The Gowk. He lay, drifting in and out of consciousness, at the foot of the cliff. Blood was spurting out of the gash in his wrist and congealing in a dark sticky pool all around him. He was starting to feel a chill and the darkness was closing in. It was only now that he regretted trying to steal the eggs.

Earlier, Alan, Graeme, Drummond, Donnie, FionaD, Sheena, Dan and Penny TWD had set out for Bruach na Frithe and Am Bastier. Sheena and Fiona accompanied the party as far as the first slopes. Sheena (wisely) had no intention of spending the day fumbling about in the mist and bailed out early. FionaD, who wasn’t hungover, took the opportunity to accompany Sheena back to the hut.

The story is taken up by Drummond… “Graeme, despite a foggy head, carried on regardless. Donnie was getting a hard time as he squeezed his slim-line torso between some rocks. The summit was reached in good time and the party carried on towards Am Basteir. We passed the Tooth looming above us in the mist and contoured cautiously up to the summit of Am Basteir, bypassing the bad step en-route. As we descended from the top we hit the jackpot and were treated to a few seconds of a view.”

Then it happened… One minute he had been scampering daringly about on the narrow ledges of The Executioner; the next he was falling. He lay motionless at the foot of the enormous drop for what seemed like an eternity. The peregrine circled overhead. His peaceful state was finally shattered by the piercing screams of “Alan!…Alan!…Alan!” (Click on link to hear the piercing screams). He was saved! Nurse McLennan administered a plaster and some caring words…“TTFU”. Everyone lived happily ever after.

Life threatening wound

Evelyn arrived early and made the most of the glorious weather with an ascent of Marsco. The contrasting weather on Saturday morning led Evelyn to the sensible decision to do a coastal walk where she had nice views of Yellowhammers, a Wheatear and some grazing geese.

Simon Jacyna ascended Sgurr na Banachdich via Coir’ an Eich in thick mist, wind and rain. There was some tricky navigation, particularly given that the compass was somewhat affected by a) bubbles, and b) magnetic anomalies. Nonetheless, the summit was achieved. Thereafter, the direction was downwards, rather than continuing to Sgurr Thormaid.

A swarm of new and enthusiastic members, including James, Dave, Phil, Kelly and Ian did the round of Coire Lagan. This is a classic route and one that can throw up more than a few challenges for the unprepared, especially in misty conditions. This was a little more than Dave had bargained for for his first venture into the Black Cuillin. But with some trepidation he overcame boulder upon boulder and summit after summit and finally arrived safely back at the hut for a well-earned lemonade.

Martin and Ted wisely decided to abandon Plan A (the Inaccessible Pinnacle), due to the rather inclement weather, in favour of a low-level option. They headed up to the fairy pools for their morning ablutions. I suspect the scores of foreign tourists will be questioning their dictionaries for the definition of “fairies”.

Sue walked The Bounds, including a circuit of Glen Brittle Forest and several trips to the beach.

Bob and FionaC headed along the coast to the headland of Rubh’ an Dunain, taking in the lofty summit of Creag Mhor (Altitude 124m). On the return journey they saw a young Sea Eagle.

Saturday night was the usual combination of wine, women and song. The evening culminated with Martin’s wonderful recital of “The Gowk”. If you’ve never heard this before, then you should have been here. Martin also led the composition of a new Club song:

From the slopes of Sgurr na Gillean
To the green glens of Ben More
There’s a club that wanders endlessly
With heids that are awfa sore
For the craic, crags and awa’ that
There’s no place I’d rather be
On a mountain top with loons and quines
Our club the MMC.

Martin (teacher, climber, entertainer)

The weather on Sunday was more pleasant. Martin and Ted got their “Plan A” as the culmination of a circuit of Corie Lagan. Sue walked to the Sigachan over the Bealach a Mhaim where (we presume) someone gave her a lift home.

Simon and Ian climbed “Edgeway”, a 120m VDiff climb on Waterpipe buttress… “There was the usual faffing about deciding where the route actually was as the photo in the guidebook was taken from a totally different angle. The guide referred to the protection as “just adequate”. This turned out to be rather optimistic, “somewhat lacking” would be a better description. Good large holds were also in short supply, but the incredible friction on the gabbro and the slabby nature of the route compensated. A good route, well deserving its two star rating.”

Bob and FionaC set off for Sgurr Alasdair. “…all went well, until having made it up the Sgumain Stone Chute, Fiona slowed down to the pace of a mountain caterpillar with cries of “how did you get up there”. Sometime later we were up the chimney and almost getting a view from the top, but not quite. Came down via the Great Stone Chute (or quarry), reminiscing that it wasn’t as good as it used to be, whilst hearing Martin’s dulcet tones echoing round the Cuillins. On reaching the lochan we stopped for some refreshments before making our way down the path to the car. On route we were surprised to see a man carrying a mountain bike up the path towards Coire Lagan and another lad taking Photos. Surely he wasn’t going to Cycle back down the path!”

A large group comprising Graeme, Alan, Sheena, Donnie, Justyna, Helen, Daniel, Penny TWD, the Orang-utan and the Cheeky Monkey ascended Sgurr nan Gillean. This was to be Penny’s penultimate munro and, given her aversion to being hauled up in a rucksack (a’ la the Inaccessible Pinnacle, c.2012), we decided on the so-called tourist route. The first technical difficulty arose shortly after leaving the car park, but eventually the correct path was located.

The second technical difficulty (a muddy pool) was safely negotiated by all but the most incompetent. The path led into the southwest corrie before disappearing into some scree and boulders. A little exploring was required, but eventually everyone made the ridge. Although called a “tourist route”, there is plenty of interest for the mountaineer and orang-utan alike. The first difficulties were ascended without too much fuss, but as we climbed higher the scrambling became steeper and the Orang-utan started to lag behind…this particular specimen seems to have gone soft with the western way of life. Cheeky Monkey, a close relative, suffered none of these problems and scampered onwards and upwards.

The final summit ridge caused a little pause for thought, but everyone eventually made it, just in time for a well-earned banana.

Sadly the cloud base loitered stubbornly a few hundred metres below. The descent was uneventful, but the party became split up. Donnie, Graeme and Penny sprinted on, Cheeky Monkey and the Orang-utan lagged behind and everyone else was somewhere in between. Helen and Justyna stopped for a brief paddle in one of the gorgeous pools in the Allt Dearg Bearg. As usual, the weekend meet to Skye was a classic mix of “doing”, “being” and drinking. It seems that everyone went home satisfied and will be coming again, even if that means on the floor.

Author: Dan
Photos: Dan and Alan