Picture of the Month - November 2012

Ben Wyvis

 Stairway to Heaven

(or Highway to Hell)

the path to An Cabar

A good moorland path followed by an amazing path to the plateau.

Our pre-dinner walk 2012

Camisky Lodge - Annual Dinner 2011

Camisky Lodge - Torlundy

46th Annual Dinner

18-19th November

Friday night saw the party revelers celebrate another 'old man' coming of age. Welcome to the SAGA section Andy!

Julie tried to burn the house down with all those candles on the cake.

Cake was good - candle wax and spittle less so....

 Lots of 'weel kent' club faces - Jim, Bruce, George and

 not forgetting Eric.

 Saturday nights dinner was top notch - 

and a really impressive dining room.

The serving staff discussed the most efficient way 

to serve the soup.......

..........hurry up.......hungry diners are waiting...

Large portions of venison brought a smile or two!

 Graham couldn't be with us this year,

so received 30 separate text messages in quick succession 

telling him he was being missed, he guessed we all had too much to drink (and was jealous)

He certainly missed an impressive house and great weekend walking.

There is a short video of the dinner here.

and two reports from the hills climbed,

 Beinn a Chaorainn and Creag Meagaidh

Andy, Elizabeth, Ron, Deirdre, Bill, Roni, Bruce, Rita, David, Jim, George and Eric

Creag Meagaidh

ascent by Creag na Cailliche ridge

Sunday November 20th

We were up reasonably early and ready to go - 

surprising, after our late night.

our base - Camisky Lodge - Victorian Luxury

 Dee decided not to join us as she wasn't 100%

........so after a quick kiss and cuddle we headed off.........

'take care, missing you already'

 Parking at Moy on the A86, you cross the road and immediately start up an Argocat track.

The tops were shrouded but sunshine wasn't far away; fingers crossed the cloud clears.

The Argocat track at Moy

If you can ignore the initial bog crossing to Lochan na Cailliche this is a fab route to take Creag Meggie.

Our group today -

Roni, Julie, Andy, David & not forgetting Bill - taking the photo.

the 'bog slog' team

 Shifting cloud gave theatre stage lights to Glen Spean

Glen Spean from Creag na Cailliche ridge

 Depending on the cloud breaks we had different angled spotlights!

looking toward Beinn na Lap

 On the ridge proper, a strategically placed base stone in the wall, allows a tricky step across a pool.

It still involved a hop, skip & jump for some.

'ridge wall-king'

 This boundery wall is amazing - 

its very well built and runs almost to the top.

All credit to the men who constructed it, true masters in their craft.

easy walking in easy company

Is that the top over there? 

have they spotted David

As usual conversations ranged on a variety of topical subjects;

actually it's mostly rubbish that's talked.....

a feeling of height

We entered cloud as the wall ended, but we've been here before and knew that the posts more or less went where we were going; nonetheless, we took a bearing for the summit as it's a big plateau on Creag Meagaidh. The wind was bitter.

David patiently waiting

Lunch on the summit was exposed so we huddled in Andy's shelter bag - it was a bit tight for five, lets just say it was 'cosy' and it's just as well that we've all known each other for a while.

bothy bag banter

 Julie, as usual, caused mayhem, this time tucking the bag fabric, under her bum!

this bag ain't big enough for all of us

Descent was back down Creag na Cailliche ridge, it's a cracking route.

sun dappled slopes to the south

Great walking underfoot, especially in descent.....

...just look at that wall, no need to navigate.

The Great Wall of Creag Meggie

Roni was concerned about Julie.

'....go and help Julie'

Wonder why?

Cameras at the ready

What a cruel lot!

Descent down the ridge was rapid, even the bog was crossed quickly, probably as we were on higher ground the drier sections were more apparent. It's still tricky - you have been warned!

Binnein Shuas above Loch Laggan - glowing in the sun

For a November day out - pretty good - no complaints.

Camisky Lodge - Torlundy

Annual Dinner 2011

18th - 20th November

'shared adventures, lots of memories and bags of fun'

video by David

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Beinn a Chaorainn & Beinn Teallach

A hill (or two) to work up an appetite.

Saturday 19 November

Staying at the rather grand Camisky Lodge in the Great Glen, it was only a short drive to Roughburn, the start point for our pre-dinner hill.

Moray Clubbers have fond memories of Beinn a Chaorainn, as it gave a magnificent cloud inversion many years ago, when we had a weekend meet, based at Nancy's in Fersit. 

It's a shapely summit, a ridge running south to north, with a big drop to the col separating it from Beinn Teallach, the wee Munro to to the west. The eastern side of the mountain is rather steep.

Walking from our parking spot to the gate in the fence we came on an 'official' vehicle - we wondered if we'd meet any of the team on our day out, not as customers though!

Strong sunshine gave long shadows. Dee and Julie raced along the forest track, talking non-stop. 

We made sure we took the correct track in the woods to gain the open hill. It can be a bit boggy underfoot - you need a keen eye to pick the best line.

Loch Treig looked miles away, nestling in the folds between Stob Coire Sgriodain and Stob a Choie Mheadhoin, whose summits were stubbornly holding on to cloud.

Big open countryside and rich late autumn colours.

We always seem to have dramatic lighting in Glean Spean.

We had a quiet chuckle on the shoulder of Meall Clachaig.........

 ....as two parties of schoolgirls were oblivious that every word of their girly nonsense could be plainly heard. Those storm shelter walls are not soundproof....

It was a shame that the summit ridge was clagged in.
You'll notice no pictures of David or Andrew, they had been powering ahead all morning and had disappeared into the gloom. 
We think Beinn Teallach was calling.

Confession time.....on the south summit of Beinn a Chaorainn we took a short(ish) detour to inspect the east facing slopes, well that's what you do in thick mist isn't it?

It was a rather sheepish group that made their way back up to the summit to take a proper bearing, a case of 'familiarity and all that' - always trust your compass, and use it!

Easy navigation led along the tops, and we headed down to the big cairn at the col, Tom Mor.

A bright shaft of sunshine illuminated the upper slopes turning them to gold, but it was getting quite dull in the glen. 

A quick discussion and then we were off down the glen, following a good track beside the Allt a Chaorainn, no-one fancied  the ascent of Beinn Teallach in the gathering dusk.

It's a long walk down to the forest edge and we were glad that the river was low as it can prove quite an obstacle.

Today it was a mere boulder hop.

Both Andrew and David met us at the forest edge, they were quite concerned, as they had been down at the cars for about an hour and had expected our group to be back well before them.........were we that slow? 

Another good day out - finished off with luxury accommodation, great food and the good company of the club.

Our round trip on Beinn a Chaorainn had been five and half hours, Andrew and David taking four and half, including Beinn Teallach.....

Andrew, Bill, David, Dee, Julie & Roni

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Meall Chuaich

Hill of the Quaich

Sunday12th December

Meall Chuaich sitting to the east of the A9 near Dalwhinnie, always seems to be kept for a quick, 'let's nip up 'n down on the way home'.

The good Hydro track from the layby opposite Cuaich Cottages makes access easy. It follows a concrete aqueduct to the Hydro power station, then various tracks lead to a small locked private wooden bothy which overlooks Loch Cuaich.

Strong winter sunshine on Loch Cuaich

The track was very icy in places; you had to keep an eye on where you placed your feet.

The track heading towards Coire Chuaich

Our path to the summit left the track, taking us up the heather clad hillside. Normally the lower section is very boggy, so we were glad to be on frozen ground. Not much snow about - lots of ice.

Our route ahead was a thin white ribbon of snow & ice

View west - you can just see the bothy to the right of Bill.
It's very easy walking to this point.

The normally boggy path was frozen solid

 'Just for interest' we took to the snow - David raced on ahead, Andy trying to look like a man of the mountains.

A snow patch is like a magnet to us

Our line of ascent was a broad shoulder with short heath underfoot; very pleasant walking. Unfortunately the summit held a stubborn cloud which the gusty wind couldn't shift.

Delightful walking on the upper slopes

Shame it was so misty as there are extensive views into Strathspey from the top.

Approaching Meall Cuaich's summit

David must have sniffed the summit cairn; he has that wild look of a bagger. Alison's having to run to catch him......

David - slow down....!

Return from the summit cairn was down by our upward route. We made sure we walked off on a bearing until we could clearly see our path down, we've been lost on misty featureless plateau before!

Sharing a joke on the walk out

....so ended another successful dinner weekend.

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