Sunday, 18th January 2009

Despite a horrendous forecast for gales and snow, 21 members and guests jumped on the bus and bravely headed for the Fannaichs. The first challenge of the day was to get there: The untreated road made for a difficult bus journey from Inverness to the final drop off point at Loch a’Bhraoin.

First off the bus, Graham Milton and Rob Murray headed for 787m high Corbett Beinn a’ Chaisteil.  They walked the long snowed-up track by the side of Loch Vaich. Considerable powder made for a demanding day, however there was no real wind problem despite the forecast. At the summit, they found the wind chill to be fairly high and these were no conditions to hang around for very long. Graham deemed it to be a pretty long day for a winter meet.

Further West, Sandra Doull, Natacha Mihajlovic, Simon Willatts and guest Phil Cutts set off for Am Faogach in reasonable conditions. They started off from the dam by the Alltguish Inn and walked along Loch Glascarnoch for about 3km before struggling through the powder filled peat hags leading to the various tops of the ridge. By 650m, visibility became poorer and they had to navigate all the way to the summit. The clag turned to blizzard by 800m. Close to the summit, Natacha and Sandra turned back, unwilling to miss the bus, while Simon and Phil launched into a 12mn race to bag their hill.

On the Fannaichs side, where the weather seemed worse (surprise, surprise), a larger party consisting of David Brown Douglas, Malcolm Campbell, Illona Morrice, David Strathdee, Alistair Wren and Ros Wright went walking with a purpose. They somehow lost it in the whiteout and walked past their objective. It was hard work through knee deep snow and heather and a lot of stumbling and falling ensued around Loch a’ Mhadaich. They eventually reached the bealach over the icy ridge to Meall a’ Chrasgaidh and then headed home. Never did a level path look so pleasing.

Malcolm and Lesley Leiper opted for a “bracing walk in the snow” along Loch a’ Bhraoin and visited a much changed Lochivraon bothy. It is worth noting that the place no longer boasts a fireplace, hence avoid carrying a ton of wood in as Malcolm and Lesley did! Ella Grant and Val Kemp followed the same track with the vague intention to continue up to Corbett Creag Rainich but it did not look too attractive an option when they got there. They returned to the road and in the absence of the bus, decided to do an extra journey back to the boathouse and back again just for the fun of it!

Paul Chappell, Jo Cross, Ray Harron, Graeme Morrison and Heavy Whalley walked to the same bothy and also agreed that going up Craig Rainich would be unwise due to the snowy conditions. Instead, they enjoyed a relaxing time at the bothy and after a brief investigation, came to the conclusion that the standards were very good indeed and that the place had literally been rebuilt as a house. They walked out and carried on to the Corrieshalloch gorge. A good day but still to climb a hill with the MMC!

In conclusion, all enjoyed a decent winter outing even if more was achieved from a social than a mountaineering point of view. Free chips and coffee at the Riverside Tavern was just the perfect way to finish the day!

Natacha Mihajlovic

For more pictures from this meet click here