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Our most recent meet reports are further down this page.
To see older reports and photos:
Trip Report for Black Rock, Evanton 23-25th May 2008
The superb May weather looked set to continue as we all gathered at Evanton for the Whit Bank holiday weekend. Kenny and I arrived on the Thursday night and took the opportunity for a day trip to Reiff for some sea cliff climbing. With a North East wind Kenny predicted it would be "idyllic". Not quite and only two other hardy souls braved the cold buffeting winds. The return route gave Kenny a chance to make a food drop at Inverlael for his planned back pack the following week. I was glad that others were equally confused that he was dropping off a "tin". "Don't you want to drop off a bit more food than that?" It turned out that the "tin" was an extremely large biscuit tin filled with all sorts of goodies.
More sunshine was promised on Saturday. Kate, Penny and Harry headed off for a big day on the Deargs. Kenny, Alan and I headed off to Applecross for the Classic Cioch nose, first climbed in 1960 by Bonington and Patey. With memories of the second chimney pitch still fresh in his mind from doing the route 8 years ago, Kenny kindly offered Alan the lead. After a good traditional struggle, involving judicious use of both knees and the drawing of blood, this allowed us to enjoy a rare moment - Alan getting out of breath. It turned out to be quite a long day and by the time we had completed the climb and the remainder of the ridge, hopes of getting a lift back down the Bealach na Ba were fading. The road was getting quieter and quieter and only one car remained in the car park. As luck would have it the last car went past just as I got to the road. The only problem was that Kenny and Alan (with car key) were still coming down the hill. I did feel a tad guilty when I pointed to the two figures in the distance and asked if it would be OK if he waited and took them down as well.
Meanwhile on the other side of Scotland the rest of the EMC (Alison W, Gillian, Fiona and Anne C were doing a Corbett/Graham combination down Glen Calvie . This proved to be a very nice Glen with some upmarket double glazed tree houses, gates that opened automatically and a friendly laird who expressed some concern about the ability of the girls to complete the walk. His kind offer to call Mountain Rescue after 5 hours was not taken up. Fiona borrowed my bike as part of a carefully worked through plan to enable her to get back to Evanton in time to watch the Cup final. Unfortunately for Fiona, the master plan unravelled through Kenny's penchant for thriftiness (see Jura Trip report from May 2006) - the half patch puncture repair of the night before blew off and Fiona was left to carry the bike out.
Some more big days were planned on Sunday. Anne did the Deargs. Gillian and Fiona headed off to the Fannichs with a distressing moment for Gillian when she discovered that she had taken the wrong lunch box and had to make do with 4 day old steamed potatoes and a block of cheese. Alison W and Alan were doing Ben Hee and Meallan Liath Coire Mhic Dhughaill linked by a couple of Grahams. Well they were not exactly linked. As Alan commented, it would probably have been quicker to return to the car rather than connect the hills up. All in all a day that Martin would have approved of. Kenny and I did Ben Wyvis from the back - cycling up Loch Glass and following a glorious path all the way round the tops. Penny and Kate opted for a shorter day on Am Faochagach and Harry had a beach walk. This was also the day that Scotland on Sunday reported that alcohol consumption in Scotland had doubled in the last few years - not a surprise if the local pub in Evanton is anything to go by. Early in the evening, Kate was knocked off her stool by a paralytic customer. Later when energy levels got low, the preferred technique seemed to be a red bull/pint combination.
The logistics around Kenny's backpack were starting to get complicated but at the last moment he changed his plans so there is still a tin of food hidden at Inverlael.
On Monday we left Fiona, Gillian and Kenny staying up north. Alison W was doing some Fannichs. Penny and Kate were doing some more munro bagging at Achnasheen. Harry, Anne, Alan and I headed to Dunteltaig. A nice quiet crag in a lovely location just south of Inverness. At least it would have been quiet if a busload of school children hadn't turned up for abseiling and top roping as part of Health week at their school. After some serious jungle bashing we managed to find the multi pitch v diff which turned out to be far more pleasant than its initial appearance suggested.
Alison C
Trip Report for Morvich, Glen Sheil 2-4th May 2008
A small but determined band of three arrived at Morvich campsite on Friday night, undiscouraged by the less good weather forecast for Saturday and also not amongst those lucky, lucky people who were staying up for the week and so could casually eschew the opportunity to spend a day in the rain on Saturday. Saturday however exceeded expectations and Penny and I completed a largely chocolate fudge fuelled traverse of the South Cluanie ridge in clear weather whilst Alan did the brothers and the sisters. Back at base the rest of the happy campers had arrived and we were all up more or less bright eyed and bushy tailed the following morning for ascents of various Corbetts/ Munros - A' Ghlas-bheinn for Penny, some sort of epic including at some point Beinn Fhada for Alan and Beinn Bhan by various routes including via A'Chioch for the rest, to an accompaniment of mist and rain. Despite the mist and poor visibility the Beinn Bhan ascendees all managed to meet up for the descent, arriving at the top within seconds of each other - clearly a magnificent masterpiece of planning. The campsite was a bit soggy when we got back so it was a case of a visit to the drying room, followed by a meal out and a round of that well known party game "how many (occupied) deck chairs can you fit into Kenny and Alison's tent". Monday was a stunning day, Penny ascended Ciste Dubh, Fiona and I ascended the Saddle via the Forcan ridge and several sun bathing stops, whilst Alan added Sgurr na Sgine to this and was back at the cars several hours ahead of us, although to be fair I think he got a 10 min start.
Gillian
And from Fiona...
Four people were fortunate enough to have the whole week off following the meet. As the promised good weather materialised on Monday morning we were definitely feeling smug as everyone else headed off for a walk and the long drive home. The weather did indeed deliver all week, as promised. Wall to wall sunshine, amazing views, warm and midge free!
Folks did their own thing during the day - mainly walking and climbing in the Cuillins with a wee bit of cycling (not in the Cuillins!) thrown in for good measure. Evenings were spent relaxing in the sunshine at Glenbrittle campsite.
A fantastic week.
Trip Report - Carrbridge Easter Meet March 2008
This meet started the way it meant to go on with the arrival of snow on Friday night. Sara
was the last of 15 members to materialise after a rather exciting journey from the Hebrides.
The next morning Carrbridge had turned into a winter wonderland. Ideas of what to do were
hastily revised based on the ability to get to the bottom of the relevant hill and the likely depth of the snow.
Carrbridge
One team comprising Penny, Helen, Ron, Margaret and Callum set off to Ben Wyvis which
proved a good choice as most of the snow had been blown off the top of it and they had a
reasonable day. Alan, Anne and I decided to tackle the north face of the Hills of Cromdale.
This proved yet another surreal experience (see trip notes from Crianlarich). As we got
to close to our first summit we could make out some shapes in the spindrift that looked
at first like sheep but turned out to be reindeer. Rather than running away they rushed
enthusiastically towards us - no doubt hoping that our rucksacks were stuffed full of
reindeer snacks. Thwarted, they followed us closely and then one rather loopy reindeer
started jumping up either to try and get at our rucksacks or possibly because they realized
that we were the sexiest thing on 2 legs they had seen recently. Anne was completely bowled
over (literally). We decided this was a bit on the scary side and after eventually shaking
them off we spent the next hour looking over our shoulders to see if rampant Rudolph was
following us. On the second summit is an enormous cairn which contains box with a visitor's
book in it. This was where Alan got his second scare of the day because when he opened it he
picked up something that mooed at him loudly and promptly dropped it! Don't ask! As Martin
would say - there is no such thing as a boring hill... The last thing that we discovered in
the nearby pub - while replacing vital body fluids - was that there was a battle on our hill
during the Jacobite rebellion and about 400 rebels were killed after the English snuck up on
them in the dark. Apparently in their confusion they threw their plaids to the ground and
ran off naked. Bit of a different take on the Mel Gibson thing eh?
Alan in Disguise
Cairn on the Cromdale Hills
Another cairn on the Cromdale Hills
The evening was enlivened by Ewan sabotaging the efforts of anyone to climb anything the
next day by producing the biggest and most delicious sticky toffee pudding in the world.
He need not have worried as in fact the snow redoubled its enthusiasm. Brave attempts to
scale Ben McDui and various climbs in the Northern Corries were abandoned except by Sara
and her climbing partner who persevered in the white out, but apparently did not have much
fun trying to get back out again. Callum decided to go skiing, which he said was OK as he
is a good enough skier to negotiate a slope without actually being able to see it. Fiona
and Margaret, rather more sensibly went for a low level walk in the woods.
Anne and I went up to Strathfarrar and expended large amounts of energy wading through
snow to get to the summit of Ben a Bha'ach Ard. West was a good idea, as here the snow
stopped at about eleven o-clock and we even saw a big yellow thing in the heavens on more
than one occasion. We had a pretty good day, but as we came back down the A9 that afternoon
we were once more in a blizzard. Penny, Helen and Ron also went west and climbed A Chailleach
and its neighbour Carn Dearg. They were finally rewarded by spectacular views after nearly
freezing to bits in the bitter northerly wind. Three cheers for bothy bags!
Kenny and Alison won the prize for the most car miles per metre climbed. Having come
to Carrbridge via Glenfinnan they left on Sunday morning for home via Torridon. On Monday
it was still snowing. Some folk left early to get home and chill out, pun intended. Ewan
and Alan having been thwarted the day before in the Northern Corries drove all the way back
to Glen Coe to do some more climbing and make a late entry to the car miles per metre
challenge. Ron was last seen eating a large slab of the indomitable sticky toffee pudding for breakfast!
Alison W
Trip Report for Mar Lodge 22-23rd February 2008
A exceptionally windy Saturday. A large group cunningly arranged for a
wind-assisted traverse across the top of Brown Cow Hill, getting them
back to basecamp in time to watch the rugby. Tim and Ewan reconnoitred
the corrie at Lochnagar and found Black Sprout Gully in fine condition,
but then had to practically crawl the short distance to the summit.
Greatly improved conditions on Sunday saw a return to Lochnagar for a
mass assault (Ewan, Tim, Kenny, Allison on Raeburn's Gully; Martin, Anne
and Gillian on Black Spout). While gearing up Kenny lost his lunch to a
passing dog, which went on to overtake the party on Black Sprout.
(Whatever Kenny puts in his sandwiches, it must be good stuff).
And we got our pictures in the SAIS blog.
Tim
Trip Report for Lagangarbh Feb 2008
It has been suggested that one should keep notes about the mountaineering
huts one visits recording salient features such as the cunningness of the rodents,
the distance from the car and what sort of fuel the stove requires.
If this had been done then it would have been very unlikely that Ewan and
Tim would carry a sack of coal and a bag of kindling through the darkness
to a dwelling with a gas fire. Alas neither can claim that they have never
been there before and claims that they were thinking of Blackrock were laughed aside.
The silver lining transpired to be that sacks of coal are quite good at keeping
fridge doors shut.
The EMC has a wide range of members with many skills, engineers abound and lawyers lurk,
some work in arcane areas of computing and others control unimaginable sums of other peoples money.
These skills notwithstanding nobody could manage to programme the oven to stay on for more than fifteen minutes.
Hypotheses were put forth and demolished as the oven failed to respond. An instruction manual was found but,
was alas, for the previous oven. We can only conclude that the SMC exist entirely on a diet of pizza which cooks
inside the oven's time of grace.
These events managed to distract from the disturbing reality of the thaw conditions.
The total snow cover early in the week had vanished and the morning revealed no snow lying
below the cloud level. Kenny was dispatched to investigate any snow on Bidean and Ewan and
Tim took some ice axes for a walk up Curved Ridge eventually finding something to use them on
heading to crowberry gap. In a reversal of the usual state of affairs Alison was left trailing
in the wake of Fraser on a munro ticking jaunt up the wee buchaille. Returning to the hut at half
past one the discovery of a freshly delivered but somewhat damp saturday guardian on the doorstep
gave Alison something to do until everybody else returned. Anne and Martin had an accident laden trip
up a Corbett and a Graham with Martin drawing blood on a boulder and Anne finding affinity with a quagmire.
By the time darkness fell all bar two had returned. When dropped off in the morning Ron and Sara
were intent on the round of Creise and Meall a Bhuiridh, a pleasant walk with a tricky bit of navigation
if one is to avoid a walk into the heart of the Black Mount......
As time ticked onwards their goods were mentally divided out until eventually it was decided that
somebody really ought to go and look for them before we opened Ron's wine and raised a glass to the
departed. The presence of the Kingshouse Hotel between the hut and wherever the journey may have ended
was thought likely to act as a natural collecting feature for a creature of habit such as Ron. Thankfully
(for them) they had begun the walk home from the bar before they were found so allowing a certain relief
to mask any annoyance their rescuers may have been harbouring. They had indeed walked beyond the
required turning and ended up with a long march back along the west highland way for their trouble.
Once more the oven failed to be tamed and those with pasta looked smug. The discovery of a Jenga set resulted
in an epic battle between Bill and Ron - the tower growing until finally an impasse was reached and Bill was
required to commit ritual suicide to the sound of his vanquisher's cries of joy. If such nerves of
steel were directed at the crag the results would be truly awesome.
Sunday dawned gray and a late start was had by all. The sack of coal was ceremoniously carried from
its resting place to the awaiting car as eight headed towards Beinn an Dothiadh in search of the West Gully
which we were assured would still hold snow. The unseasonal warmth caused sartorial issues for those
clad with winter in mind as more and more clothes were removed as the march upwards continued. Perhaps it
was just as well that the hills were quiet that day. The discovery of a large cone of avalanche
debris in the gloom suggested that something lurked above and slowly but surely the gully was gained.
The thaw had removed the cornice thus allowing a remarkable easy exit from the gully and the plateau
was gained. The top was duly ticked and the descent enlivened by some delightful light and a breaking of
the cloud. In keeping with the previous days events Anne once more located the deepest and darkest mire
to frequent.
Ewan
Trip report for New Year at Corran 2007
We assembled on the 28th at the Corran bunkhouse which was found to be
significantly posher than many of our dwellings. The other nice
surprise
was that Richard's brownies were the best yet. Amazingly, and only due
to
the vast quantity made, these lasted until the 30th.
The 29th saw a murky start and most people headed out in search of
hills
on one list or the other. Certain people were heard to curse the
glacier
that sculpted the lower slopes of glen nevis as they struggled upwards
fighting against their hangovers. Is munro bagging really worth that
much
pain?
On the day the Ben's hardest route (the secret - IX,9 ) was to
recieve its second ascent the EMC had more modest ambitions. With good
weather forecast a party of 11 walked in via the superb new north face
path. A group of 4 armed with Sara's very shiny new axes and very
pink rope headed for Ledge Route. The other seven aimed for Number 4
gully
grumbling that the marker post was, perhaps, on the wrong end of the
gully
for their needs. At least it would confirm at the end if they had
chosen
correctly! The weather was perfect with a fine cloud inversion as we
emerged blinking in the sunlight onto the plateau.
Following successful ascents both groups were to head over the summit
and
back down the CMD arete for a proper mountaineering day out. Due to a
scenic detour by the gully party both groups met up on the top of Carn
Mor
Dearg and enjoyed a very sociable meander down reaching the car park in
the gloaming.
The evening brought the communal meal. Richard and Fiona provided soups
to
start with. The main courses were chicken curry and curry goat provided
by
Alison and Ewan. Anne and Sara provided the many accompanyments. Dessert
was sadly missing Gillian's trifle but she did make a fine cheesecake
instead which equalled Margaret's meringue and chocolate creation.
After such a fine day previously few could motivate themselves on a day
of
rising temperatures and torrential rain. The 8am gondola party had
already
moved to 10am which in turn morphed into the 3pm slot at the Ice
Factor.
Alison, Kenny, Alan and Ewan reminded themselves why they don't climb
grade
VI ice while Ron and Sara opted for some expert tuition. Other parties
were rumoured to have driven most of the way around the highlands in
search of a hill that met their exacting criteria.
The hogmanay celebrations included Kenny's quiz which was sadly lacking
in
pictures of obscure grahams in the mist to identify. Instead he had
resorted to general knowledge which people seemed disturbingly good at.
At
the bells out neighbours in the adjoining bunkhouse provided a fine, if
alarming, firework display. Thankfully all the rockets missed solid
objects. In a break with tradition everybody lasted until the New Year.
On the 1st the majority headed for the wee Buchaille for a New Year
stroll. Having accomplished this the group dispersed and headed home
apart
from one disturbingly enthusiastic member who headed to the ice factor.
Those who were staying on for an extra night had headed north of Loch
Eil
to an anonymous corbett. Sometimes guidebooks do actually contain
advice
that should, if not be heeded, at least be noted. Had this been done
then
the words 'a long and tedious ridge' might have made themselves known.
Perhaps this is why there was nobody to wish happy new year to?
Ewan
Trip report for Ochils Hut 14/15th December 2007
After a pleasant stroll in the Ochils en route, by the rather poetically
named Burn of Sorrow, I opened up the hut at Crianlarich in the gathering gloom.
By the time other folk started showing up the fire was blazing, to the extent
that even Alison C was unable to sit right next to it.
The forecast spoke optimistically of inversions and 80% cloud free hills and many
plots were hatched. Nearly everyone decided to have a crack at either Ben Lui or
Ben Oss. Tim went to Ben More and Stob Binnein on the doorstep and apparently had
a good day complete with views from the summits. Anne C went to tackle a more
user-friendly Corbett which entailed a gentle stroll through Caledonian pinewoods.
Fraser and I set off early for Ben Lui and Ben Cleibh and right enough you could
see at least two thirds of Ben Lui on the approach. However, the cloud sat on top
of the hill all day and if there was an inversion you had to be in a 747 to experience it.
When we got to the corrie the cloud lifted briefly, which was just as well as we had
missed our path up the side of it by then. After a couple of other navigation challenges
and a slippery scramble up the 'bad step' we arrived at the summit cairn which was encased
in ice and fog. Not a place to linger. Ben Cleibh was straightforward enough, but then of
course we had to go back up Ben Lui again. Ugh! 400 meters of slog back to the summit,
still fog bound. This time however we were greeted by an enthusiastic raven and by Bill
and Eileen who were kindly sharing their lunch with it. They had also missed their route
slightly on the way up. Seemed to be endemic, as on the way down we ended up too far round
to the North and I think it is fair to say that we actually more or less circumnavigated the
entire hill during the course of the day.
Getting back to the hut, the Ben Dubhchraig and Ben Oss group (Penny, Harry, Ewan and Kate)
arrived shortly after us and reported a very similar sort of day involving walking under one
of the summits by mistake and then going back to look for it. Kenny and Alison had managed
not to get lost by following a path all the way to the top of Ben Vane. Alan and Anne were
unfortunately both overcome by sickness on the way down Ben Lui and went straight home.
The evening featured Bill and Eileen leaving the restaurant next door (fab curry!) to look
for Bill and Kathy who had still not returned by 7.30. However, we finally got a
reply to a text and they materialised after a walk out in the dark. Perhaps they
should have started walking before 10.30
..
Amazingly only Fraser made it to the Rod and Reel, which was almost empty
(as we were all still in the restaurant stuffing ourselves). Everyone collapsed
in front of the roaring fire, full of curry and beer. No dancing on the mantelpiece
tonight then.
The next day, the hills were still hiding. Fraser set off to Ben Challum, undaunted.
Anne Craig and I had a surreal walk up Meal nan Subh - the hill of the raspberry -
at the end of Glen Lochay. It all started when I saw something out of the corner
of my eye and said to Anne 'am I hallucinating or is that a bright yellow sheep?'
Indeed it was and we saw 4 or 5 of them intermingled with normal coloured sheep on
our way up. When I say yellow, I mean day-glo, incredibly bright yellow all over.
And yes - we know about tups and all that - but surely it doesn't involve an all
over colour scheme?
The hill turned out to be rather attractive with several summits on a longish ridge
on ground that was frozen absolutely solid. Not only that we even had a view!
On the way back down the road we noticed that someone had written messages on the
road in big block letters. One said 'Look at Gregor's purple face' and something
about his behind which luckily was illegible. Another one said - more alarmingly
'Don't Look Back!' Had aliens landed, disguised as yellow sheep and started communicating
with the mother ship? You read it here first.
Alison W
Trip report for Dinner Meet 15th/16th November 2007
Weem was the location for this years dinner meet. With not too far to drive,
most folk managed to make an early start in the bar. There were shades of Morecambe and Wise
when Harry and Bill were offered a double bed in their guest house and Harry
thought I was joking when I said that I had arranged for him to sleep with the President!
Apart from this small glitch, most people were pleased with the accommodation, although John and Agnes
didnt seem too happy with the wee cupboard that I had arranged for them. Never mind, we had the
added benefit of being able to gate crash the Ploughmans Celidh. There was some suspicion
that this was simply a ruse to make us buy numerous raffle tickets that didnt make their way into the final dip.
On Saturday, the weather forecast wasnt great and with an important football match due to start
at 5pm most people were keen to have a short day on the hills. Various hills in Glen Lyon and around Loch Tay
were climbed enabling a quick exit to the local pub where there was a tremendous atmosphere until 30 seconds into the match.
Hopes were raised again when the equalising goal was in the bag and there was a resounding chorus of Were gonna deep fry your pizzas
sadly 30 seconds before the end it was clear that the pizzas were not going to get deep fried.
The weather wasnt much better on Sunday and most people went home. Ron, Ewan, Alison C,
David, Kenny, Martin and Penny climbed Shiehallion in ghostly mist and a fair bit of snow.
On the way up we passed a very tame red legged partridge thanks to Ron for the bird identification.
Any idea why you would take endless shots of a teddy bear on the summit? We couldnt work it out either.
Alison
Trip report for Mill Cottage - 6th/7th October 2007
Once the key arrived (having been distracted by a fish supper, a visit
to the Loch Insh restaurant to see if anyone was waiting there, and a
tour up and down the road to Feshiebridge and then around the forestry
tracks near Mill Cottage), Friday night eventually saw the hut fully
occupied and a toasty fire blazing. Some excitement occurred in the
middle of the night when an aspirant member, hungry for a taste of the
Scottish mountaineering experience, succeeded in tipping a pint of
water
over themselves.
Saturday started off with apparently lifting cloud and EMC members
dispersed themselves around the Cairngorms by foot and bicycle, most
ambitious being a party undertaking a twenty mile tramp via Loch
Einich,
Sgor an Lochain Uaine and Braeriach. Miserable conditions didn't
inspire anyone to add Cairn Toul to the round, despite its proximity,
and having entered the cloud at 900m altitude they didn't leave it
until
below 500m in the Lairig Ghru.
Sunday saw clear blue skies and a mass assault on that perennial EMC
favourite: the round of the Monadhliath Munros Carn Dearg, Carn Sgulain (for some) and A'Chailleach.
This time the line of fenceposts was
redundant as a navigation aid, and despite the lateness in the season
there was no culmination in a hellish headtorch-illuminated return
through the bogs.
Tim
Trip report for Glen Brittle Hut - 14th/16th September 2007
This proved to be a popular meet with 19 members arriving at the BMC club hut in Glen Brittle on the Friday night, the most remarkable thing was that we had less than 19 cars and Ron made it up the A9 without setting off any speed cameras. The evening was beautiful with masses of stars twinkling above the Cuillins, oh how that would change.
To say Saturday was wet, well that doesn't really begin to cover it, it was absolutely torrential all day. Anne and I headed to the north of the island, just above Uig to do a wee hill there in the cloud, gale force winds and torrential and I mean torrential rain. Martin, Ewan, Sara, David and Helen did an assault on Bruach na Frithe and unlike us managed to get a few views through the rain, on the way back to the road however the river that was crossed with relative ease on the way up had turned into a raging torrent that proved rather interesting to cross and all came back with varying degrees of wetness, Sara`s mobile phone not reacting well to its swim. Other folks were in the Red Cuillin and the Trotternish hills, all reported very very wet conditions. The drying room was having to work very hard but this being skye it was surely used to that.
Sunday was er wet again, Martin, David, Ewan, myself and Alison for some reason thought it would be a good plan to go into Coire Lagan, Ewan quite wisely turned back as we got into the corrie proper and Alison shortly afterwards. We carried on and by a minor miracle it did actually lift for a while and we made it up on to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich, we had grand plans to carry on but Martin the skye guru failed to find the route past An Stac and as a result was not paid his guiding fee! We returned into the corrie to find Alison who on seeing the weather lift had headed up to Sgurr Sgumain. Other folks had headed to Macleods tables and a return along the coast, by late afternoon the sun had even made an appearance. We all headed en masse to the Carbost Inn for dinner that night.
Most folk headed straight off the island on Monday, it was very very windy but a beautiful day but definetly not one for the main ridge.
A wet weekend but enjoyed by all and the hut was excellent and well worth a return visit.
Alan
Trip report for Blackrock Cottage - 13th/14th July 2007
Kenny on Curved Ridge (AC)
Ron being careful (AC)
Curved Ridge (AC)
Rannoch Moor from Clach Leathad (FC)
Photos by Alison C and Fiona
Meet report for Resipol - 22nd/23rd June 2007
Unlike most EMC camping meets this one actually took place with a
grand total of two people turning up. It might have been three but I
spend a few days before the meet in sunny Ardnamurchan and so didn't
get the message from the third person.
On Saturday we woke to a cloud level of 50m and intermittent rain.
However, it had improved by mid-morning so Anne and I set off to do
Creach Bheinn and Fuar Bheinn. Unfortunately the clag stayed on the
ridge all day so we had only fleeting glimpses of the magnificent view.
The day was rounded off with an excellent dinner in the Salen hotel.
Sunday was clearer so Anne climbed Beinn Resipol - I stayed on
another night and climbed it in similar conditions on Monday.
Northern half of Loch Sheil
Southern half of Loch Sheil
For future reference, the restaurant / bar on the campsite closed
three years ago!
Fiona
Meet Report - Patterdale 9-10th June 07
There was a slight mix up with our booking for the Agnes Spencer Memorial Hut in
Patterdale so we found ourselves camping a little further up the road.
Fortunately the weather was pretty much perfect. It was possibly the
last time the sun was seen this month. In true Lakeland tradition, the
campsite was packed and the only area left for us was at the top of
the hill, in fact it was the hill. On Saturday, Margaret, Gillian,
Alison W and Ron headed off to Helvellyn via Striding Edge.
Kenny, Ewan and I went to Gimmer Crag and managed to be first on our
chosen route, Bracket and Slab. A little time was lost on the first
pitch when Kenny deposited Ewans number 9 hex down a large crevice
where it was lost forever. A little more time was lost when Kenny
went off route on pitch 4 and nearly went up a much harder variation
ominously named Amen Corner. An intermediary belay was taken enabling
Ewan to strike up conversation with the young female teachers who were
following us.
Alison on Bracket
The main event of the evening was Ron causing third degree burns to
Alison Ws foot in a small accident with some boiling water. Later and
once the skin had been peeled off Alisons foot we retired to the pub,
hoping to drink enough not to notice rolling down to the bottom of the
tent during the night.
Sunday was even hotter. Gillian and Margaret were doing a small hill
opposite the campsite. Ron and Alison went to the Borders and Kenny,
Ewan and I did a bit more climbing.
Meet report and photos by Alison C
Meet Report - Barisdale - 4-7th May 07
Despite the fact that we are a walking club when given the option
of a pleasant 3 hour stroll along Loch Hourn on the Friday evening or
a 15 minute boat trip up the loch every single person on the meet
opted for the boat, worried about losing drinking time perhaps. After
the boat dropped us off there was a 1.5mile walk up to the Whitehouse,
a bit longer than I had advised people but I never could judge
distances on a map.
The weather on Saturday remained as it had been, warm and clear. We
awoke to find Martin had already set off on one of his classic Martin
rounds, ie every hill within a 10 mile radius, which in this instance
took in Sgurr a Choire Bheithe, Ben Aden, Sgurr na Ciche, Garbh Chioch
Mor and Sgurr nan Coireachan so just a short day. I met Martin on top
of Ben Aden and was for a minute nearly persuaded to join him but managed
to have a quiet word with myself just in time and I carried on to Sgurr
a Choire Bheithe, which Kenny and Alison were also on having walked in
on the Saturday morning from Loch Quoich. Fiona took in Luinne Bheinn
and Meall Buidhe, Gillian also did Ben Aden while most of the remaining
party made an assault on Ladhar Bheinn and the neighbouring Corbett,
when I say neighbouring I mean its about 6km away, be rude to leave it
out really.
Ladhar Bheinn from Loch Quoich
Back at the bunkhouse being a typical man I failed to read the
instructions regarding how to get hot water out the shower and
complained bitterly about how cold it had been, while everybody else
raved about how hot their shower had been, having sensibly actually
read the instructions. During all this Martin was getting rather hot
under the trousers as it was looking like he might have to shower with
his new slacks still on, the belt buckle having become trapped fast in
the trouser lining, surgery was required to free the poor man from his
predicament. The buckle was removed and the offending article placed
on the table from where it vanished into thin air, never to be seen
again, would the trousers stay up without it? Thankfully for all
concerned they did, honestly you couldn't make it up. After all this
everybody retired to the Ron prepared fire in the lounge and scoffed
beer, wine and snacks.
The next day was wet, windy and very windy, did I mention it was
windy. People took off in various directions, I repeated the Corbett,
Ladhar Bheinn combination, Kenny and Martin took in Ladhar Bheinn as
well, a real struggle coming off the North ridge in the wind. Alison W,
Ron & Ewan did Meall Buidhe but got literally blown off course trying
to reach Luinne Bheinn so made an early descent. Sgurr a Choire bheithe
was taken in by Fiona, Anne and Gillian while Alison made for the Graham,
Slat Bheinn.
A less eventful evening followed, I managed to have a hot shower,
Martin got out of his trousers and the remaining wine and beer was
consumed. Next morning myself, Ron, Ewan, Fiona and Alison W took the
boat option out while the rest made their way back to Kinloch Hourn by
way of the Graham of Meall nan Eun.
Meet report by Alan, photo by Alison C
Meet report for Dundonnell 13-14 April 2007
Perhaps it was tiredness following the Easter meet or perhaps a
lurking dread that the midge hordes would return early that caused so few to
travel so far.
On Saturday An Teallach was dispatched by Dave and Ewan in short
sleeves whilst Martin ran over most of the Fannichs at least once. Sunday saw
Dave head to Slioch, Martin headed into Fisherfield and Ewan meandered up
Beinn Ghobhlach. Thankfully Sunday saw a return to normal conditions with
rather solid precipitation experienced by Bill and Ewan on top of Ben Wyvis.
Ewan
Meet report for Easter at Corpach, 5th - 8th April 2007
Leaving Edinburgh on Thursday night under a perfect blue sky, a small
but hardy contingent headed to Corpach for a long weekend's camping.
After an abortive 4 am start (in the hope of some winter climbing)
Friday saw assorted parties heading to Glenfinnan for a delightful
day's walking and scrambling in this inexplicably ignored area of
Scotland. Upon their return more members had arrived making this one
of the best attended camping meets in a long time, so we retired to the
local hostelry for a celebration.
Saturday saw the re-emergence of climbing as more than half the group
headed to Polldubh for a days cragging, the highlight being Kenny's
ability to charm Mick Tighe's wife into retrieving a stuck nut of his
on Damnation. Mick himself had previously failed to extricate it but
did the placer the honour of deeming it worthy to be clipped. In order
to be fashionably late for dinner Ann, Gillian and Alison W headed off
to meet a few Corbetts and there were reports that other members
managed a strange sport known as sunbathing.
Kenny on Heatwave (AC)
Sgurr Thuilm and Streap (FC)
Sunday saw Tim and Ewan heading off in search of the Great Ridge of
Garbh Bheinn, having eventually found it the weather then broke and
they retreated home after a few pitches sadly depriving the EMC of a
guaranteed epic. Meanwhile those not heading home returned to Glenfinnan
for some of the more remote corbetts and grahams and by the end of the
day only three members remained under canvas.
Meet report by Ewan, photos by Alison C and Fiona
Meet report for Aite Cruinnichidh, 23rd - 24th March 2007
Those who travelled North in daylight had fantastic views of Scotland
in the sun, after dark it was Scotland by moonlight. So gorgeous, it
was all too easy to watch the scenery rather than the road. With the
promise of a very good day on Saturday, Friday evening was spent making
plans.
Saturday dawned sunny but cold with a bit of cloud on the high
summits. The climbers were all heading for the Ben, so the first party
(Kenny, Alison C and Ewan) left at 6.45 followed shortly by Martin and
Alan. The hillwalkers split into two parties (the A-team of Alison W,
Fraser and Ron) and the B-team (Bill C and myself) were all doing Anoch
Mor by the East Ridge (Stob an Cul Choire). The bunkhouse was empty by
7.45am.
Bill and I had a few difficulties with the initial route finding as
my map was in Edinburgh and Bill's didn't show the ski centre (but did show
all the underground water pipes!). However,
we eventually found our way through the forest and climbed gently along
the ridge in the sunshine. The top of Anoch Mor was in the cloud but as
we approached, the cloud lifted off. Perfect. The views were stunning
all around but of the Ben in particular. We met the A-team as we
approached Anoch Beg before they dropped down to climb Carn Mor Dearg
too. As we descended off Anoch Mor the route was plastered in signs
'Mountain bikes only - walkers use alternative route'. With only a
pre-historic map, Bill and I took our chances and came down the MTB
route with some difficulty. Surely it's impossible to cycle down that?.
Ben Nevis (with a helicopter flying over)(FC)
Bill, Aonach Mor and it's East Ridge (FC)
Loch Eil and Ardgour from Aonach Mor (FC)
Alan and Martin had a good day on the Ben and thankfully it remained
clear all day (they had no map!). Kenny, Alison and Ewan climbed number
3 gully buttress and were last back to the bunkhouse.
Alison topping out on the Ben (AC)
Ewan on number 3 gully buttress (AC)
Kenny on number 3 gully buttress (AC)
Sunday was beautiful again. The climbers all headed via Anoch Mor to
climb on the east ridge of Carn Mor Dearg, whilst Alison W and I did
Beinn a Chlachair. There was another map incident with Bill attempting
Creag Meagaidh (using only sheet 41) but ended up on Beinn a Chaorainn.
Binnein Shuas and the loch behind
Bill C has supplied scanned maps of the main underground water pipe
systems which are available as a
zip file.
A glorious weekend.
Meet report by Fiona, photos by Fiona and Alison C
Meet report for Rucksacks Bunkhouse - 23rd/24th February 2007
It is a while since we stayed at Rucksacks bunkhouse but we were soon
back into the swing of Friday night at the Fyfe Arms. The weekend
coincided with an Edinburgh ski club weekend so the joint was jumping
although it wasn't very clear what they were going to ski on. Saturday
was a bit grey and claggy. Most were Graham and Corbett bagging apart from
early risers Tim and Ewan who headed off to Beinn Mheadhoin.
There were some grumpy old men around on Saturday night, the main
targets being a missing basket at the end of Martin's walking poles and
the purpose of lettuce.
The Alpine bunkroom had big plans for Sunday. A mass attack on
Lochnagar - black spout gully and pinnacle gully. Passing up the
delights of the Saturday night disco, alarms were set for 6am (myself,
Ewan and Kenny) and 7am - Alan, Martin, Ron and Tim. The first party
duly left in mild tempartures, drizzle and low cloud. Half way to
Ballater we turned back and then turned back again when Ben Avon briefly
cleared. Nothing like a bit of indecision to while away the day and
use up some petrol. When we finally reached Ballater on the second
attempt it was pouring. So, after sitting in the village carpark for a
couple of minutes we turned back again and headed off to the Glenshee
munros. Enroute we passed the other 4 driving to Ballater. It was still
pouring when the late risers got to the same car park in Ballater and
they also turned back to do An Socach and a demoted Corbett. With no
indecision, Gillian and Alison W did a couple of Grahams and Fiona drove
home. I am not sure what Bill and Eileen did but the bunkhouse was more
or less deserted by 8am on Sunday - unheard of.
Alison C
Meet report for Carrbridge Bunkhouse - 2nd/3rd February 2007
14 people attended the meet at Carrbridge. A very frosty Saturday morning
saw people head off in various directions but mainly in the direction of the
Cairngorms. A large party headed to the Cairngorm car park to tackle the south
side of Cairngorm itself and then headed down to the Saddle and continued on
to Bynack More and then headed down to Ryvoan and back to a strategically placed
car. The Cairngorms were almost devoid of snow after nearly a week of thawing.
Only patches in the hollows and gullies which after an overnight frost were in
great condition. The other party (solo) saw the President also head to the Cairngorm
car park for what was rumoured as an endless but exhausting walk around the said car
park. In truth an ascent of Lurcher's Crag was made and then a wander up on to Cairn
Lochan via Lochan Buidhe and back via Lurcher's gully track followed by the inevitable
visit to the coffee shop.
View westward from Cairngorm
Richard, Kenny, Ron & Anne at The Saddle
Loch Avon
Alison C. and Gillian headed for a remote and possibly the most boring Corbett - Carn
na Saobhaidhe in the middle of the Monadhliadh using a combination of bike and foot.
To avoid the chaos in the kitchen with its four cooker rings, five headed down to an
hotel for an evening meal. Back to the hostel for the usual 'fooding and drinking'
ritual without which the E.M.C meets would not be the same.
So Sunday is a mystery? For the record, I think Gillian, Fiona and Ron tackled the
Ben-y-Vrackie Sudwand and the Pres. tackled the easy grassy slopes of Meall nan Caorach.
a Graham near Amulree.
Meet report by 'el presidente' Owen and photos by Fiona C
Meet report for Onich - Alex McIntyre Hut - 19/20th January 2007
The first meet of the year found us at the Alex McIntyre Hut near
Onich, the first time the club had been for quite a few years. The
drive up didn't promise great things, it poured down from the moment we
left Edinburgh to arriving at Onich. 12 of us had gathered at the hut,
once we mastered the digital lock and found our way in. A discussion
with the warden revealed that despite the hut having a capacity of 16,
as per the website, there was actually 19 in the hut that night, this
was on the basis the hut was being run like an Alpine hut apparently,
can't think of too many Alpine huts right next to a busy main road at
sea level next to a pub but maybe I've just missed them! By this time
Alison W had taken Matt and Ron under her wing and sneaked out to the
pub, good plan.
We split into 3 parties in the morning, Tim, Bill and Ewan took off
to do Beinn Schoolyard near Appin while Alison W, Ron, Anne C & Matt
headed across on the ferry to Ardgour to do the Corbett Stob Coire a
Chearcaill. Myself, Anne, Kenny, Alison and Martin headed into the
Mamores where it snowed, blew a gale, had bright sunshine, good views,
low cloud and a whiteout, all the usual Scottish winter weather. Alison
took to crawling at one point as the wind predicted by the Mountain
Weather forecast actually came into being - "mobility implausible"!
The other groups all had similar days and we all returned a bit battered
back to the "overstocked" hut. After dinner we all headed down to the
pub followed by the now traditional EMC cheeseboard back at the hut.
The next day looked a wee bit better until we started to drive round
to Glen Nevis where it turned rather dark and poured down again. After
a bit of walking round the car park myself, Martin, Kenny and Alison
eventually decided to head up to Stob Ban where those nice people from
Abacus Mountaineering had made a trail but unfortunately for us they
veered off in the wrong direction, so we sent Martin up ahead to blaze
trail to the bottom of the East Ridge, a grade II/III route, which as it
turned out was buried under masses of snow. In celebration of
finishing the climb Martin showed his appreciation by sacrificing his
helmet to the mountain, it tumbled away down the hillside, with Martin
in hot pursuit, cursing at having bought a white helmet, so easy to spot
on a snowy hillside, but on this occasion Martin lost the race.
Meanwhile on Ben Cruachan Tim, Bill and Ewan were fighting their way
through the snow to get to the top, which resulted in a descent in a
storm, passing a group of 8 still heading up without an ice axe between
them, nothing like being prepared. The other faction of Alison, Anne,
Matt and Ron had opted to go further south and bag Beinn Challum.
A weekend of wild January weather.
Alan R
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