Spring has Sprung! - Stevie Gilfeather

With several days of high pressure in March and the call of the wild growing again it was rucksack packed and full steam ahead to any nearby hills for some wandering. First port of call was the 2 easterly Drumochter hills  Carn na Caim and A'Bhuidheanach Bheag (first visited nearly 12 yrs ago)…Not the most exciting of hills but once I'd bypassed the land rover tracks and industrial workings it was great to be strolling over the moorland bumps with biggggg skies stretching as far as the eye can see en-route to Carn na Caim…Notable was the buttress like hill fort of An Dun close by as well as different views towards the Cairngorms. The 2^nd summit came and went and as I had time I wandered out to the top of Glas Mheall Mhor (were I happened to take a very large order over the phone!)..the return was by Coire Chuirn to spice things up and let me tell you coming down icy gullies in mid march makes even these hills fun!!

            Less than a week later the esteemed Mr M Dand and myself accompanied by Murphy the terrier set off for Beinn Tulaichean and Cruach Ardrain from Inverlochlarig on a beautiful March morning – the start of that uncommon spell of high pressure otherwise known as “Scottish Summer”. Hoardes of walkers were seen ant like ascending the back-end of nearby Stob Binnien leaving the 3 musketeers to wander up  the 1^st hill of the day…Wee note here, the track from the farm is a boggy mess, its better to skirt around further on..We were soon on top of Tulaichean were we began to find ourselves in a weather window all day, with snow and hail blattering past on both sides of the hill leaving us in bright sunshine. Soon we were on the summit of Cruach Ardrain after passing the tourists coming from the Crianlarich end. Great views over to Ben More and Stob Binnien, which shed their coats of snow as the day went on and also panoramic views of the Trossachs, Arrochar alps etc etc. We were soon back down on a fantastic crisp evening thinking about a pint. Two hours later we were standing in a Tesco car park with cans of beer in Falkirk after 1. not stopping at suitable refreshment establishments 2. Me driving too fast and missing the turnoff for Kincardine 3. Martin talking too much – no surely…Great day however!!

            “D ye fancy a wander” so went the dulcet tones of the BIG FELLA Mr D Jackson a week or so later. Indeed I do and off we set for a leg stretch to Beinn Ghlas and Lawers. All of his ticks are past the Great Glen now y see. Unlike the last week at Strawberry cottage we were hard pressed to find any snow en route but as this was Lawers we did pass several walkers clad in non hillwalking gear…jeans, plastic bags etc etc..Beinn Ghlas was reached and left behind and for me it was nice to actually see the views from the summit of Lawers (last time it was horizontal everything being chucked at us…i  suppose it was July at the time). Leaving the very close looking An Stuc etc. behind we set off down the glen on the alternative descent discussing the philosophical theses of Roger Mellie, the abstract art of Finbar Saunders and of course that true renaissance man Sid the Sexist…chortle.  

Sgurr a'Mhaoraich - Drew Jackson

As i had been working early shift all week, the body clock was semi-nocturnal so I set off for Loch Quoich at the unearthly hour of 04.10 from Glenrothes. The car was packed the night before and so it was clothes on and a quick coffee and on my way. I had booked a night at Invergarry bunkhouse so I was set for the night after Sgurr a'Mhaoraich. I arrived at the layby at the start of the ascent and was on the hill at 07.10 and made swift (ish) and steady progress up a fine path. There were a couple of swathes of snow to traverse,but nothing awkward and I summitted at 09.30. Had there been no cloud I might have seen the wonderful views down Lochhourn and the surrounding mountains but it was not to be. I continued the circuit northwards over to Am Bathaich and then down the zig-zag track down to the river Quoich and along the track to the road back to the car.

Beinn Sgritheall - Drew Jackson

 The body clock was still on 'earlies' so it was early to bed and up before the 'lark'. So I breakfasted and set off for the drive round to Arnisdale over the winding Mam Ratagan around 06.00a.m. I managed to get a wee lay by about meters from the wee pile o'stanes that marks the start of the path up to the west approach ridge. The path was decent only a couple of 'smooshy' bits to negotiate up to the deer fence stile. From the stile it was a short distance to gain the ridge. The gradual shoulder took me up to the steeper last few hundred metres of ascent and I summitted at 09.30 again.This time I got a view down Loch Hourn and out to sea and to the islands...braw! On my way down at the bottom of the steep bit I stumbled and did a wee roll on the mossy grass. After I recovered I had a look around to see if anything had fallen out of my sack. Everything appeared fine, later i realized that I must'ave dislodged my GPS from it's clip on my sack and and failed to notice it had fallen off, whether there or at another point. Anyway I was down when i noticed that I was short of an Etrex GPS....only fly in the ointment of anotherwise excellent day in the hills..

Inbirphaolain 2nd - 4th March 2012

Attending

Davie Paterson

Irene Morris

John Kirkham

Mike Paterson

David Morris

Andre Hawryliw

Apologies

           Jimmy Taylor (was coming with Jake)

           Jake Brewster (back troubles)

No-Shows

           John Meechan (saw the weather forecast?)

           Martin Dand (pass withdrawn?)

Meet Notes

The Inbirphaolin hut is in a fantastic location down Glen Etive. The club has been going to the hut for many years and despite it's age it still makes for a cracking venue due to it's proximity to many Fine Munro's and Corbett's. Storm damage to the surrounding woods has produced a lot of lumber for the fire, but this was difficult to burn again because of its high water content. The grand feature of the hut remains the ‘Execution Shed’ composting outside toilet which remains remarkably ‘pong-free’ .

Weather Notes

Friday evening and Saturday, apart from around midday, were very wet indeed: typical West Coast Driesch with the rain coming straight down in volumes. It was drier around Saturday lunch time and then it turned colder and drier with a light smattering of snow on Saturday night. Sunday was an excellent day: cool and bright with lots of sunshine and only a few snow squalls moving quickly over the hills.

Special Note One

Davie Paterson started to climb Stob Coire’an Albannaich with his brother but after 100 metres thought the better of it in the pouring rain, deciding to join Irene and John on their expedition to the bright lights of Fort William instead. Later it was pointed out that he had climbed it before (along with Meall nan Eun) but he had forgotten (it was on 13^th April 2002 with a large group of Eight Mile Highers to be precise). Therefore Davie got two Munro ‘ticks’ on Saturday without actually having to climb anything.

Special Note Two

It seems that John Kirkham has developed a taste (addiction?) for Kentucky Fried Chicken, and given the weather on Saturday, he decided to go to Fort William in search of the elusive Colonel Sanders. Irene, and later Davie, decided to go along for the ride. Unfortunately only McDonalds has made it across the Atlantic to Fort William, so they had to retire to Morrison’s Supermarket, where Davie treated himself to a full size all-day breakfast. Meanwhile John bought a few packs of fruited scones and some small jars of jam to share for a High Tea back at the hut.

Unfortunately John was not wearing his glasses and the small jars turned out to be pickle! This was not immediately obvious at High Tea. Davie was the first to experience a Branston pickle scone which he had been told was blackcurrant jam. Too polite to say anything at first, he assumed John had been buying cheap out of date produce again and that it had gone off. Others were soon less polite! Peach Chutney is no better on a fruited scone. Those less visually challenged soon discovered the source of the strange taste from the labels on the jars.

Hill Notes – Friday

John Kirkham – The Stob (a Graham in the vicinity of Balquidder)

“Very wet and no visibility”. Used a mountain bike for access so got very muddy.

David Morris – Creag Mac Ranaich (a Corbett from Glen Ogle)

Meanwhile Irene had a snooze low down in her sleeping bag in the car at the Lochan Lairig Cheille and was treated to the frontal view of a group of men urinating at the side of the road (apparently the lochan translates as the ‘Loch of the Boys’, so perhaps that is how it got its name).

Hill Notes – Saturday

Mike Paterson - Stob Coire’an Albannaich (a Munro from lower Glen Etive)

Succeed in terrible weather, low visibility driving rain, etc. Decided not to continue to Meall nan Eun due to the conditions.. The whole range was shrouded in mist and rain all day.

Andre Hawryliw - Bein Maol Chalium (a Corbett from Inbhirphaolin)

Very wet going up and down, but wonderfully clear on the summit ridge. An excellent hill (highly recommended) with good views all around (unfortunately did not take camera due to the heavy rain at the start).

David Morris – Beinn Trilleachan (a Corbett from the bottom of Glen Etive)

Also very wet to begin with, but this was the only other hill to clear and to remain so for much of the day. It proves that the sun really does shine on the righteous, although there was a long walk back on the road as Irene was back late from Fort William.

Hill Notes – Sunday

Andre Hawryliw – Beinn Mhic Chasgaig (a Corbett from Altchaorunn)

Interesting plank bridge across a deep Himalayan style gorge (smaller and straighter then Glen Nevis) leading to a steep ascent. Very wet underfoot with another river crossing, but excellent weather and just a few cloudy snow squalls moving through. An excellent hill with superb views of Creise, the Buachaille, and out across Rannoch Moor: highly commended.

Everybody else went home and missed out on a superb weather day on Sunday as the following pictures from Beinn Mhic Chasgaig show.

Thanks to Andre for the meet report

Youngest Munroist

seen this article on UKC about the youngest munroist,

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=63851

Help Nepal when shopping at Amazon

I hope nobody minds me posting this, but I just spotted it today and thought with Xmas coming it would be appropriate. Since there is a fair chance that you might be doing some of your Christmas shopping on the Amazon website you can help donate money to the Nepal Trust who do a massive amount of work for the people of Nepal in terms of health and community development by simply using their link to the Amazon website when you go onto that site to do your shopping. Amazon will then give a donation of 5% of your shopping to the Charity. It doesn't cost you a thing. All you need to do is change your normal Amazon link in your favourites to http://www.amazon.co.uk/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=theneptru-21 . If you don't know how to do this then you can find out here -http://www.nepaltrust.org/index.php?news=49 . Similarly you can always use that link to find out more about the charity.

Again I hope nobody minds me posting this but though I'm sure plenty of us moan about not having any money we're a hell of a lot better off than the vast majority of people in the world.

Stewart & Wullie's last munro

10 October 2009 - The seniors all met at Mallaig for the private hire boat leaving at 6 p.m. on the Friday. The purpose being to accompany Stewart and Willie, the last of the summer wine or buckle boys as Dave said, to do there last Munro the next day. Present with them were Andre, Bill K, Bruce, Dave N, Steve G. and Jim W. All of us are or near bus pass age. However the passes did not cover Jon Sellars boat but interestingly you can apparently go with Bruce Watt for nothing by using a pass !

Not being a sailor, like Captain Paterson, I can only describe the boat as being almost like a landing craft. We all stood at the open bow end as the boat swiftly departed the harbour in a strong wind and rough seas. Almost immediately we were struck by the waves coming over the front and the landlubbers wisely departed to the rear behind the wheelhouse. Stewart collected the £10 fare on arrival at the new pier at Inverie otherwise the notes might have ended on Sgurr Na Ciche.

Kev Butcher was there with his landrover to take our gear the mile to the Old Byre Bunkhouse.

Andre discreetly tarried with one or 2 smart ghits while the others left to see if Lindsay was in the Old Forge Pub. This resulted in us not finding him but Andre and Co. successfully getting a lift and leaving the others to walk to our residence! Andre and I had stayed in the Byre in 2004. It doesn't come cheap (£25 per night) but is superbly equipped and laid out. We were the only occupants. Lindsay joined us there having booked accommodation for £14 for one night in the nearby Foundation Bunkhouse which also took Gus his dog (previously called Haggis). Probably an appropriate change of name as Steve repeatedly said he was going to eat Haggis for his meal. Lindsay had incidentally walked in from Kinlochhourn over the previous 2 days. The Loch Hourn path he described as being in a hellish state. Lindsay was forced to camp (£3 per night) on the Saturday night as the bunkhouse was full with a wedding party booking.

Unusually, after several whiskies which I was glad I declined, we set off for the pub. The Forge was the usual sociable place. Some older guitar guys were soon playing with Dave joining in on the bohran. After a couple of hours Willie was fast asleep and his car companions, Bill and Stewart, weren't much better so we decided to depart about midnight to save ourselves or Willie for the big day on Ladhar Bheinn. Waking him up was not easy and getting on HIS jacket was really difficult. Firstly keeping him vertical was dodgy. He then managed to put on a very smart jacket which belonged to Steve ! Eventually we found his under the seats and he got it on inside out. Thereafter we departed “home” in pouring rain.

The next morning surprisingly everyone was ready to depart at 9 a.m. for Ladhar Bheinn. So we set off and steadily walked over the good track to the ruin at Folach in Gleann na Guiseren. The cloud was at about 2000' or so the W ridge of Ladhar Bheinn but it was dry overhead. The climb up onto the W ridge is a lot further than it looks and was the hardest bit of the day. We then, pretty spread out, rose up the ridge into cloud. Most of us got to the top (not the trig) about 1 p.m. including the 2 successful compleaters. Unfortunately once a few photos had been taken it became obvious that the weather was getting much worse with an increasing gale and sleet. Sadly this led to the opening of only one champagne bottle. The cork neatly directed at Stewart by Andre.

None of us dallied long in the conditions and we struck back down into the fierce wind and driving rain. The cloud had dropped about another 1000' in no time and we all got pretty pissed of wondering where the precise descent was, as the cairn is not on the ridge. While I knew 4 others had passed me, I could not find them. So I just took out my compass and headed south and caught up on Steve as we descended easy grassy slopes till we eventually broke through the cloud at about 800'. Much to our surprise the others were away above and behind us on the more difficult descent of the crap path. We all met up at the Folach ruin and another bottle was swiftly dispatched in now dry and calm conditions.

Soon we were back at the Forge; being soaked outside, we deemed it necessary to have a wet aperitif of a couple of pints for our insides. Later some of us had an excellent meal in the pub and we all had a few drinks. Bruce decided to chat up a young girl, while allegedly reading Robin's article on the wall and finished in no time parading about in her mink jacket – he said he had always wanted to wear one ! The band was playing again and well after midnight Willie proceeded to give us his solo version of the Thornton boogie for the benefit of the gallery We all made it back though to the Byre again in pouring rain. Lindsay says he was sober when he arrived at his tent in the dark but fell on top of it breaking one of the poles which is now under repair at the Dave Neave Tent Clinic.

On the Sunday once the early rain had cleared Lindsay departed to walk the 15 miles to his car at Kinlochhourn while the rest of strolled about in the sunshine. On a pine branch 30' above the road, incongruously, we spied a pair of discarded walking boots – too wee to be Willie's but mebbe they would fit Stewart ? Then it was a few beers in the halcyon refuge of the Forge before the boat at 5 p.m. and much too soon we were back to the reality of the mainland after a most enjoyable trip.

B. E.