Ferranti Mountaineering Club Journal 2003
There were 18 club meets
throughout 2003 with plenty of members enticed out to the hills and meets
generally very well attended. It was
not a particularly snowy winter but there was some good winter climbing enjoyed
at the meets to Jock Spot’s and Mill Cottage.
Easter saw some glorious weather when the club went into Strawberry
Cottage, apparently the hottest place in Europe. The club trip to Skye in May was disappointingly soggy, and the
BBQ meet in June was strangely poorly attended for what is normally a popular
outing up north.
In the summer months the
good weather returned, with a cracking climbing meet to the CIC hut on Ben
Nevis and a very fine family meet to Glen Feshie.
The Annual Dinner Meet at
Birnam House Hotel was very well attended with 66 people turning up to dine and
dance, and the year that had started with plenty of food and song at the Burn’s
Supper meet in Crianlarich, was rounded off in fine style at the Christmas
Dinner Meet at the Muir of Inverey.
Those of the members that
enjoyed a good summer of climbing on rock also ran a competition to nominate
the finest climb of the year. And those
of us whose excursions are a bit more pedestrian, due to the toddler needing to
be carried in a backpack, still managed to get up some mountains and enjoy the
highland scenery….. ASB.
Contents
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24-26 January 7-9 February 21-23 February 7-9 March 21-23 March 4-6 April 18-21 April 2-5 May 2-5 May 16-19 May 20-22 June 8-10 August Summer 22-24 August Summer 12-15 September 10-12 October 24-26 October 7-8 November 21-22 November 5-6 December |
Burns Supper, OMC Hut, Crianlarich Annual
Dinner, Birnam House Hotel Christmas
Dinner, Muir of Inverey |
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26th –28th January: Burns’ Supper, Crianlarich
Present: Brian, Anne, Tony K, Rosemary, Pete, Helen,
Nina, Jo, Calum, Steve, Debbie, Morag, Neil, Martin, Simon, Ruth, Graeme, Ruth,
Tony B, Tony B (Meet Sec).
The 2003 Burns’ Supper Meet
was held in the Ochils Hut in Crianlarich, the originally planned venue of Loch
Ossian being closed for refurbishment.
Accounts of the how the hills were on Saturday varied from: ‘beaten back
by wind and rain on Ben More’; ‘just a moderate wetting on the way to Cruach Ardrain’;
to ‘dodging the showers and getting good views in Glen Lyon’.
All parties were back in
good time so as not to miss the evening fare, some making sure by spending half
the afternoon in the pub next door.
After the discussion on whether to “nuke” or boil the large haggis, and
every pan available being used to cook copious quantity of neeps and tatties,
the meal started with scotch broth.
Brian then did the presidential honours of addressing the haggis with the
traditional Burns and a knife; the lot was then polished off washed down with
wine, whisky and trifle before the evening turned to song. A varied collection of music and verse was
conjured up for the remainder of the evening from various books being passed
round; including some more Burns, and a rare edition of the FMC songbook. On the Sunday some headed direct back to
Edinburgh, while some others braved the damp conditions to walk off some of the
added weight from the night before.
7th
– 9th February: Lagangarbh,
Glen Coe
Present: Amanda, Peter & Helen, Suzie, Mark,
Fiona & Calum, Kenneth, Graeme
(Meet Sec), and James.
Saturday was decidedly wet,
and not at all a day for the tops. Pete
and Helen therefore went to Fort William.
A large party, comprising
Amanda, Fiona, Suzie, Ken, James and Graeme, drove to Kentallen and set off on
foot up Glen Duror. Here formerly dwelt
James of the Glen, whose unsound conviction and hanging in 1752, for the murder
of the Red Fox, stirred the highlands from end to end and inspired passages in
Stevenson's novel, "Kidnapped".
According to Seton Gordon, "the identity of the real murderer has
never been disclosed by the few families who have handed down the secret from
one generation to another......The hanging of James of the Glen has left an
impression on the district almost as profound as the massacre of Glen Coe. The wind that drifts up the narrows of the
sea loch and the mists that crowd in upon Beinn Bhéir still whisper the
secret."
Spruce trees now seemed to
cover much of the glen, adding little to its scenic appeal but providing
welcome shelter on a dreich February day.
Beyond the watershed the path was boggier and more exposed, and at least
one awkward burn-crossing enlivened the descent to Ballachulish, where a car
had been left. As local girl Suzie
proudly pointed out the local attractions, no one was uncharitable enough to
quote our late member David Gilmour's song "The Wee Toons", with its
envoi:
"But wid the folk frae Blantyre, hae never been sae
foolish
As tae build in fair Loch Leven, a toon like
Ballachulish."
In the evening Mark and
Calum arrived from Edinburgh, bringing the meet to full strength.
Sunday was a better
day. Amanda, James, Ken and Graeme had
an enjoyable outing on Buachaille Etive Beag, with good views down Loch Etive
and across to Bidean nam Bian. Now and
again the wind whisked up little snow-devils, which Ken poetically called
"sithean na gaoithe" or some such Erse, but conditions on top were
generally pleasant.
Meanwhile Fiona, Calum and
Mark had gone skiing at Aonach Mor, and Pete, Helen and Suzie had left for
home.
Not perhaps a vintage
weekend in the Coe, but far from being a washout.
- GDM.
21st
– 23rd February: Jock
Spot’s, Laggan
Present: Brian
(Meet Sec), Anne, Mark, Ken Moore, Jo, Fiona, Tony K. Steve, Pete and
Helen.
This meet marked a return to
a popular venue, which is a convenient staging post between the Cairngorms to
the east and Creag Meagaidh and Nevis to the west. However, the lease for the
hut is now under negotiation between JMCS Edinburgh and the estate owners,
which hopefully will be resolved quickly so as to allow further visits to this
excellent venue.
There was a good turnout and
there was good winter conditions on the Saturday. Tony and Steve used bicycles to ride into Lochan na h-Earba and
then climb Beinn a’ Chlachlair, it was extremely windy on top so a walk along
the ridge was exchanged for quick up and down.
Jo, Pete and Helen made more conventional approach to Beinn a’ Chaorainn
west of Creag Meagaidh, which has wonderful cornices on the east side of it’s
north-south ridge. Anne walked to upper
headwaters of the Spey to climb the Corrieyairack Hill (which is a Corbett!).
Brian, Mark and Ken headed
for Creag Meagaidh for some winter climbing, Ken’s long stride proving too fast
on the walk-in, so he was sent to the back to save the embarrassment of the
others getting left behind. Having
reached Creag Meagaidh they climbed The Last Post (Grade V), enjoying some of
the best conditions ever experienced on the mountain.
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Fiona joined the group for
the Sunday but the weather alas turned windy and mild. Ken and Mark retreated to Fort William;
Steve, Pete and Helen took the super direct option home; whilst Tony, Jo,
Brian, Anne and Fiona enjoyed a walk in the Abernethy woods.
7th – 9th March: Inver Croft, Achnasheen
Present: Brian, Anne
(Meet Sec), Fred, Nina, Graeme, Ruth, Simon.
Another meet of two halves:
reasonable weather on the Saturday, but appalling wet weather on the Sunday
forcing evacuation of the hut.
The weekend starting quietly
enough, with the group meeting up on the Friday evening and transporting their
belongings across the duck boards to the hut.
On Saturday Fred and Anne
climbed Little Wyvis, approaching by the same track as for Beinn Wyvis. Brian and Nina headed for the Coire Dubh Mor
buttress of Liathach to attempt George, a 200m grade III climb, unfortunately
they were repulsed at the crux by a shortage of ice at an altitude of 950m and
50m from the top of the climb, and were forced into retreat by abseil. Graeme, Ruth and Simon climbed Beinn Liath
Mhor from Achnashellach station, traversing the mountain before descending back
to Coire Liar.
The weather that had started
bright on Saturday morning became overcast in the afternoon with snow then rain
arriving. The company enjoyed the usual
culinary and alcoholic excesses while the rain and wind lashed the hut.
By Sunday morning it was
clear that the water level was rising on the loch, and it was soon decided to
evacuate the hut before the duckboards were covered by rising tide. Brian and Anne were the last to leave the
hut, as a result of having to make two journeys to take everything back to the
car, and they found extreme difficulty balancing against the gusty winds as the
water lapped at their feet.
21st
– 23rd March: Mill Cottage,
Kincraig
Present: Calum, Morag, Fraoch, Pete, Helen, Steve,
Debbie, Rosemary, Brian, Anne, Nina, Tony, Graeme Tough, Ruth, James (meet sec), Amanda. part time: Mark, Laubie, Pete.
Another well attended meet,
with excess bodies littering the living room on the last night. The majority of people travelled up on the
Friday night. Calum went fishing on
Saturday morning and had already got his excuses in (too cold, too bright,
wrong day of the week etc.), but this thin facade was exposed when he admitted
to catching six of the beasts, which were duly transported back to a freezer in
Edinburgh.
Saturday was a lovely day,
with many trips up the local hills, and a few trips to the Northern Corries for
some steep ice. Brian, Nina, Graeme and
Ruth went into Coire an Lochain, both pairs climbing Oesophagus (grade III 70
m) and Brian and Nina returning to the corrie and climbing The Vent (grade II
100m). The climbing conditions were
quite lean for the time of year and the snow and ice became soft in the warm
sunshine. Anne took a long walk up Glen
Feshie to climb two remote Corbetts.
Tony and Rosemary cycled up Glen Einich and Tony went on to climb to the
summit of Braeriach, where he met Morag and Fraoch who had walked from Glen
Feshie and over Cairn Toul.
Perhaps the stupidest trick
of the day can be now exclusively relived with this snippet of dialogue.
0930 hours (start of walk):
James : These plastic boots are really uncomfortable, it feels
like they're on the wrong feet.
Others: Do you want to stop and adjust them?
James : No, it's just that I haven't worn them for a bit.
...
long days hillwalk
...
1700 hours (back at hut):
James : Hmm, these inners don't look right! shouldn't they
match the plastic outer?
Others: Duh.
Very late on Saturday Mark,
Laubie and Pete arrived from an epic on the Ben. "Point Five" was in
atrocious condition, and they had nearly died etc.
Sunday was also lovely and
more trips were made in the same vein as the previous day, including Brian and
Anne’s ascent of red gully in Coire an t-Sneachda, except for.... James, who
embarked on a mammoth run; Amanda, who nursed her blisters; Fraoch, who lay in
the sun; and the hard men from the Ben, who lay in the sun and drank tea.
A great weekend was had by
all, and extended by Mark, Laubie and Pete who stayed up an extra night and
went climbing in the Northern Corries.
Maybe I should finish with
an observation about the club. It took nine cars to transport fourteen people
to the hut, which is about one and a half people per car. Indeed the space
outside the hut looked like Ferry Road in rush hour! I exaggerate of course,
but for a group of people who are looking to get to the great outdoors and
experience nature, it is a strange irony.
4th
– 6th April: Smiddy,
Dundonnell
Present: Pete,
Helen, Nina, Fred, Jo (Meet Sec),
Brian, Anne, Keith
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On
Saturday Nina, Jo and Fred traversed An Teallach via Gleann Chaorachain,
eventually dropping back to the Smiddy via Meall Garbh. Despite a few rather dramatic moments of
high exposure, which rather terrified Jo, the trio got round smoothly and
safely. Great views, wonderful
weather, fantastic photos. Keith also summitted An Teallach, but ascended and
descended using the path from the Smiddy. |
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Brian
and Anne had an epic of day. They
cycled from Gruinard Bay along the edge of Little Gruinard River. At a suitable point the journey continued
on foot, with much negotiation of numerous burns, lochs and passes to get to
Beinn a' Chaisgein Mor- probably one of the remotest Corbetts, so a real
bagging session! They returned to
their bikes via the mountain’s north ridge with Brian taking a detour to
Beinn a’ Chaisgein Beag, a seldom visited peak. |
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On
Sunday Brian, Anne and Keith went up Sail Mhor, a Corbett to the west of An
Teallach. Nina, Fred and Jo went for a long wander along the north edge of
Little Loch Broom, parking up near Badrallach and taking the coastal path. Another very fine day.
The
Smiddy continues to be a long standing favourite with the FMC, it being a small
compact hut, but now with some nice improvements to the kitchen area.
18th
– 21st April: Strawberry
Cottage, Glen Affric
Present: Tony, Pete & Helen, Hillary,
Ben, Christine, Keith, Steve, Jo, Steve, Debbie, Rosemary.
What ? Strawberries in April ? Well, to be honest, after a spell of
amazingly good weather, even that might have been believable. The sun came out
in the middle of March, and a month later no-one could believe that it would
continue…. but it did (just !)
Strawberry Cottage is in a superb
location at the west end of Loch Affric, and the club has had some memorable
meets there (for all sorts of reasons) during its short history. It belongs to
the An Teallach Mountaineering Club, who have done a great deal of hard work to
provide a very welcoming hut in the middle of nowhere. It boasts twelve
comfortable beds, wood/coal-burning stove, full gas cooking facilities and (the
latest innovation) solar-powered lighting. The latter is an impressive bit of
technology, although to cope with the vagaries of the local weather a small
petrol generator is also provided. The one problem, especially for the more
sybaritic of mountaineers, is that the hut is five or six miles from the road
end- and there is no fridge.
Anyway, enough of this
advertising. The question of how to transport 12 folk, a small mountain of food
and a not inconsiderable amount of alcohol was neatly solved by two 4WD’s, four
bicycles, a canoe and (wonder of wonders) two folk who walked !
Tony, Ben, Christine and Jo
set off from Edinburgh on the Friday morning well-laden with, amongst other
things, Tony’s latest toy, a Canadian canoe. The journey up was enlivened by
the weather reports- west Scotland the hottest place in Europe (nearly)- and
certainly Glen Affric was up to 240C by lunchtime. Thoughts of hills
dissolved in the heat and a lazy lunch by the shores of Loch Benevean seemed
more appropriate, the only fly in the ointment (sic) being the discovery of an
alarming number of sheep ticks.
A leisurely trip in to the
hut was deemed the order of the day. After a certain amount of searching a
suitable launching spot was found for the canoe, and Tony and Jo set off
together with all the gear, whilst Ben and Christine, lightly laden, set off
along the north shore.
The trip up the loch was
idyllic- hardly a breath of wind- and in spite of the load, the canoe slipped
easily along. Definitely the way to travel ! Loch Affric is fringed by
beautiful old Caledonian pine forest, and the views were spectacular- as was
the sighting of an osprey, complete with a fish in its talons.
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The one snag was that with
the long spell of fine weather, the loch was quite low- maybe a metre or so
below its normal level- so at the west end of the loch the water became very
shallow. However there was enough to get to the foot of the short waterfall
at the end of the loch. A short portage of a hundred metres or so then led to
the upper river, leading (we fondly hoped) all the way to the hut. |
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At this point the weight of
gear, food and alcohol became rather evident- not to mention 35 kilos of canoe
! Several muscle-wrenching trips later, the voyage recommenced and took us to
within a few hundred metres of the hut. By this time help had arrived in the
shape of Ben and Christine, and we were soon comfortably installed in the hut.
(For future reference, in more normal water conditions, the river looks easy
all the way from the waterfall.)
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As dusk fell the rest
started to arrive, led by Pete’s land-rover closely followed by the somewhat
bone-jarred cyclists. Hillary arrived some time later in his new executive
SUV, experiencing its first jaunt off the tarmac. The stars came out, not a
cloud was in the sky…. |
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Next day started early as
Jo, Ben and Christine headed off at 0630 for distant hills. Some twelve hours
or so later they returned, somewhat pinker, having bagged An Socach, Sgurr nan
Ceathreamhnan and Mullach na Dheiragain. At slightly more civilised hours the
rest set out- Tony, Pete and Helen traversed Mullach Fraoch Coire and
A’Chralaig, descending over A ‘Chioch; whilst Steve and Debbie started on the
same route, but continued round to include Sgurr nan Conbhairean and Sail Chaorainn. Hillary, Rosemary and Steve R. traversed
Mam Sodhail and Carn Eighe, with Steve descending over Sgurr na Lapaich.
Meanwhile Keith, in traditional style, set out on a mammoth trek over Tom
a’Choinnich and Toll Creagach; nearly walking back to the road to start ! The
skies were clear, the sun was scorching and at one point Steve found it
necessary to seek advice from a Norfolk pharmacy (guess who) on treatment for
sunstroke- the wonders of mobile phones !
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As the sun
sank slowly in the west, Steve made a valiant (but unsuccessful) attempt to
emulate the osprey. Fortunately he
and Debbie had brought something else to eat…. In fact, all indulged in the
usual culinary excesses. |
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In spite of
this there was once again activity at an unusually early hour the next day.
The weather was even brighter, but much colder; was this the end of the
heatwave ? Shortly after eight, Jo, Ben and Christine set off up Mam Sodhail
followed somewhat later by Tony and Steve. The inhabitants of the nature
reserve were out in force- an adder, a fox, deer, and (later) an immature
golden eagle. |
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Meeting up on
the summit in a cloud (what ?!!!), Steve elected to return, having unfinished
business with the fish; meanwhile the others continued over Carn Eighe, and Ben
and Tony made the long excursion out to Beinn Fhionnlaidh. The brief spell of
cloud vanished, and the rest of the day was fine, if somewhat cool and windy.
Pete and Helen
concluded unfinished business on Sail Chaorainn, whilst Steve R bagged Mullach
Fraoch Coire. Keith decided on a shorter (!) walk and contented himself with Sgurr
nan Ceathreamhnan and Mullach na Dheiragain. Hillary and Debbie elected to try
the canoe, but found that the strong easterly wind presented quite a challenge-
3½ hours to Affric Lodge, 40 minutes back ! (It’s a canoe, not a windsurfer !)
At the end of the day a
census established that the FMC had amassed some 46 man-Munros, not to mention
a couple-Corbett over the two days; it’s no wonder that exhaustion was setting
in.
The Monday was what, in
normal times, would be considered a good day- low cloud, but dry. In fact it
became bright and sunny as the day went on but by this time enthusiasm for the
tops was lacking. The empties were loaded into the cars and the cyclists
commenced their juddering return- meanwhile Jo and Tony enjoyed a pleasant
paddle back down the loch against the moderating easterly wind, with Jo
spotting the osprey again. Lunch back at the car was enlivened by mid-air
attacks from chaffinches, obviously genetically engineered to become weapons of
mass consumption. The introduction of sparrowhawks in quantity to address this
menace should be seriously considered !
As we crossed Drumochter on
the way south, the heavens opened ….
All in all a great weekend.
I’m sure we’ll be back.
Tony K.
2nd
– 5th May: Druim Bothy,
Knoydart
Present: Tony Bl (Meet Sec), Richard, Fiona, Martin,
Keith and Tiana and the Nordic Ski Club. Bob (non-member pal of Richard’s)
The club numbers were
disappointing (4 + 1 guest) and this meet would not have happened had we not
teamed up with the Nordic Ski Club (9) to share the price of the boat. We had a
charter boat on Friday night (the small high power one) and our price of £15
per head included free ride on the scheduled boat out on Monday afternoon.
This was the last meeting
for Tony on his old non-bionic hip. Accordingly he opted to stay with the
Nordic ski club in the Inverie hostel rather than risk the 3-mile hike to Bruim
Bothy with full kit. As it happened the owners gave the inhabitants a lift in
at closing time on Friday night.
Saturday weather was
reasonable at low level and clagged in at high level. Tony and Tiana went for
cycle rides. Richard, Bob, Martin, and Fiona did epic things on Meall Buidhe
and Luinne Bheinn. Bob was heard to state that he was “cream crackered” when he
arrived considerably later than the others back at the bothy. Keith and some of
the Nordic Ski club did Meall Bhuide and Ladhar Bheinn.
In the evening the Nordic
ski club went to the Pierhouse Restaurant. Tony declined an invitation to join
them in favour of a haggis meal at Druim Bothy with the FMC crew (big mistake).
Despite stoking the potbelly stove with wood, the temperature of the haggis
water hardly rose above tepid. The potatoes were meanwhile incinerated in the
open fire. The mice were busy eating anything on offer on the ultra-clean
worktop surfaces. After this delightful meal Tony battled back to base on his
bicycle in the dark and rain.
On Sunday, Tony climbed his
very last non-bionic assisted hill the Corbett Sgurr Coire Choinnichean behind
Inverie. Rather symbolically, his boots
fell to bits on the way down.
Meanwhile Fiona and Martin
did Ladhar Bheinn while Richard and Bob adjourned to the pub. Sunday night we
repaired to the Old Forge for food, which was disappointing. Standards have
been allowed to drop since our last visit.
We returned by boat on
Monday. The weather was fine.
2nd – 5th
May: Alternative Knoydart Meet
Present: Tony K, Brian and Anne.
This alternative meet was
inspired by a plan to visit some remote hills above Loch Quoich by the ideal
mode of transport for that part of the world- a boat!
Friday night saw everyone
packed into Tony’s car together with camping gear, inflatable boat, outboard
motor and all manner of ancillary bits and pieces. As the car turned west off
the A9 the rain, already heavy, decided to become torrential. Plan A (camping
at Roy Bridge) came under review, and Plan B was rapidly devised in the face of
rising floodwater- stay at the Aite Cruinnichidh hostel. This proved a wise
(and comfortable) move, and by morning the skies were clearing after a wild
night.
By mid-morning Loch Quoich
was reached. Energetic pumping soon turned the rubbery contents of a large bag
into a boat, and before long, heavily laden with camping gear, we were heading
up the loch. The initial section proved quite tricky as the water level was
quite low, and care had to be taken to avoid various rocks and the remains of
trees. The overnight rain had swelled the burns, and it was obvious that a walk
along the shore would have come to an abrupt end at the thundering waters of
the infamous Allt Chosaidh.
The head of Loch Quoich
provided a comfortable campsite, and with the boat pulled well up all mod.
cons. were unloaded and the camp established. After lunch, the party set off
for Ben Aden, heading up its long eastern ridge. This proved to quite
entertaining with bits of scrambling to be had in places. The weather held
clear until the summit was reached, but on the descent the rain came on. The
evening was wet and windy, but with the tent door shut a convivial evening was
had by all.
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Sunday dawned fair again,
and after a leisurely breakfast the team embarked for a voyage across the loch
to the remote northern side of Sgurr an Fhuarain. The best landing place proved to be on the west side of a burn,
just near a small bothy which provided a convenient place to leave wellies! A
good stalker’s path then led up the hill. The only problem was that it then
started to rain…
The summit was reached in
clag, and the descent was uneventful if wet. However, on reaching the shore,
the burn was found to have risen somewhat- in fact rather more than somewhat!
The wellies were rapidly recovered, but the burn looked pretty fierce. Brian
and Tony managed to teeter across somehow, but Anne had a better idea- ‘why
don’t you bring the boat round?’ – which we duly did. Useful things in
Knoydart, boats.
Another wet night, but the
tents stayed up and dry. Monday was drier but threatening, so we decided to
quit while we were dry(ish) and packed up and headed back to the car. The wind
of Saturday night was discovered to have fractured one of the poles of Brian’s
tent such were the gusts experienced and mending it provided a challenge to
Tony’s DIY skills once home in Edinburgh.
The trip back up the loch
was very pleasant- definitely the way to travel!
16th
–19th May: Coruisk, Skye
Present: Jo
(Meet Sec), Brian, Anne, Amanda, Selena, Pete, Helen, Debbie, Rosemary.
All but Debbie and Rosemary
got across to Coruisk Hut from Elgol on Friday night on board the Belle
Jane. Unfortunately Debbie had
dislocated finger getting to Elgol, so she and Rosemary headed back to Broadford
and the local medical centre to get it sorted out.
Debbie and Rosemary managed
to travel across the next morning on the RIB, which had been chartered by six
other mountaineers (who set off in the direction of the Dubhs ridge – bad
idea). The weather on Saturday was
horrendous, with the rain barely ceasing.
However a hardy team suffering cabin fever did manage to get out for an
afternoon scramble and bog walk around Loch Coruisk.
Sunday saw a visit from the
mountain rescue helicopter! The ground
was so boggy by the hut though that it couldn’t land, but a runner soon told us
that the 6 walkers who’d come in on yesterday’s rib hadn’t made it through to
Glen Brittle and the Mountain Rescue Team were just checking they hadn’t holed
out with us overnight.
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A quick scour of Dubhs
Ridge soon found them, so while three of the MRT chomped their way through
our biscuits and tea, the walkers were winched to safety. Amanda and Debbie managed to get out for a
scramble in the afternoon, and others went on a bit of a bird watching trip,
but generally, the weather stopped most play A great ride out on the
RIB on Monday – definitely recommended as a means of transport for getting to
and from the hut in future! |
20th
– 22nd June: BBQ, Achmelvich
Present: Brian
(Meet Sec), Anne, Mark, Valerie Cowie, Calum, Fiona, Heather.
This was the traditional
midsummer camping extravaganza, which normally attracts hordes of people to
camp in the far north and enjoy the long hours of daylight. This year however, for one reason or other,
possibly including the damp weather that preceded it, attendance was restricted
to a select few.
Brian, Anne, Mark and
Valerie arrived on the Friday night and on Saturday headed for Reiff and did
lots of routes on the rock there, in cloudy but quite warm weather. Mark and
Valerie had another BBQ to go to on Saturday evening, but they were replaced by
Calum, Fiona and Heather who arrived for weeks holiday in one of the caravans.
On Sunday the main mountains
were misty and wet but the coast was much better. Brian and Anne drove round to Lochinver and then walked through
to Ardroe, inspecting crags on the way.
8th
–10th August: CIC Hut, Ben
Nevis
Present: Brian
(Meet Sec), Jo, Nina, Fred, Gomba Sherpa, Andy, Pete, Graeme, Ken, Ewan,
Terry, Ruth, Simon, Graeme, Rosemary.
This club visit took place
on the weekend that saw the warmest temperatures in Great Britain with 100°F recorded as a
British record. The weather on the Ben
was not quite as warm as this - whilst dry on both days some mist rolled in on
Saturday morning to spoil early promise of a clear day and Sunday started
cloudy but got warmer later on.
Graeme, Graeme and
Ruth ascended Raeburn’s Arete and then North East Buttress, whilst Brian and
Ken tackled the Right Hand Route leading also onto North East Buttress. Nina, Andy and Gomba enjoyed the Long Climb,
arguably the only true rock route of alpine proportions in the UK. Pete and Simon ascended to the summit of the
Ben by Tower Ridge.
Terry and Ewan completed an impressive day’s climbing with an ascent of Centurion on the Carn Dearg Buttress. Fred ascended Carn Mor Dearg from the upper part of Coire Leis, then onto the Ben via the Carn Mor Dearg Arete and descended by Halfway Lochan.
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Sunday was only slightly
less impressive: Ewan and Ken doing Observatory Ridge, with Graeme and Ruth
following on the same route. Castle
Ridge also saw two parties: Fred, Andy, Gomba, Nina and Simon, followed by
Brian, Rosemary and Graeme – who had given up on Raeburn’s Buttress after
finding too much loose rock and too many midges in this sunless part of
mountain. Jo went for a walk, Terry
stayed in vicinity of hut having eaten or drunk something disagreeable and
Pete went home. This meet, and Saturday in
particular, saw some of the best days summer climbing enjoyed in over 30
years of visits to the CIC hut. |
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Summer Rock 2003
The
summer of 2003 provided a number of settled dry spells when conditions were
ideal for Rock Climbing, particularly during August. To celebrate the many fine climbs achieved by the rock climbers
in the club, a competition was arranged calling for nominations for the
"climb of the season". The
listing of climbs were then put to the vote with the each rock climber in the club
invited to select his or her top five in descending order, excluding his or her
own nomination of course! We received a
great list of nominations which included climbs from both east and west and
with routes varying in both length and difficulty.
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Once
all the votes were counted, the winner was Eagle Ridge from Anne with
Graeme's nomination of Raeburn's Arete on the Ben as the runner up. Anne and Graeme each received a bottle of
wine at the AGM to mark their successful nominations for "climb of the
season". |
For
the record, the list of nominations were as follows:
a) Bottleneck Chimney, Glencoe (Andy ) 40m, Hard Severe (1941)
"Strenuous
but well protected. The climb can be
seen from the road and is recommended"
b) Eagle Ridge, Lochnagar (Anne
) 250m, Severe (1941)
"One
of the finest climbs in the country.
Bell's most significant route inspiring generations of Cairngorm
devotees"
c) Raeburn's Arete, Ben Nevis
(Graeme ) 230m, Severe (1902)
"One
of the cleanest severes on the Ben. A
superb route."
d) Magic Crack, Northern Corries
(Ken Moore) 105m, HVS (1981)
"A
star route with a unique finger crack.
The summer line of White Magic as seen on TV's 'The Edge'."
e) The Long Climb, Ben Nevis
(Nina ) 420m, VS (1940)
"An
outstanding climb of Alpine proportions.
The rock is good and the atmosphere impressive."
f) Castle Ridge, Ben Nevis
(Rosemary ) 275m, Mod/Diff (1899)
"One
of the Ben's great ridges with tremendous views over Lochaber"
g) January Jigsaw, Glencoe (Ruth
) 75m, Severe (1940)
"An
excellent route with increasing interest with height. The final pitch is in a sensational position."
h) Squareface, Beinn a Bhuird
(Simon ) 90m, VDiff (1953)
"The
superlative of superlatives, continuously exposed and in a remarkable
position."
Many
thanks for all who took part in the competition!
Brian
22nd
– 24th August: Family Meet,
Glen Feshie
Present: Tony, Fiona (Meet Sec), Catriona and
Elspeth, Tony, Sheila and Rebecca, Steve, Debbie, Lewis and Cormack, Neil,
Clare and Gavin.
The summer of 2003 continued
with another splendid weekend in the Cairngorms, where t-shirt, shorts and
flip-flops were more the order of the day than waterproofs and fleeces!
The meet assembled at Jean’s
comfortable hostel on the Friday night, well-laden with food, bicycles and sun
cream. In spite of the minor handicap of a broken leg, Lewis’s energies were
only diminished by an infinitesimal amount- but as bedtimes arrived, peace
gradually reigned.
As ever, Gavin was up to
greet the larks and soon had his family organised to head up Cairngorm. The
commissioning of the new funicular and its bizarre rules meant that the ascent
was traditional, starting from the carpark - apparently no tourists on the
funicular are allowed out at the top. The day was splendidly warm and clear,
with a superb view over most of the highlands.
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Meanwhile Steve, Debbie,
Lewis and Cormack embarked on a cycle tour- with the wonders of modern
tag-a-longs, even a broken leg is no impediment. Tony, Fiona, Catriona and
Elspeth likewise went cycling, starting from Loch an Eilean and meandering
through the forest to a welcome tea-shop at Loch Morlich. Tony, Sheila and
Rebecca headed off to the fastnesses of Abernethy Forest, sighting lots of
trees but no wolves. |
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A sumptuous feast on
Saturday night (pasta, pasta and more pasta!) defeated even the most ardent
appetites, and everyone retired well stuffed.
Sunday was just as warm and
clear. Outings were swapped - Neil, Clare and Gavin went cycling before
repairing to the Highland Wildlife Park, which was also visited by Tony, Sheila
and Rebecca (who saw lots of wolves as well as the trees!). Meanwhile Tony,
Fiona, Catriona and Elspeth decided to tackle Cairngorm. A (very) leisurely
ascent was rounded off by a visit to the top funicular station- which involves
signing in and out, as bona-fide walkers are allowed in (presumably in the hope
they will boost the profits of the gift-shop and café) before being ejected to
resume their wanderings. Anyway, a drink sitting on a giant sofa before a
picture window overlooking Glenmore provided an interesting contrast to the
quiet summit.
Suitably sunburned, all
returned to Edinburgh after a very enjoyable weekend.
Summer in a Backpack, the
best way to climb a mountain
First, select a strong,
healthy, fit porter to carry you up your selected mountain – however, if the
only person willing to take you is your Daddy, then you will just have to hope
that his wheezes and grumbles don’t mean he will peg out only half way up. Second, you need a backpack that is
comfortable to sit in, affords a good view of the surrounding countryside, has
storage space for your food, drink, nappies, wipes, change of clothes etc, and
allows plenty of room for you to swing your legs to attract the attention of
the porter if required.
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Once on your way up the
mountain you need to perform a number of checks on your porter as you go
along. To check that his back is
still lined up straight: move your weight from side to side in a swaying
motion. To check his sense of balance when crossing rough ground: make a
quick unexpected lurch to one side - this is particularly effective if he is
mid-way crossing a stream. To check out his appreciation of his surroundings:
point out every baa-baa that you see and make sure he looks too. |
To ensure his concentration
doesn’t wander and he starts dreaming of a time when he used to sprint up
mountains with only half this weight on his back: tug at the small hairs at the
back of his neck or pinch his ears to keep him focused. To test his hearing and alertness: drop soft
items such as your hat or gloves - you will also be able to judge how much
strength he has left in his legs when he bends down to pick these up from the
ground. To test his sense of humour:
repeat the previous test as often as required. Having carried out these checks
for much of the way up, you may need to take a nap to recharge your energy
levels for later.
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Having arrived at the top
of your mountain, take the time to bask in your success and enjoy the views
of the surrounding mountains, satisfy your thirst and hunger, and prepare for
the descent that you hope your porter will not make too bumpy should you wish
to doze off again. |
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Take no nonsense about your
successful climb ‘not counting’ and suggestions that you might have to do it
again ‘walking on your own two feet’ when you are older – surely everyone knows
this by far the best way to climb a mountain, you will just require a stronger
porter.
12th
– 15th September: Ling,
Torridon
Present: James
(Meet Sec), Amanda, Brian, Anne, Peter, Helen, John, Peter 'Son of',
Tony, Steve, Fiona.
The weather report looked decidedly
iffy for the FMC as they headed up to Ling for a long weekend.
Saturday dawned dreich with
cloud covering most peaks, prompting the majority of people to plan low level
activities. One group headed south from the hut towards Maol Chean-dearg, skirting
its slopes before heading towards the coast and (purely coincidentally) the
Beinn Damph Bar. The rest of the crew
settled in hut awaiting to see what
tomorrow would bring. Brian and Anne's arrival was delayed till Saturday
evening having travelled via Aberdeen, and they had a very wet and unpleasant
walk in from car.
Sunday was far superior.
Tony, Fiona, James and Amanda plotted an epic traverse of Beinn Eighe. Heading
up between Liathach and Beinn Eighe they broke up the northern nose of Sail
Mhor to start a purists traverse. The views were spectacular as they scrambled
on, past fuselage wall and up to the cliffs overlooking triple buttress.
Pausing to drop their sacks they diverted north to take in Ruadh-Stac Mor
sitting in splendid isolation. After returning to the main ridge the traverse
continued until reaching the trig point, where James and Amanda bade farewell
as they were returning to Auld Reekie that evening. After a little mental
arithmetic involving the distance remaining on the ridge and the proximity of
teatime, Fiona and Tony decided to join them on the descent.
Despite being revitalized by
a poke o' chips (nae sauce) and a can of juice around Inverness, James and
Amanda were eventually reduced to changing drivers every ten minutes before
finally arriving back in the big smoke. Meanwhile back in Ling....
Brian and Anne climbed An
Ruadh-stac, a Corbett north of Strathcarron – Brian repeating the same walk as
he had done the previous weekend (which must prove something), and Peter and
Helen climbed Slioch.
On Monday Brian, Steve and
Tony stayed up an extra day, climbing Beinn Alligin by way of The Horns and
over the summits of Sgurr Mhor and Tom na Gruagaich, and enjoyed a beautiful
day.
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10th
– 12th October: Cycle Meet,
CTC
Riders: Calum, Fiona, Tony, Martin, Charlie.
By Car/Watercarrier: Richard
As the weather broke with
tradition by not pouring with rain, we too broke the habit of the last 15 years
by heading straight down the main drag to Peebles, where we got milk and pies.
We then did a bit of the Tweed Cycle way via the Manor valley to Lyne Station,
and on to Dawyck Botanic Gardens, which were blooming lovely.
We arrived at 3pm, just
before they ran out of homebaking due to unprecedented demand ie it was October
and it was not pouring with rain and freezing cold.
As we left, it started to
rain so we went the traditional way round to the hut and were waylaid en route
by Richard.
Fortunately his car was able
to be filled with water from the Crook Inn as the stream we usually use was too
low to allow the mains flow into the hut.
The hut was fine apart from
the water and a few lonely flies which provided good swatting sport while the
fire was lit and tea was brewed.
The Crook Inn didn’t have a
telly so we could concentrate on the grub and booze - haggis, shepherd’s pie
and steak pie were the favourites and Broughton Autumn something or other
provided the lubrication. The sticky toffee pudding looked better than the
soup.
Tony got a slow puncture at
the Crook but got back safely, and the hut was still warm.
On the Sunday after a
leisurely breakfast we let the south east wind waft us back to Edinburgh.
In other words nothing much
happened other than 6 people had a very pleasant time.
Charlie
24th
– 26th October: Annual
Dinner, Birnam House Hotel
Present: Bob, Cathy H, Mr & Mrs.H, Hillary, Rona, Martha, Keith, Amanda,
James, Steve, Debbie, Nina, Andy, Fred, Rhona, Rod, Bill, Tom, Julie, Simon,
Ruth, Richard, Martin, Jane (Cathy's friend), Ruth, Graeme, Mike, Beate, Angela, Richard, Morag,
Elaine (Morag's friend),
Alan, Mark, Valerie, Robert, Fiona, Emma, Victoria, Jamie, Tony, Fiona, Stuart,
Gill, Bruce Hogg, Gill, Maureen, Andrew, Brian, Anne, Jo (Meet Sec), Ben, Tony, Andrea, Valerie, Jim,
Mandy, Douglas, Lorraine, Karyn, the local doctor and his wife!
As has been the case when
the annual dinner is accompanied with an after- dinner ceilidh, we had a
massive turnout of 66 this year!
A variety of activities were
carried out on the Saturday, which did include some Munro bagging as Valerie
and Jo climbed Schiehallion amongst some pretty wild weather!
Saturday night and the meal;
as usual, a magnificent fayre was served up by the hotel, Willie and his team
excelling themselves again. The Ceilidh
Express again gave us an above average performance, rewarded by the dance floor
never being empty. As has become the
tradition at Birnam, everyone made very good use of the fact that the bar stays
open for as long as a resident is propping it up! We had more music and singing until the wee hours, with the last
person finally going to bed as others were getting up!!! As can be imagined, not a huge amount
exertion took place on Sunday – with the majority of folk managing to find
Birnam Oak, and then drifting under the A9 to the Hermitage.
7th
– 8th November: Roshven
Present: Neil & Clare, Steve, Debbie, Tony, Brian, Anne, Tony, Steve, Martin, Richard,
Ailsa, Jo,
FMC Juniors: Gavin (7), Cormack (5), Lewis (3).
It was a good forecast for the weekend and a
comfortable number of people booked onto the meet. All bar Tony K arrived at
some time on the Friday evening. Brian and Anne arrived slightly later than
expected after hitting a deer by Loch Laggan. The car could be driven but there
was damage to the front and so they limped slowly to the house.
The forecast for once proved accurate and Saturday
turned out to be a glorious autumn day. Steve
& Neil climbed a couple of Corbetts south of Strontian. Brian, Anne
& Steve climbed the west Loch Shiel
Corbetts and the others tackled Roshven and some of the adjoining hills. Tony K
arrived later on the Saturday having climbed Sgurr an Utha en route. By all
accounts there were good views on the hills, but quite windy on the tops so the
walking was quite hard going at times.
Meanwhile the FMC juniors, supervised by Clare &
Debbie were tasked to prepare for bonfire night celebrations. The morning was
spent collecting driftwood & fallen branches. Competition was introduced by
building two piles of wood – adults & childrens’ piles, and trying to see
who could collect the most. The truth be told the kids kept sneaking wood away
from the adults pile to ensure they stayed in the lead. The afternoon was spent
constructing a Guy. It’s amazing what you can achieve with 3 pairs of tights, 3
willing kids and a large amount of dried leaves. The kids weren’t even upset
when we dressed the Guy in their old clothes. They were even more pleased when
their sign ‘Penny for the Guy’ bore fruit when the walkers came back off the
hills. It was a great evening for a bonfire on the beach. The Guy burnt
remarkably quickly and the fireworks and sparklers made an excellent show.
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As usual the rest of the evening was spent eating a
large communal meal (lamb in Beaujolais, and plum crumble) followed by some
mellowing out. It was not a particularly heavy night as people were recovering
from their harder than expected days on the hill.
Sunday was misty in the morning so there were no
early starts, but the day gradually turned to sunshine. Brian and Anne left
early to drive slowly back to Edinburgh. The, s & Jo went to do a new
nature trail at the end of Loch Moidart. Not a bad trail with good views and
with far more climbing than anticipated. The rest of the party opted for the
Eilean Shona expedition. A trip across the ford of Loch Moidart at low tide to
the small island and for some a further walk to the larger island ostensibly to
climb the hill. I believe however that this was changed to a walk round the
shores of the island which proved quite hard going. Certainly a pleasant day was
had by all. All in all it was a good weekend and a good introduction to Ailsa
on her first meet (albeit not wholly representative of usual FMC meets).
Anne’s car subsequently written-off.
CW
21st
– 22nd November: Patterdale,
Lake District
Present: Tony (Meet Sec), Calum and Fiona, Richard (Steve R failed attempt).
It was
very cold at night and out of the daytime sun. Websites were consulted (BBC and
Met office) before going and they were displaying weekend minima for Penrith and Keswick of -8 and -9 degrees C.
Calum posted a message on uk.sci.weather
asking if it was likely to be this cold in November. Various responses damned the automatic
website temperature generation and longed for the good old days of
meteorologist generated forecasts. As it turned out it was extremely cold with
a thick frost and temps recorded below -5 in the lakes, but on the other hand
it was a very sunny weekend.
Richard and Tony stopped off at Uncle Frank’s Farm
near Watermillock on Ullswater on the way there on Friday night. Frank is
Richard’s Uncle, a most eccentric and amusing character whom if you met, you
would probably recognise where Richard gets his sense of humour. Having stuffed
ourselves on a previous visit on Margaret’s (his wife) home cooking, this time
we had avoided having had anything to eat prior to arrival. The home-cooked
cakes and biscuits on offer did not disappoint us.
We met Fiona and Calum in
the Patterdale Hotel, which was fortunate for them, because the hut required
local knowledge to locate. Steve, as we discovered on Monday, was less
fortunate and couldn't find the hut and went home to Edinburgh.
Saturday morning was the
Rugby International final and Tony and Richard went for liquid breakfast and
sausage rolls to the Gleridding Hotel to enjoy England’s victory. In the
afternoon Richard and Tony climbed a small hill above Patterdale.
Meanwhile Fiona and Calum walked up Helvellyn, from Glenridding. As they approached the summit of Cat Sty Cam when they heard on radio that the English