Isle of Skye

This year we decided to escape for the Christmas break, although as the weather worsened prior to Christmas we were regretting planning such a long drive! We woke on the 24th to blizzards in Yorkshire and a recommendation not to travel, so we set off anyway. Yorkshire had the worst of it and by the time we hit the M6 the weather and the roads were clear. We made the cottage by tea time and well ready for a trip to the local.

Christmas Day -  With blurry eyes we dragged ourselves out of bed and into the car, our goal was Blabheinn before Christmas dinner!
The car thermometer showed -7C and as the sun came up there was not a cloud in the sky. The going was slow and as we headed up to the first corrie, plenty of snow, big patches of ice on the path and loads of hoar frost. Hoar frost crystals are created by vapour rising up from layers of deposited snow and then freezing on the surface, quite rare and very beautiful, also a precursor to a high avalanche risk when more snow falls on top! We reached the summit at 2.30pm and were treated to some of the most stunning views I have ever seen in Scotland. We could see as far as Assynt in the North, Rum in the West and the Nevis range in the South East. One problem! It was too cold to loiter and now we were all thinking about Christmas dinner! So down we went, powder snow cushioning every step. Just time for a pint of Red Cuillin in the pub, dinner was cooked and eaten by 8pm, what a day!

A big thanks do Dolly and Frank for sorting the accommodation.

Looking forward to the next trip!

Simon

This is an index page for the Reports written in 2006. Click on the links and enjoy the read……

Winter Climbing Coire An t’Sneachda
The Genie and the Beast
Aladdins Couloir and Goat Track Gulley in conditions only just winter.

Club Winter Weekend 2006
Corpach 2006
The weekend saw teams on the Ben,
Aonach Mor, Aonach Eagach, Stob Coire nan
Lochan, Ring of Steall
& the Ballachulish Horse Shoe.

Boomerang Gulley, Glencoe, winter climbing
In the Hero’s footsteps
Andrew and Paul feel honoured on a route which was a W. H. Murray first ascent

Threading The Needle, Great Gable
Threading The Needle
A dampish April scramble through one of the most iconic locations in the Lake District.

Lurg Mhor wilderness expedition
The Cheesecake and the Policeman
Our May expedition to Bearnais bothy and the remote Munros of Bidein a’Choire Sheasgaich and Lurg Mhor.

Pembroke Climbing
Pembroke 06
A visit to climb at Pembroke in the sun.

Pyrenees Bike and Climb
Bon Escalades YMC team heads for some sunny action

Skye Main Ridge Traverse
Skye Take Two
Jim shares “one of the greatest adventures in the world’ as he and Tenk crack the Cuillin Ridge at the second attempt.

Fifteen in a Day
15 in a Day
Tenk and Howard get cracking from Lochnagar and zoom around Munro summits……with a few more on Sunday too !

Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis
An Eye-Full Tower
The west ridge of Ben Fhada proves a Saturday warm-up for the longest rock climb in Britain, the famous Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis, with its Eastern Traverse and awesome Tower Gap.

Alpine Dreams
Alpine Dreams
Rich Johnson’s Alpine exploits in July

Alpine Guide
Alpine Guide
Rich Johnson’s article on how to do it.

The Far North of Scotland
The Far North
Further away than Paris (but a lot less crowded) our team check out the stunning landscapes of furthest north….. Ben Hope, Conival and Ben More Assynt.

Glen Etive and beyond
Glen Etive & Beyond
October Munros, a party at Inbhirfhaolain and more mountains at Fersit.

Winter Munros
Making the White Decisions
A wild and woolly time on Beinn Heasgarnich on Armistice Day, followed by a far corner of the Cairngorms at Carn an Righ by bike.