George and Ken: leisurely stroll and return along coastal path. Glorious sunshine and spectacular scenery, all hills in sparkling sunshine. Two otters spotted and photographed by Ken cavorting in the sea (otters not Ken). Retired to Newton Cottage for tea and drams.

Corinne, Ros, Andy, Malcolm, Graham, Bill, Tom, Alastair and John: the next time Andy posts on the Facebook group, ‘if anyone wants a nice gentle stroll on a February afternoon’, we’ll all be tempted to ignore him. 26 – no sorry – 27 km later and nobody needed to go on the Rosemary Conley Hip and Thigh diet after we had pulled our collective legs from 6 foot of snow up on Ben nan Ramh. Lovely views of Loch Fannich and the mountains beyond. Lost Tom for a while – but not even cramp could stop the Dynamo!

Ray, Heavy, Desmond, Dale, Jake and Jenny (the loud one): last off the bus and first back on. An ascent of Beinn Alligin (or at least the most Westerly Munro). Up the path to the entrance of the coire, then split into two groups. Ray, Heavy and Desmond went up the coire whilst Jake, Dale and Jenny went up the westerly ridge. Great day, good views, dry and little wind. Loads of snow, a great winter’s day. A long bum slide down the coire. Good 6 hours. I feel also that mention of Jenny’s heroic dash to catch the bus up at Torridon and her less than heroic lack of diesel on the way home be made. The acrimony in the last group should also be recorded, as the split was deeply resented by Heavy. Jenny, Dale and Jake took the glory of the sun drenched “stolen” ridge, leaving the Last of the Summer Wine party to flounder about in the deep sugary snow of the gully. There was also some sterling rope work undertaken on the steep tricky sections of the ridge, putting the ‘M’ of ‘Mountaineering’ in the MMC.

Natacha, Graeme and David: Ascended Beinn Damh, with great views and plenty of snow.

Author: Mostly transcribed from Book of Climbs
Photos by: Andy, Natacha, John, Jenny and Heavy