Meet Report

12th to 14th May 2006 - Roy Bridge

We had a week of beautiful weather leading up to the meet so it was no surprise to find that the warm spell was due to break just before the weekend. We turned up on Friday night to find that the cheap site at Inverroy recommended by Kenny was actually rather nice as well. We sat around chatting until well after 11pm when the cold finally got too much. Overnight it got much colder and in the morning several people were muttering about down sleeping bags not being warm enough. My summer-weight bag was far short of warm and I can report that at 4.30am all the tents were frozen solid.

We woke to blue skies, sunshine and a fantastic view of the grey corries. With a good day in prospect we were away from the campsite by 8.30 - Kenny & Alison went to do Gulvain and a Corbett whilst Tim D, Anne C, Gillian, Margaret and I tackled the grey corries. We summited Stob Ban and got fantastic views of all the hills to the South & West (including the Paps of Jura, much to Anne's disgust). As we climbed up to Stob Choire Claurigh we stopped to chat to some people - one of them stared fixedly at Margaret before asking if she was Margaret from York. He turned out to be a former colleague from 15 years ago and apparently Margaret 'hasn't changed a bit'. We were unsure if this was good or bad! Meanwhile, Anne and Tim were someway ahead on the main ridge. Anne left her map behind on Claurigh but rather than go back for it she trusted that the guy behind would bring it along for her - he did. At the end of the main ridge, I stayed behind to sunbathe and admire the views whilst Gillian and Margaret went on to Sgurr Choinnich Beag. Meanwhile, rather than climb back up Easain after Sgurr Choinnich, Anne & Tim decided to contour round and drop down into the glen - definitely not recommended. After a quick shower we headed off to the pub - Margaret & Gillian either felt their 11 hour day on the hill wasn't enough exercise or they were desperate for a pint 'cause they walked the mile to the pub.

Saturday night was a lot warmer and we woke to good views again. After a leisurely breakfast in the sun we debated which hills we would attempt that day with many being discounted as not being attractive enough for such a nice day. Nearby corbetts & munros were finally settled on and the weather stayed fair to give us another good day.