter experience on Ben Lomond can weigh in to advise you on that one.