Sat 6th – Sun 7th December 2008 O.S.Map(s): 43 Accommodation: Rucksacks Hostel (Website) Cost: £13.00 pppn Facilities: Fully equipped kitchen, showers etc., but bring sleeping bags Braemar is ideally located for the Cairngorms, Lochnagar and Glenshee hills. Rucksacks Hostel is in the centre of the village, near shops and pubs. Book now with Dave Galloway by email
November 2008 Bus Meet: Glen Affric
Sunday, 16th November 2008 O.S.Map(s): 25 Est. time of arrival: 9.30 am Time of departure: 17.00 pm Leave Elgin: 7.00 am Glen Affric is one of the finest glens in Scotland and has big remote hills on high winding ridges. The first two Munros, Toll Creagach and Tom a’ Choinich are a good combination and offer superb views of Loch Mullardoch. The next two Munros, Mam Sodhail also make a good pairing, but may just be out of reach, except for the very fleetest of foot, at this time of year. The remote Beinn Fionnlaidh, way out on a sinuous limb, is best left for the long days of summer.…
October Bus Meet Report: Cairngorms
19 October 2008 Following our President’s prophetic words “We’ve been having a fairly good run of weather on bus meets since January, so don’t miss out on this one! (That’ll jinx it)”, one can only wonder if Ali might be a bit of a psychic [Ali says: No, just e-vil, mwahahahaha!] Gale force winds and a severe weather warning for the West led us to cancel our bus meet in Assynt for a low-level walk in the Cairngorms. The coach arrived at the Sugar Bowl car park just before 9.30am as the wind picked up. Shortly after crossing the river, it started raining, soputting waterproof clothing on, fighting against 50mph…
November Weekend Meet: Tyndrum
Sat 1st – Sun 2nd November 2008 O.S.Map(s): 50 Accommodation: “By thy Way” Hostel (Website) Cost: £14.00 pppn Facilities: Bed linen, fully equipped kitchen, showers etc. An excellent location close to the hills around Crianlarich and even Glencoe is within striking distance. The owners of the hostel reckon there are 50 Munros within a 20 mile radius of By the Way. (Click here for more info on the hills.) Book now with Dave Galloway by email
October 2008 Weekend Meet Report: Durness
4-5 October 2008 The Lazy Crofter Bunkhouse at Durness played host to seven MMC members for the October weekend meet. The hostel’s excellent facilities where fully utilised when that night the rain arrived out of the north and increased to a torrential downpour lasting until Saturday lunchtime. This allowed a late morning start and a leisurely breakfast as we all stared out the window, watching the bad weather while Joe sat writing poetry on the settee. Paul Chappell and Jo Cross where the first to break. As the rain eased, they set off to explore Smoo cave with its fascinating internal waterfall. Although the rain came to an abrupt halt…
September 2008 Bus Meet Report: Corrieyairack Traverse
Sunday 21st September 2008 This is a short and sweet account of what was a long yet pleasant traverse across the Corrieyairack Pass from Garva Bridge to Ft Augustus. Another disappointing turnout, with just 17 attending (What’s going on people?), although in mitigation a large group of regulars were away in Morocco. Most folk followed the old military road built by General Wade in 1731. A picture of this engineering genius adorns one of the rooms in the well-restored Melgarve bothy along the way. To be absolutely honest, this was a fair trudge of about 30 km, and we cast envious glances at a group of mountain bikers as they…
When Hell Freezes Over: Andy Kirkpatrick in Elgin
Friday 10th October 2008 8.00 pm Glen Moray Distillery Visitors Centre, Bruceland Rd, Elgin £5.00 Andy Kirkpatrick is one of Britain’s most talented mountaineers. He is also very very funny, with a humour to match the best standup comedy acts. Andy is touring the country with this talk just now and we are very lucky to have secured an opportunity to see him in Elgin! “When Hell Freezes Over” is a highly amusing account of his various expeditions to Patagonia, a treacherous mountain range at the southern most portion of South America, referred to amongst locals as “the eater of men”. No trip to Patagonia is without incident, and Andy’s…
October 2008 Bus Meet: Assynt
Sunday, 19th October 2008 O.S.Map(s): 15 Est. time of arrival: 9.45 am Time of departure: 17.30 pm Leave Elgin: 7.00 am Assynt has an impressive array of outstanding mountains: Ben More Assynt, Conival, Canisp, Quinag Breabag – names to conjure with. The rock in this area is predominantly gneiss, on top of which sandstone hills have weathered to create some of the weird and magnificent shapes typical of this region and on a clear day, this is an area where you like to linger as long as possible. We’ve been having a fairly good run of weather on bus meets since January, so don’t miss out on this one! (That’ll…
October 2008 Weekend Meet: Durness
Sat 4th – Sun 5th October 2008 O.S.Map(s): 9/10 Accommodation: The Lazy Crofter Bunkhouse, Durness Cost: £14.00 pppn Facilities: Bed linen, fully equipped kitchen, showers etc. October’s meet takes us to the far northwest, a land of mountains and sea, cliffs and waterfalls, beaches and rainbows. The main hills in the area are Foinaven, with its 5 tops, and Arkle. If a Munro is a must, Ben Hope is not that far. In bad weather, Sango beach and Smoo Cave are spectacular alternatives to the hills. Book now with Dave Galloway by email. For more information about the Lazy Crofter bunkhouse, visit their website here.
Sept 2008 Indoor Meet: MMC trip to Ecrins Massif
Thursday, 25 September 2008, 8.00 pm Glen Moray Distillery Visitors Centre, Bruceland Rd, Elgin The first indoor meet of the season is a slideshow presentation on the MMC trip to the Ecrins massif in the Southern Alps, which six members led by Illona Morrice undertook at the end of July – beginning of August. Basing themselves in the charming village of Ailefroide, the team tackled the many opportunities the area has to offer: From single and multipitch sport climbing to Alpine routes and glacier mountaineering. Thrill to the daring Alpine exploits of Joe Glennie and Ryan Slater on the Pelvoux traverse! Tremble as Ali Erginsoy and John Orr brave crevasses…