Newsletter: May 2002
Editor: Gordon Crawford

An early April view of the Aonach Eagach and the Buachailles.

Summer appeared to come early this year, which was bad news if you like snow and ice, but good news if you like rock or want to travel light on the hills. Early April was warm enough for an outbreak of shorts wearing, but the glaringly white flesh being exposed in this way has mostly been put away, as the weather has turned colder again. Mid-month snow conditions were more like June of last year, so any spring snow is unlikely to last long without a good base.

Against the general trend, the upper reaches of Ben Nevis stayed in excellent condition, with plenty of good ice climbing still being done in mid-April, when the season was over everywhere else.

Back in Edinburgh, we were saddened by the closure of the New Heights shop. The staff were always able to offer knowledgeable advice on the gear they sold, but the business had seen its margins squeezed by the big chains. Club members helped to strip the shop of stock, in the final half-price sale. The adventure travel side of New Heights will continue to organise expeditions and provide specialist travel agency services.

Returning to the joys of spring, congratulations are due to Claire (the woman formerly known as Miss Hodgkinson) and Graham Stein who were married on the 31^st of March.

Meets have continued to be well attended, but a spectacularly popular Lagangarbh weekend produced the only ballot of the winter.

The Naismith Hut is the latest addition to the Scottish Mountaineering Club dominion. Sources in the SMC assure me that there is no truth in the rumour, that book-sales from the last revision of the Munros funded it. Located on the edge of Sutherland, it is a good base for exploring Assynt, Coigach and the petite but perfectly formed mountains of Inverpolly.

The Isle of Rum is one of Scotland’s hidden jewels. The Rum Cuillin are not quite as demanding as the Black Cuillin of Skye, but you will find plenty of scrambling, and wide variety of rock climbing. A full traverse of the ridge is one of the finest day’s hillwalking in the land. The whole island is a nature reserve, with wildlife of note including numerous seabirds and two species of eagle. The ferry sails from Mallaig, early on Saturday morning.

This has been changed from the Glen Coe to take advantage of the extended weekend for the Queen’s Jubilee holiday. The venue is an attractive campsite beside a sandy beach, a few miles north of Lochinver. It is close to Suilven, Quinag, Ben More Assynt etc. and within drive of Reiff.

It's back to the club hut again. The long June days should be good for getting to the remoter mountains in the area, and hopefully some sunshine will have dried out the rock on Diabeag, and Applecross etc. Note that this is no longer a work meet, as previously advertised.

£1 p.p.p.n members/£2 guests

The Knoydart peninsula has a remote character, due to its lack of road access and rugged landscape. We will be sailing from Mallaig, and staying on the south side. This is a four day trip, since the ferry does not sail every day.

With the most challenging mountaineering in Britain right on the doorstep, and a hut to keep out the midges, this is a meet with great potential. Bookings will be set up to allow people to stay until either Sunday or Monday.

The club journal for 2001 is now available. A wide range of well written contributions were received from members. Everybody who was a club member last year will be receiving one. They have been available for collection on Thursday nights, but the remainder are now being distributed by post. Let Ross Jones know if you don’t get yours. New members can purchase a journal for £3.60 .

Full arrangements on details such as sub-editors are still to be confirmed for this year’s journal, but if you did anything interesting this winter, then get writing while your memory is fresh, and if you’re going anywhere exciting this summer, bear in mind that an interesting article would be well appreciated afterwards.

Midsummer Buffet This will be held on Tuesday the 19^th of June. Sophie is keeping the venue under wraps, but there will be climbing at Traprain Law beforehand, and walking (moved from the usual Wednesday slot) on Lammerlaw.

Annual Dinner 2002 This is booked for the Glenspean Lodge Hotel (near Roybridge), for Saturday 5th of October. There will be a 3 course dinner with the usual speeches and followed by the Gallus Rammaidh Ceilidh Band. Sophie will be selling tickets closer to the event. If you wish B&B in the hotel at £35, call them directly on (01397) 712223. Bunkhouse accommodation will be available across the road.

Tuesday Evening Rock Climbing: The climbing has already started, with a good turnout for the first two evenings of bouldering at Salisbury Crags and climbing at Traprain Law. The list for the rest of the season is on the meets page.

Wednesday Evening Hillwalking: These will start on the 22^nd of May (a week earlier than previously advertised). The full list is on the meets page.

Warren will be away on a long Alpine jaunt from the 15^th of June until the 15^th of September. While he's busy climbing mighty peaks in the sunshine, Emily Alder will act as hut custodian.

Ten people assisted with the recent work meet, to keep the hut in shape for another year. There was some heavy manual labour to start the day, with the replacement of 10 gas cylinders, before a variety of other tasks were seen to. Parts of the outside walls were repointed and part of the byre floor was relaid. The kitchen got a thorough spring clean and a new plumbing link to the water heater. It was also brightened up with a white ceiling and some extra pictures. An additional gas lamp will be fitted soon. The bridge looks different too, taking on a lovely russet gleam with a coat of preservative.

We have a new coal bunker, which will be kept stocked for club members, so you will get an extra key, along with the standard set. The final new feature is a minimum/maximum thermometer to record the temperature extremes outside the hut, so we will really know just how hot it can get up there.

Many thanks to those who turned up and made the effort.

There are currently proposals to build a hydroelectric scheme in the Sheildaig area. Many of you will know this as the wild and undeveloped area to the north of Torridon. There are environmental considerations on both sides, given the desirability of increasing renewable energy, but this scheme makes a very small contribution to that, at the expense of an area which is as close to wilderness as we have, and forms a key part of a National Scenic Area. No formal application has been made yet, but a number of organisations are concerned. More information is available from the MCofS at:

http://www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk/news/shieldaig_news.html

This is now progressing through various committee stages of the Scottish Parliament. The restrictions on commercial activities, which may have affected instructors and guides, have now been amended, and other troublesome clauses have been removed.

News Roundup

In case anybody thinks that the winter was a write-off, the picture above shows Ross Jones on Huntsman’s Anguish. It is a new Grade IV route, which he and Warren Deadman set on Carn na Criche in the Fannaichs, this February. Everyone else who has routes to record (new or otherwise) should let Warren know, since he is currently looking after the 'Ice Climbing Year' section of the next journal.

The hardened mountaineer in the picture below was spotted a few weeks later, testing the latest hi-tech outdoor gear in Glen Coe. Designed for wet weather, 'Freddie the Frog' is reportedly so advanced, that you may struggle to find one in any of the major outdoor shops.