30-31 August, 1 September 2008 Friday the 29th saw twelve club members assemble at the Skyewalker Hostel at Portnalong on the Isle of Skye. Our hosts Brian and Lisa Hill made us feel very welcome, which explains why their 40 bed establishment was full. Geordie was the dominating accent that Friday night. Saturday morning didn’t produce the forecasted weather, with rain showers and the cloud base lower than predicted. Not to be put off, Colin Cowie set of for Sgurr a Bhadaidh and Sgurr a Ghreadaidh from the Glen Brittle Youth Hostel. On his way up to An Dorus he made the 550 meter mark before taking the advice of…
Sept 2008 Bus Meet: Corrieyairack Traverse
Sunday, 21st September 2008 O.S.Map(s): 34/35 Est. time of arrival: 9.15 am Time of departure: 17.30 pm Leave Elgin: 7.00 am The traverse along the ancient Corrieyairack road (built by General Wade in 1731), will begin at the old barracks and former Inn at Garvamore and finish at Fort Augustus. The distance will be approx. 30kms and towards the western end there is a steep ascent in 12 zigzags, where the 775m road summit provides magnificent views, before the equally steep descent to the Allt Lagan a’ Bhainne bridge. Continue down Glen Tarff high on the west side of the deep tree-lined gorge of the River Tarff to Culachy, and…
August 2008 Bus Meet Report: Glenfeshie-Coylumbridge Traverse
Sunday, 17th August 2008 A very windy day saw a total of 15 members and 3 guests turn up for this traverse, thus justifying the use of a 25 seat bus. All parties started their walk from there in “moist” conditions however strong gales very quickly pushed the malevolent drizzle away to reveal some good views. All made their way to Carn Ban Mor and then divided into three groups. Moira Baptie, Anne Carter, Lydia Davies, Fiona Duncan, Paul Hope and Bob Weeks headed north to complete a traverse over the long ridge of Sgor Gaoith. Cloud and wind accompanied most of the way which caused many a stumble and…
Sept 2008 Weekend Meet: Skye – Portnalong
Sat 30th – Sun 31st August – Mon 1st Sept 2008 O.S.Map(s): 32 Accommodation: Croft Bunkhouse, Portnalong Cost: £12.50 pppn Facilities: Fully equipped kitchen, showers etc. Skye! Need we say more? The best meet of the year, for walkers and climbers alike. Book now with Dave Galloway by email. For more information about the bunkhouse, visit their website here.
Indoor Meets Syllabus published
The new syllabus for the 2008-2009 season is out and can be viewed here. All events will be held at the Glen Moray Distillery Visitors Centre unless otherwise stated. The highlight of this season will undoubtedly be Andy Kirkpatrick’s talk on 10 October entitled “When Hell Freezes Over”, a very funny 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 tales of being trapped on mile high summits in hurricane winds, buried by avalanches, or pushed close to hypothermia whilst lashed to…
Aug 2008 Weekend Meet Report: Jura
9-10 August 2008 The last recorded Club visit to Jura was 2001 so it was probably about time for a return trip for this ‘overseas’ challenge. There are various sea routes to Jura and the traditional route is usually Kennacraig (on the Kintyre peninsula) to Port Askaig on Islay and then the small Ferry to Feolin on Jura. On this occasion many people chose the new small boat (12 seater) service from the picturesque harbour at Tayvallich, to Craighouse on Jura. This removes the need to take a car, as the campsite, Hotel, shop and Distillery are all within 100m of the pier. What more do you need? John and…
July 2008 Car Meet Report: Suilven
20th July 2008 A party consisting of nine club members and a guest turned up for this meet and the use of cars proved successful on this particular occasion. Ali Erginsoy, Graeme Morrison, Graeme Bartlett, guest Richard, Lydia Davis, Flora Hunt, Natacha Mihajlovic, Mick Greenshields, Bob Weeks and John Henderson parked vehicles at the end of the road past the Lochinver hotel and walked along the track to Glencanisp Lodge and Suileag. They crossed the river Abhain na Clach Air at the north end of Loch na Gainimh before heading south towards the hillside of Suilven. The party stopped for lunch at the foot of the hill. Despite a steep…
August 2008 Bus Meet: Glenfeshie-Cairngorm Traverse
Sunday, 17th August 2008 O.S.Map(s): 36/43 Est. time of arrival: 9.30 am Time of departure: 18.00 pm Leave Elgin: 7.00 am Traverses are what bus meets are made for! Here then is a superb opportunity to bag some of those out of the way hills that are otherwise just that bit too far. There are several points for disembarking the bus: The Gliding Club airfield and Auchlean are the most useful. From there, the ridge consisting of Carn Ban Mor, Sgor Gaith and Sgoran Dubh Mor is one option, finishing off at Coylumbridge. Another, longer but most rewarding route would be to carry on from Carn Ban Mor across the…
July 2008: Weekend Meet Report: Glen Affric
5-6 July 2008 Arriving at the Forestry car park at 8pm, Dave MacLean provided a shuttle service to carry everyone’s luggage. Graeme G, Margaret Paterson, Jake & Janice, Alan Duncan and Bob MacDonald cycled the 5 miles to Strawberry Cottage, while Dan Moysey, Sarah & Chrissy walked or ran, as did the dogs Ruby & Jess. Evelyne & Fiona won places in the Land Rover, along with what looked like an ironing board (a fold-up barbecue). Saturday Dan & Evelyne set off early, found a toothbrush and water bottle on the way, and climbed Mullach na Dheiragain and Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan, where they met the “wobblers” group. Dan went on…
Club BBQ
Saturday, 21st June This year’s summer barbecue was held in Cummingston on a fine summer solstice day. Some photos from the event. More on the Flickr page! The chef at work! Sittin’ in the sun We start ’em young