What did the rest of you do last Sunday? We all had a great day out, for the best part in beautiful clear winter weather.
Twenty-seven of us (The Anthill Mob) descended on Laggan for the monthly Moray Mountaineering Club Wacky Races.
Getting off to a fine start, Graeme (Zippy) Morrison headed for I know not where, but as always arrived back at the finishing line in fine style.
Colin Cowie, Bob MacDonald and Paul (no trousers) Chappell shot out of the blocks at Luiblea in the direction of Beinn a’ Clachair via the west ridge. They found the going tough due to the soft snow. Not lingering on the top, with the weather now closing in, they descended the East Ridge in deep soft snow and reached the bus in good time at 5pm.
Brent Craig, Ros Wright, Corrine Ferguson, Maggie Fitzpatrick and Lisa Miele set off at a steady pace for the slopes of Creag Pitridh. They encountered soft snow but easy ground, soon finding themselves on the summit with great views in every direction. An easy descent found them back at the bus in plenty of time. “A brilliant weather window helped make this a fantastic and memorable day in the Hills.”
Fiona (Penelope Pitstop) Duncan, Alan (Clyde) Duncan and of course Jake (The Hooded Claw) Lee settled for the traverse of Binnein Shuas and Binnein Shios.
“A fine traverse. Although of mediocre altitude it was stellar in both position and character.” Both descents proved to be quite tricky, especially with the snow and ice. Just for a change none of the above missed either the pub or the bus home!
BLAST!!! I’ll get you, Penelope Pitstop!
Brian Frazer, Ian Jamieson and Stewart Watson set out from Aberarder Lodge on route to the top of Stob Coire Dubh and onto Carn Liath. Following on to spot height 969, they then headed south to the path leading to Lochan a’ Choire for a spot of lunch. All that was left was the walk down Allt Coire Ardair and back to the car park.
Ray Harron found himself getting off the bus all on his own at Aberarder. He headed for the Window before turning right up onto Stob Poite Coire Ardair. There followed the delight of the ridge walk along and over Meall an t-Snaim, finishing up on Carn Liath. “A hard day with lots of snow and good winter conditions!”
John (Yak Yak) Henderson, Bob (Snoozy) Weeks and Graham (Pockets) Milton raced away from Moy in Chugga-Boom. With the best intention they planned to climb some nameless hill to the west of Beinn a’ Clachair, but found themselves unable to cross the river. Undeterred, they headed back to Lochan na H-earba for a circumnavigation of Binnein Shuas in soft snow.
Jenny Graham and Dan Moysey collected two hard fought ticks for Jenny’s book, Beinn Teallach and Beinn Chaorainn. Great views from the top of Beinn Teallach but not a lot to be said about Beinn Chaorainn as the weather finally closed in.
Jenny Smith, Evie McIvor, Bill Lindsay and my good self headed for Creag Meagaidh via the South ridge. Boggy ground greeted us all the way to Lochan na Cailliche. There then followed a stiff pull onto Creag na Cailliche. Following the snow-swept wall in stunning conditions of sunshine and wispy clouds, we rounded Coire nan Laogh in deep snow. Hard work was now our endeavour as we trudged to the summit. With the visibility now falling to just a few metres, we practised our navigation for real, with pacing and compass work being required as we headed for the Window. There remained the descent over the cornice on the Window and through soft snow down Coire Ardair, back to the car park.
A really good pub stop was enjoyed at The Glen in Newtonmore. The landlord is always very accommodating.
Dave Whitelock