There were a few late cancellations so meet attracted a total of 13 people, some came for the full duration while others passed through on their way to Cairngorms, Skye or Reiff. The weather almost behaved perfectly and a good time was had by one and all.
Attendees; Val Hennelly, Bob Watson, Paul & Barbara Drew, Astrid & Andy Saxby, Al Davis (FRCC), Spenser Gray, Steve Woollard, Katya Thompson, Philip Ward, Paul Sagar and Trevor Langhorne.
Things got off to an early start on Friday when Val and Bob braved the long drive around Loch Eil to Ardgour as the Corran Ferry was contributing to Scotland’s ferry woes. Indian Slab in Glen Gour was the target and an enjoyable day was spent climbing on wonderfully featured gneiss. Al Davis (FRCC) arrived in the evening after a 14 hour day cycling and bashing Munros around Glen Dessary.
Saturday dawned with low cloud and intermittent drizzle and Bob set off for Cumbria on his superb vintage Velocette. With the promise (?) of better weather to the east team Drew headed for the superb Ardverikie Wall on Beinn Shuas before heading to Aviemore to help Paul Donnithorne celebrate his final Munro. The Saxbys also headed east to Cairn Lochan in the Northern Corries with the intention of climbing Savage Slit, however it was far too cold to climb with a penetrating wind and they returned empty handed but not despondent. Val and Trevor headed to a damp and not too buggy Glen Nevis where the meet leader found himself in The Gutter before increasing dampness and rising bug levels forced a retreat for coffee and cake. Satisfied with his effort on Friday Al had the day off.
Sunday was beautiful with wall to wall blue sky. The Saxby’s went back to Cairn Lochan, it wasn’t as cold as Saturday but Savage Slit was occupied by a slow rope of three so they did Fallout Corner. Phil made the trek to Ardgour to tackle a scramble near Great Ridge but failed to find his target thanks to a dodgy description and returned disappointed. Steve and Katya did Crowberry Ridge on The Buchaille. On the Munro front Spenser set off with good intentions but ended up having a relaxing day and a nice swim in the River Lochy while Al did some Munros from Glen Elchaig. The meet leader did a scramble out of Glen Nevis which flattered to deceive, it looked good from below but was disappointingly discontinuous.
Monday was another beautiful day. Steve and Katya had a big day out on The Ben climbing Observatory Ridge before descending Castle Ridge. After his disappointing experience in Ardgour Phil headed for more familiar terrain and did Crowberry Ridge. Spenser headed off towards Loch Cluanie for a few days on the Munros and Al went round to Braemar for Ben Avon and Beinn a’Bhuird before heading back south. Team Saxby also had to head south and chose to stop off in Glencoe and visit the East Face of Aonach Dubh, unfortunately parking was an absolute nightmare and although they got a walk there was insufficient time to bag any routes. The meet leader had a lazy day in the beautiful Glen Roy. Steve and Katya stayed on and did Ardverikie Wall, Kubla Khan on Beinn Shuas and Grooved Arête and January Jigsaw on Rannoch Wall.
Is there anywhere better than Scotland in late May when the sky is blue and the midges are asleep?
Trevor Langhorne
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