3-5 May, 2008

May Bank Holiday weekends, by past experience, are a time when there is standing room only on Alasdair and a long queue for the In Pinn. Well! We beat the crowds, in fact we almost had the place to ourselves. Sixteen members and two guests turned up at the campsite by the Sligachan Hotel on the Isle of Skye.

Jake Lee and Joe Glennie arrived on Friday afternoon to do the In Pinn. With an evening start, they where inspired by the sunset, which turned Harris a stunning shade of pink as the sun sank towards the Outer Hebrides and the horizon. The light created an Alpine hue as the sun sank out of sight in a pinkish haze. After a successful climb they where so in touch with their feminine side, they made a lovely entry in the diary.

Saturday dawned with the expected rain and strong winds, however the tops of the Red Cuillin where clear, with just the Black Cuillin in the clag. Dave and Oliver Galloway along with Andy Williams changed their plans and set off for Glamaig, over Beinn Dearg Mhor and Beinn Dearg Mheadhonach. The assent of Glamaig was unrelentingly steep with lots of scree in wet and windy conditions. By the summit, the rain had stopped and the cloud base was rising, giving classic views before a fast descent on good scree to Bealach na Sgairde. Andy paid heed to his knees and dropped into Coire Sgairde and out to the Slig. Dave and Oliver continued around, descending via Druim na Ruaige. They met only one other group in their six hour day, but clearly didn’t take the hint.

Joe Glennie set off in the early afternoon, by which time the cloud had lifted and the sun had come out. He climbed up Sgurr a Bhasteir to the ridge, on to Bruach na Frithe and down the west ridge. Being in the lee most of the day he managed to avoid the worst of the S.E. wind.

With the inclement conditions, Jake Lee and Janice Taylor explored Talisker Bay, while Illona Morrice, Ali Erginsoy, Andy Brooks and Dave Binney visited Fran Knowles’ superb exhibition of bird drawings at the Gallery Eilenn Larmain on the Sleat peninsula before a walk out to the point.

Bob Macdonald, Graeme Gunn, Drummond Beattie, Margaret Paterson and Sybille Brinz also took advantage of the bad weather to chill out and do tourist things. They visited the Storr, Kilt Rock, a nearby jetty and the Lookout Bothy (G/R NG413763), about as far north as you can go on Skye. Stopping in Portree on the return for a curry, they arrived back as the bar was closing.

On Sunday Dave G, Oliver and Andy W set out for Bruach na Frithe, but this was binned at the car park due to high winds. The Clach Glas traverse was also binned by Illona, Ali, Andy B, and Dave B, who instead visited the Spar Cave at Elgol; nice, but a careful watch on the tide times was needed.

Alan and Fiona Duncan arrived on Sunday afternoon. as Fiona was playing in Ullapool the night before. They set off up Glamaig at 3.30pm but where rewarded with a beautiful evening as the weather changed.

Clach Glas was also binned by Margaret, Graeme and Drummond in favour of a coffee at Elgol before collecting Graeme’s inflatable boat from Armadale. They launched it at Ord and headed for Camusunary to spend the night. The three bags of logs, red wine and whisky made for a convivial evening, where Margaret discovered that eggs do not travel well in a boat. On Monday morning they sailed over to Soay and an old shark fishing station. They explored the island before cheese and biscuits, waiting for the tide to rise so they could leave. From there over to Kilmoray Bay on Rum, then onto Canna where they made an impromptu rubbish collection before returning home.

Alan and Fiona ascended Sgurr a Mhadaidh but called it a day on top as Fiona’s back is not fully better.

Martin Collins made the summit of Am Basteir with some friends as Illona, Ali and Dave B could hear him as they made their way up Naismith’s route. Andy and Bob meanwhile ascended via the Lota Coire route before returning to the Slig for a pint and home.

In conclusion, on a wet weekend on Skye anyone can be miserable, but the club showed tenacity and had a really good time.

Dave Galloway

For more photos from this meet, click here.