Sunday, 19th June 2016 O.S.Map(s): 43/44 Est. time of arrival: 09.45 Time of departure: 17.30 Leave Elgin: 7.00 am NB: The bus will pick up in Elgin (7.00), Forres (7.20). Members from Inverness wishing to attend this meet should join the bus at one of the above points. The next bus meet is the Glen Shee to Loch Muick traverse. The bus will go as far south as the Glen Shee Ski Centre where people can be dropped off. Additionally, people can be dropped off anywhere along the A93, at Auchallater, Braemar, Invercauld Bridge or Balmoral, or at the Spittal of Glen Muick carpark where the bus will wait for the day (NGR…
May 2016 Weekend Meet Report: Eigg
The Moray Mountaineering Club Weekend Meet to Eigg was a long time in the planning. That’s if vaguely thinking about it can be regarded as planning. About ten years ago the club was camping in Glen Brittle. After a day of fine weather and classic scrambling on the Skye Cuillin a few Moray Mountaineers were enjoying the evening sun and some beers and got chatting to a couple of young ladies cooking outside their tent. It turned out that they were from Eigg and the family had a bunkhouse. It sounded like an intriguing place to visit but surely not one that a mountaineering club would visit, after all, the…
April 2016 Weekend Meet Report: Glen Etive
Glen Etive, Inbhirfhaolain. It always rains when the MMC stays here and the weather forecast suggested the tradition would be upheld. Thursday was a beautiful Spring day, and Sod’s Law, a big weather front was moving in on Friday from the southwest. The first of the group arrived around mid afternoon and got a fire going; and the last late in the evening as the whisky was flowing. But all arrived in the rain. The forecast for Saturday was “uncertain”. The day started grey, with the summits shrouded in cloud. The cloud was supposed to lift momentarily, with wind and rain pushing in later. But when would “later” be? That…
June 2016 Weekend Meet: English Lake District
The Lake District meet is the weekend of 3 – 5 June. This coincides with the Keswick beer festival so many of the campsites in the northern Lakes will be extremely busy. Therefore we have plumped for the campsite at GillHead Farm, Troutbeck, about half way between Keswick and Penrith. This is about 300 miles and 5.5hrs driving from Elgin. The Lakes offers wonderful walking, is very scenic and also has a considerable number of classic rock climbs. You may have seen Chris Hollins climbing Troutdale Pinnacle on Secret Britain the other week. Cost is £8 per person per night assuming that weekend is stilll low season, otherwise £9. Dogs are…
April 2016 Bus Meet Report: Achnashellach-Torridon Traverse
]The Bus meet venue this month was to the wonderfully scenic area of Achnashellach and Torridon. A traverse allows a variety of high and low walking options, but the weather in the end dictated most of the action. There was also another good turnout of 33 people for this meet despite the gloomy weather predictions of strong winds and constant rain. We also had another joint meet with the LDWA and 6 of their members enjoyed the chance to experience another spectacular part of the Highlands. The first drop off point for the traverse was at Achnashellach Station, where the majority of people started their walk. This included Andy B,…
May 2016 Bus Meet: Dundonnell
Sunday 15th May 2016 O.S.Map(s): 19/20 Est. time of arrival: 09.40 Time of departure: 18.00 Leave Elgin: 07.00 Another popular venue in the Northwest Highlands. The big objective here is An Teallach, comprised of two Munros, Bidean a’ Ghlas Thuill and Sgurr Fiona (and lots of Munro tops). There are several routes of ascent: One directly from Dundonnell and another from Corrie Hallie up to Ghlas Thuill are straightforward; a longer route from Corrie Hallie via Sail Liath offers enjoyable but exposed scrambling. Worthwhile alternatives to An Teallach in the Dundonell area are Sail Mhor, an ascent of Beinn nam Ban (Marilyn) or a low-ish level walk into Shenavall bothy and back. Various hills…
April 2016 Bus Meet: Achnashellach-Torridon Traverse
Sunday 17th April O.S.Map(s): 24,25 Est. time of arrival: 9.15 am Time of departure: 17.30 pm Leave Elgin: 7.00 am The bus venue this Sunday is to the stunning landscape of the Achnashellach and Torridon hills. The bus will drop off at various points on the Achnasheen to Lochcarron road, and will then travel west round to the parking area on the Glen Torridon road at GR905557 (Countryside Centre). There are many ancient stalkers paths in this area which provide great access to the hills, with the most popular starting points being Achnashellach Station and the Coulags. There are many Munros and Corbetts which you could include in your traverse or there is…
MMC Calendar 2017: Photos Required
It’s that time of year again, time to look through all the magnificent photos you’ve been taking of Scotland over the past twelve months and select a few gems for consideration for the 2017 MMC calendar. Photos (up to six) should be sent to moraymountaineeringclub@gmail.com before 30th April 2016. Higher resolution is better so the pictures can really shine! Photographs should be Scottish and preferably taken during the past twelve months (ish). If there are any recognisable faces in the photographs then please confirm that you’ve obtained permission.
March 2016 Weekend Meet Report: Loch Ossian
What, no trains before 9pm? It was true, there was only one northbound train the entire day to take us home, and it didn’t arrive until after nine in the evening… Last April the club tried out a new meet destination and booked Loch Ossian Youth Hostel for the weekend. It proved to be an excellent and very popular destination, and a great time of year, with the prevalence of snow and lack of midgies. This year we thought we’d do it again, but shift the date to March, hoping for even more snow and even less chance of midgies. One thing the organiser of this meet didn’t take into…
March 2016 Bus Meet Report: Glen Affric
Glen Affric is one of the finest glens in Scotland with big remote hills in a beautiful corner of the Highlands. As we were in the last throes of winter (hopefully!) there were still large patches of snow and cloud on the hills but at glen level mild weather made for very pleasant walking conditions. 30 enthusiastic people (including 7 guests and returning ex-members), grasped the opportunity to experience the beauty of the Scottish hills in early spring. We also had 3 members of the Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA), joining us for a joint meet for the first time. First off the bus (about 4kms from the Bus park),…