Wed 12 Oct 2016
The day after my Ghuibhais walk (previous post), I joined another Steve Fallon Group walk – this time on my erstwhile ‘bete noire’ – Liathach! Would my chest hold out for such a steep and hard climb? Would I freak out in a total funk like last time? it’s a pretty fearsome beast…
Photo R Wood Read the rest of this entry »
Mon 4 July 2016
This was another day out organised with Steve Fallon, although he wasn’t doing the guiding this time…
At the start of the year, feeling a bit of a daredevil, I booked up with Steve Fallon to do several ambitious scrambling routes in the Scottish mountains. The first was my Forcan Ridge trip in June – this was the second and there is one more to come.
Tue 24 May 2016
This was day three of our climbing club’s Glenbrittle Memorial Hut meet and I was starting to learn… Learn to climb better? no… learn to scramble better? nope… I was starting to learn that no-one was going to ask me to accompany them on anything being done by the various members of the club. Time to take a different tack…
Sat 4 June 2016
For ages I’d debated and stressed about the best way to approach the gnarly Munro Top of Sgurr nan Forcan – I was starting to think it was going to be my hardest top…
On one of my days off around Ullapool this summer, where the weather wasn’t really suitable for the higher hills, I took to my usual favourite glen – Glen Achall. This can be used as a long route to Seana Braigh but I just cycle to the end of the landrover track and back – about 8 miles each way. This time, on the way back, I had a look at a gorge scramble I’d been eyeing for a while…
Wed 28 August 2013
The day before we were to do Am Basteir, Richard wrecked his knee – it would just be me and Jonah the guide then… Despite the fact that I’d done the In Pinn without any difficulties on the Sunday, the weather was more dubious for this one and I wouldn’t be on the rope as much so I was again very nervous the night before. Read the rest of this entry »
Part 1 of this report left you hanging above the scary Inaccessible Pinnacle (or In Pinn) just before I had to tackle it. I’d put my rock boots on and had a little rest – now the time had come to head down the steep slope to tackle my rock climb of around 150 feet up the steep, very narrow and exposed east ridge…
Wed 8 May 2013
Due to the weather forecast for the Wednesday predicting quite high winds (which then didn’t hit us until late in the day), the decision was made on Tuesday evening to make our Wednesday’s objective Sgurr Dubh Mor via Coire a’ Ghrunnda (instead of Am Basteir) – we also hoped to add the other Munro of Sgurr nan Eag if there was time and we felt able. After yesterday’s performance, I wasn’t sure whether we were able – we both seemed very unfit… I’d had a restful night though as I believed these Munros were very straightforward and was seeing it as virtually a day-off… how wrong I can be I was soon to find out! Read the rest of this entry »
Tue 7 May 2013
Due to the weather being pretty dire in Scotland for the first half of the year, with snow most days and very high winds, the week I’d booked with a guide to do more of the Cuillin Munros on Skye was my first Munroing of the year. In fact, due to my broken bones last year, it was exactly a year since my last Munro so starting with Sgurr nan Gillean was pretty ambitious really! I’d only managed to do hillwalking in either the Lakes or the Dales – both very easy walking and, as I said in my last post, my preparatory outdoor climb had fallen through at the last minute so, consequently, I was feeling very unprepared indeed…
Wed 9 May 2012
Richard was back with me and Ryan-the-guide for this walk after his rest day but, as we drove to the carpark to meet up, we had no idea what peak we’d be doing – I was hoping for Sgurr Dubh Mor – a peak which hasn’t managed to get me worried at all so far on my various studies about it. We met Ryan and he greeted us with the fact that we were off to do my most dreaded Cuillin of all – the super-exposed Sgurr Mhic Choinnich! Everyone reading this probably by now knows that I find the easiest, most cowardly route up every peak I tackle – well, the bad news for fellow mountain cowards for this one is… you’re doomed!
