Inchnadamph and November go hand in hand, like whisky and cake, or beer and crisps. The indescribably beautiful part of Scotland that is Assynt, glorious in the sunshine and perhaps a tad more gorgeous when dark and brooding, when clouds sweep off the Atlantic to batter each of the oh so distinctive hills and cling to their craggy forms. In November there is a good chance of “changeable” weather, and an equally good chance of not being attacked by the billions of midgies that inhabit this wet and wild land.
The previous two November Inchnadamph meets had coincided with bonfire night so fireworks had been taken to celebrate. Last year was wet so frustrated pyromaniacs lit sparklers indoors, causing late night fire alarms and general mayhem.
This year the Moray Mountaineering Club assembled at Inch Lodge on Halloween. This coincidence of timing couldn’t pass without note, so a fancy dress party was organised. The idea of everyone arriving in their outfits via the various chippies and petrol stations en route was a fantastically silly one but pragmatism prevailed and the party was held on Saturday night. But first, some mention must be made of mountaineering endeavours, and first Kat treats us to a description of some subterranean shenanigans.
“Nine intrepid explorers set off for a caving expedition to the famous ‘Great Northern Time Machine’.
After ignoring the many pessimistic predictions of the likelihood of us never returning we set off up the hill to find the ‘Rana Hole’. A number of suitable expletives were used to great effect upon the first viewing of this famous shaft. Dan’s ‘modified’ rope ladder held up well and we descended the shaft without incident. We were then faced with a series of iron spikes set in the wall with a dubious looking safety line running alongside, below which loomed a huge drop.
Swallowing our doubts we ducked under the waterfall and down the final ladder. A few tight squeezes later we arrived at THE waterfall. If we thought we got wet before that was nothing compared to this! Two slippery rope descents and an abseil later we stood at the bottom of the waterfall. Some in the group wondered if we would ever get back out! However, Dan and Simon were not perturbed and so onwards we went one bum shuffle over a crevasse in the rock and a good crawl later we arrived at out destination the Great Northern Time Machine!
Sadly the cave was not able to magically transport us three hours into the future to be sitting warm and dry in the car and so after a brief lunch and photo shoot it was back onto the knees (and knee pads for Kat!) and back to our nemesis the waterfall. Two unsuspecting cavers waiting at the top to descend were alarmed to hear us discussing how a member of our party had slipped and was struck only to then see said member emerge through the rock with a huge bloody gash on his face. After a scrabble for first aid kits and a bit of discussion Colin eventually let on that this was in fact just his Halloween costume. After this we scurried back to the ladders and up to the surface where a winching operation ensured that all the cavers were returned to safety in double quick time. Well done Dan and Al the master winchers as Simon emerged last from the shaft like a cork out of a champagne bottle a round of applause was given. And there was much rejoicing. Great Day!”
From far underground to the highest summit in the area, Robert describes his day:
“David and I formed a generational partnership to approach Conival and Ben More Assynt. The weather forecast was not great but to our pleasure we were well ahead of what we planned the walk up to Conival was quiet balmy and we hit the wind after which continued at strong until we crossed the ridge to Ben More Assent. A great day resulting in spontaneous sleep at various stages.”
Ray had a slower wander up onto Conival with the intention of returning to the Lodge from there, but once the summit had been reached he was inspired to continue along the narrow ridge to the higher top of Ben More and enjoy the roof of Assynt.
Sue and Evelyne walked on the high wild land around Glas Bheinn and were unable to reach the impressive falls of Eas a’Chual Aluinn because the rivers were too high to cross. A grand day out was enjoyed though, with lots of deer spotted.
Ella, Illona, Sheila, Andy and Joe decided to keep clear of the clag and head off for a low level walk, as described by Ella:
“A short easy stroll along the path on the south side of Loch Assynt was the plan. We followed the plan but it was a bit hard going as it turned out but still good and amongst beautiful Autumn scenery. In at Little Assynt and along past the two shielings on the map… and back. Hint for the future; the other bridge on the map a bit to the east only goes half way across the river! No idea why that might be! Maybe the loch was so much higher than usual and the end of the bridge really should be the loch edge. Anyway it didn’t turn out to be much of a short cut today.”
The Halloween party was indeed a hoot. There were witches, one of whom had a beard and a cat, clowns, monsters, a ghost, a vampire bat with fantastic mechanically inflating wings, a Cheshire cat with a glow in the dark smile… and there was much rejoicing.
An impressive amount of time and effort had been put into the costumes on display, and of course a Halloween Party couldn’t pass off without some dooking for apples. This involved some desperate competitive dunking, gnashing and thrashing about in the water, some flooded sinuses and at least one soaking wet bra (luckily not the witch’s because he only has one) and one final victor. Jake, the winner of the dooking received his prize of, well, an apple.
Sunday dawned fairer than forecast, though windy and showery. An expedition was launched on the mighty Stac Pollaidh and Andy B, Dan, Carol, Jen, Jenny, Kat and Katie made their way along the precarious ridge to the final summit, where a select band of nutters braved the strong gusts and greasy rock to make the final airy moves to the top. They were somewhat surprised to be greeted by an ex-witch, still gleefully sporting his eye-liner and bright red nail polish as he trotted up to the top.
Sheila also made her way to the summit ridge but sensibly decided not to scramble along the crazy pinnacles shrouded as they were in thick clag and buffeting winds. Turning back from her high point she headed back homeward bound only to find that once far below the east summit the clouds had parted to reveal the miniature mountain in all its glory. Realising that the famous Stac Pollaidh view was too good to miss she turned back to retrace her steps to crest of the ridge to bathe in her glorious surroundings.
Jenny L jumped on her bike and was away before most folk had got out of bed, and describes her trip below:
“Had a fantastic 80mile cycle home through Strath Cuileannach to Croick & then up Glenn Mor to be spat out at the black bridge. Both these glens were facing the wrong way for the wind that day so it felt like I was going backwards in places 🙂 I stopped off at the Garve Hotel for my first coffee stop of the day (( a good reminder that it’s defiantly flask season )) I was pleasantly surprised by this hotel & would recommend a visit if you’re passing 🙂 From here I did a mix of road & local forest trails to take me back home just in time to cook the tea & clean up the remains of a certain teenagers party!!!!”
Jake and Fiona did the Inver Loop, a lovely pootle from Lochinver toward the majestic Suilven and then a return to the village along the banks of the Inver, which was in fine form due to the recent rain.
An impromptu gathering at the Ceilidh Place in Ullapool followed where tea and cake was enjoyed by Stac Pollaidh adventurers and Inver Loopers. Tea and cake were enjoyed in front of a huge wood burning stove and weary limbs were rested as the sun set behind the Hebrides and the weekend drew to an end.
Author: Joe
Photos: Kat, Dan and Sheila