Howard got an audio book for the weekend. It was a Graham Greene novel about betrayal; a man betrays his country but is himself betrayed by events and forced to betray his lover.

In between the chapters, another story unfolded. It was about a group of people who went to Scotland, but were betrayed by a false weather forecast into wandering around an apparently underwater area, mysteriously called the Fannaich Mountains, for no discernible reason. They were then lured to a building masquerading as "Aviemore Bunkhouse" but which was really a cramped prison block for drinkers in the next door pub. The next day, the group sought redemption by scrambling up the Fiacaill Ridge in Sneachda, in conditions of moderate wind, "in and out" visibility, and light sleet making the ground white. (in other words, fairly benign for the time of year). Although some continued to Cairngorm summit, they were forced to confront the shocking revelation, that the total amount of snow in the Northern Corries was not enough to cover a single tennis court.

Against the background of their inner turmoil, characters were thinly sketched. A romantic sub-plot, of course, (courting minority interest by involving Welsh and Scots); an ageing man looking at past days with affection and at the future with doubt, a pie-eating engineer worried about a date, a local government officer worried about his choice of book. And a newcomer worried about the lot of them.

So, two books for the price of one almost. But less literature and more mountaineering must be on the cards next time!

The story has a little postscript. On Sunday afternoon we visited a snowhole site with a large drift surviving. It's only about an hour from the road, in a somewhat unlikely but easy to get to spot.

So maybe if there is a dump of snow, an overnight snow-holing trip can be arranged.!!

ANDREW E.