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Ptarmigan, 4th – Borrowdale
Highways, 11th - Loch Laggan
Bookings and
Cancellation No’s: 2) ‘e’mail to bookings@ptarmiganmc.org.uk 3) Contact or Voicemail to 07549 480321 HIGHWAYS BUS, Booking Arrangements:- Phone Brian Gardiner (daytime or evening) on 0131 343 1627, or Richard Williams (daytime only) on 0131 529 3583.
Pick-up
THE WALKS
THE DALWHINNIE HOTEL
Torridon Report– September
Weekend 2009 Most of us drove up on the Friday and others joined the throng at the hostel, having shamelessly indulged in the delights of the North West for the previous few days. One of us, our much beloved Sec, managed to take advantage of a cheap rail offer to fetch up at Achnashellach on Friday, and then to camp overnight up near Fuar Tholl. More of John M shortly. The evening assembly over malts and wine was much exercised in deciding among choices for Saturday’s outing. Few had come to firm decisions, and conflicting weather forecasts added to the uncertainty. In the end, Stan and Marischal (I think) elected to drive round to Achnashellach to climb An Ruadh-stac; Eleanor thought Beinn Damph a good idea; Maurice went round to Kinlochewe to take on the Corbetts nearby; 6 of us (me, Bob F, Margot W, Mark and Dorothy McC and Henry K) decided to start from the Ling Hut and aim for the combination of Sgorr nan Lochan Uaine and Sgurr Dubh. I have to apologise to Richard, Susie, Neil and John B, because I don’t know where they went. I have to apologise also to anyone I’ve forgotten to mention! I’ll now spin the tale of the 6 heading out from Ling, and how it was that 7 came back including one who decided to do it the very hard way, finishing on one leg. We set out in reasonable weather – some cloud and blue sky, not much wind – and headed up the excellent stalkers’ path past a fully locked up Ling Hut and its partly covered store of red gas cylinders, looking for all the world like a bomb dump. As we climbed deeper into the hills the weather began to threaten, the dark grey band of a front advancing towards us over a brooding Beinn Liath Mhor. By the time we turned from the path to head up the very rough, slabby slope towards the lochans in the col between Beinn Liath Mhor and our first target for the day, the wind had increased and isolated sweeps of drizzle around the area had coalesced into continuous rain. We are of course Highways and so, undeterred, we continued our advance upwards, spreading out as we went. Two figures were visible on the skyline as the first to make the col. A count of visible figures spread out on the hillside came up with 6, hence all present and correct? When we found one of the figures in the vanguard was actually John M, we realised the count should now actually make 7. A moment of concern passed when one of our tail-enders, until then not accounted for, appeared among the knolls to make up our full compliment. John M had struck camp around 8.30 and had walked up the Coire Lair path, fortuitously meeting us beside the lochans. We all then made for the shapely peak of Sgorr nan Lochan Uaine, over very rough ground and then up a steep scree-covered rocky slope to the summit, coping with a vicious cross-wind on the way. On a wet, windy and cold summit we snacked and wondered about the route along the ridge to Sgurr Dubh. It was completely obscured by cloud, and we knew it was very tricky to navigate accurately in these conditions. It looked as though the safety net of GPS might be necessary. Suddenly, everything cleared and the way was obvious. So we set off down to the ridge and then over again very rough, knolly ground to ascend a very rocky summit. There was enough clarity to see around, but the views didn’t reach the stunning quality we know is possible in these parts. Then began the descent to the road. Again there were no route finding problems beyond skirting obvious crags and boulder fields, but it was a slow and painstaking descent. Dorothy McC later said that the roughness of the day’s route after we left the path made it one of her least favourite walks, and much reduced the pleasure of completing two demanding Corbetts. I think I would concur – tedious, with a requirement for unrelenting concentration on safe foot placement, ironic considering later events. It was very much an eyes on the ground day. Safely off the worst, and on the final simple grassy descent to the Ling Hut – disaster ! I put a foot on a slippery patch, foot slid into a small hole and the forward momentum produced a violent inward flexture of the ankle resulting, we found later, in a broken fibula. The pain, as you might expect was momentarily awful, and through tears of distress and frustration I let fly a string of expletives which wilted the heather for metres around. How now to reach the road, so tantalisingly close? With the assiduous, patient help of companions, getting off the hill with a mixture of bum sliding and painfully slow walking, seemed to take forever. I can’t remember how long that last 0.5 km took, but it felt like an hour. To cut this painful tale short, I got back to the hostel, showered and changed, noted the unusual nature of the swelling around the injury, and Mark and Dorothy without hesitation offered to take me down to Raigmore – a round trip of about 120 miles leaving at about 6.30 and returning not much before 2 am. Broken fibula, plaster, 6-8 weeks crocked! I’d like to thank everyone for the way you rallied round to help: getting me off the hill, Mark and Dorothy especially for taking me to Inverness, all of you who offered to bring my car back – John M for actually doing it – and to Eleanor for returning me on Sunday to the tender care of Marje. I’m pleased that I still merit the tick for Sgurr Dubh since I got all the way down under my own steam (well more or less). This walking weekend will remain one of the sharper of my hillwalking memories. Pete Ramage
TISO DISCOUNT NIGHTS
NEXT MONTH- November |
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