Sunday (25th Feb) was a pinnacle of good weather in the Lake District. The skies completely blue all day, almost no wind, the ground frozen, and hard neve in gullies and on north-facing ground. Steve Murray and I captured the mood of a relaxing and beautiful day by making our… Continue reading
Hallsfell Ridge on Blencathra was in full winter condition on the rocky section above 600 metres last Saturday. (17th Feb). Dolly, Steve M, Paul and I prayed hard for the mist to lift, but it didn’t. The narrow top of the ridge is an entertaining scramble with axe and crampons.… Continue reading
There was a very poor forecast (almost) everywhere. So it was time for a day in the Far East (of the Grampians). Paul and I have long served our time in the high Cairngorms, so we were happy to find an alternative to Saturday’s 100 mph gusts and driving rain.… Continue reading
Reports from Helvellyn were of snowdrifts 1500 mm deep, and some avalanche potential. But on the opposite side of Patterdale, the less-frequented Place Fell offered an ascent on more scoured windward slopes, (i.e. on the mountain’s western side) a lesser elevation avoiding the deepest snow, and a pleasant circuit of… Continue reading
The Lakes of Vens looked impossibly beautiful. High in the mountains at 2400 metres the three blue-green pools lie in a hanging valley surrounded by sensationally jagged ridges, overlooked by a small Club Alpine Francais refuge. We spent most of the afternoon failing to take good enough pictures, and were… Continue reading
July and August came showery and uncertain. In July Angela and I were steered by the weather to the east of the A9 where the vast plateau of A’Bhuidheanach Beag and Carn na Caim is notable chiefly for its emptiness. Even in clear weather, the navigation should not be under-estimated.… Continue reading
Continuing our club tradition stretching over 20 years, May Day is often the time to take a step off the beaten track, in a wee tent or a cosy bothy (before the midges awaken…..). Watching deer from the front door, red squirrels on the track, gathering wood in the gloaming,… Continue reading
Some pictures of a couple of days at Easter. Steve’s Munro list took us to Glas Tulachain and Carn an Righ — the Hill of The King, followed by the Beinn a’Ghlo circuit. Boisterous northwesterly weather often means short sharp squalls of rain or hail which quickly… Continue reading
Thomson Holidays don’t include the Highlands as a winter sun package; but with miserable weather flooding in across the North Sea, the forecast was there for the north and west. Paul and I drove to Glen Shiel before finding a hill which met our criteria: something new with blue sky… Continue reading
WEST COAST TOUGH NUTS Downwards, we made our weary way in the bright afternoon. Already, the low November sun had cast Loch Creran into a black fjord-like shade, where its waters pointed seawards to Lismore, Ardgour, Mull, and the West. The conversation was mainly about how two relatively lowly west… Continue reading
