Thursday, 24 April 2008. 8.00 pm Al-Bahar restaurant, High St, Elgin Thanks for club support for the February Indoor Meet at the new venue of Glen Moray Distillery Visitor Centre. A total of 28 members paid the small fee of £3.00 to attend a very entertaining and worthwhile presentation from Heavy Whalley. On 20th March we have the AGM and hopefully there will be a similar turnout! Looking ahead to April, I have provisionally booked 20 places for the Al Bahar Indian Restaurant in Elgin for Thursday 24th April at 8.00pm. This is an indoor meet with a difference, when you can eat as much as you like for £11.99…
Feb 2008 Bus Meet Report: Laggan
17 February 2008 An ever popular winter destination, Laggan once again attracted an excellent turnout of 30 members and guests. The weather conditions were decent and all enjoyed a good day out. First off the bus, Graeme Bartlett had a lovely walk up the river Pattack and round the loch in glorious sunshine. He made his way to the col past frozen Loch a’ Bhealaich Leamhain and finished the day at Luiblea. Lesley and Malcolm Leiper and Flora Hunt completed a traverse from Kinloch Laggan to Moy Lodge following the Binnein Shios ridge. The gradient being fairly steep on Binnea Shuas, they decided they would rather drop down and enjoy…
March 2008 Bus Meet: Loch Quoich
Loch Quoich – Sunday, 16 March 2008 O.S.Map(s): 33 Bus Stop: Bridge at NH 016040 Est. time of arrival: 9.15am Time of departure: 17.30pm Leave Elgin: 7.00am Another popular area, and justifiably so, Loch Quoich has three Munros on its north side and one to its south. Gleouraich, with its good access path, can be combined with Spidean Mialach to give a fine day’s walking, while further west Sgurr a’Mhaoraich is normally climbed on its own. It also has a good path leading up into Coire nan Eiricheallach. To the south of Loch Quoich is the Munro Gairich, which can be climbed from the dam at the east end of…
March 2008 Weekend Meet: Glen Etive
8-9 March (OS 41/50) Accommodation: Grampian Club hut, Inbhirfhaolain. Situated 7 miles from junction of Glen Etive Road with Tyndrum/ Glencoe Road (A82) and 5 miles from Loch Etive Pier. A basic but comfortable climbing hut, sleeping 13 upstairs on a double sleeping platform, supplied with mattresses. Cost: £4 pppn Facilities: Electric lighting, heating, cooking and refrigeration; utensils provided; multifuel stove; water from burn (100 yards); Clivus composting toilet. Ideally situated for both the Glen Etive hills and Glen Coe, this is likely to be a popular venue for walkers and winter climbers alike. Space in the hut is limited at (13), although there is pretty much unlimited camping for…
February 2008 Weekend Meet Report: Glen Nevis
2-3 February 2008 One of the attractions of using this venue (apart from a few biggish hills nearby!) was the on-site Bar & Restaurant at the Ben Nevis Inn. Unfortunately the facilities were closed for refurbishment but we were treated to some fine entertainment by Andy on guitar (nice rendering of “I wish I was in Carrickfergus!) and Fiona on her home made Stradivarius. Strong drink had to be taken to ward off the bitter cold. Despite the grim weather forecast, 11 out of the 19 members who had booked, managed to make it to Fort William on the Friday night. On Saturday the weather was still snowy and windy…
Climbing Wall at RAF Lossiemouth
Club climbing has started at RAF Lossiemouth and will continue every second week until the end of March. Meet at the guardhouse at 7.00pm. There will be a small charge for the use of the wall and photo ID is required. All queries to Joe Glennie. Remaining sessions: 13 February 27 February 12 March 26 March
Feb 2008 Indoor Meet: Heavy Whalley
Lecture by Heavy Whalley: Reflections on 40 years of mountaineering Glen Moray Visitor Centre, Bruceland Rd, Elgin IV30 1YE Thursday, 21st February 2008 8.00 pm David “Heavy” Whalley MBE BEM was born a son of the manse in Ayr. His parents gave him a love of the hills in Arran, Galloway and the Scottish highlands. “Heavy” Whalley was in the RAF from 1972 to December 2007 and involved in Mountain Rescue for all those 35 years. He was the Team Leader of RAF Leuchars and RAF Kinloss MR and Deputy Team Leader at Valley North Wales. He was the Senior Team Leader during the Lockerbie disaster and has been involved…
February 2008 Bus Meet: Laggan
Laggan – Sunday, 17 February 2008 O.S.Map(s): 34, 41, 42 Bus Stop: Laggan Dam Est. time of arrival: 9.45am Time of departure: 17.00pm Leave Elgin: 7.00am A deservedly popular winter destination! The bus will park at Laggan Dam for the day but can go on to Fersit if required in order to access the circuit of Stob Coire Sgriodain and Chno Dearg. To the north of the dam lies Beinn Teallach and Beinn a’ Chaorainn. Getting of the bus at Aberarder for Creag Meagaidh is always a popular choice on this meet, it can be climbed via the path going up to the “window” or as part of a high…
Jan 2008 Bus Meet Report: Drumochter
Sunday 20 January, 2008 David Brown, George Herraghty, Flora Hunt, Malcolm and Lesley Leiper and Dan Moysey made their way up Meall Chuaich on the east side of the A9 in mild winter conditions to find strong winds and arctic temperature at the summit. Visibility was good and views to the north emerged not far below the summit. Some diverse wildlife was spotted: grouse, ptarmigan, white hares and even an eagle in flight! The descent was quick but the walk out to Dalwhinnie was a little monotonous. Disappointingly, the hotel was shut (the Highland Hospitality saga continues) however, the filling station provided welcome shelter until the 5.00 pm closing time.…
Course in basic rock climbing techniques
Ever fancied a go at rock climbing, but don’t know where to start? If you are a member of the MMC, here is a fantastic opportunity to learn all the basic techniques at minimal cost. This is a comprehensive course over 5 evenings (4 on an indoor wall and 1 at Cummingston), where a qualified instructor will show you all the basic rope/rock climbing techniques: Tying knots, belaying, building anchors, abseiling and general mountaineering skills. The cost is a very reasonable £30 for the entire course (which is a fraction of what you would pay at somewhere like Glenmore Lodge). Attendance is restricted to a maximum of 6 persons, so…