Bidean nam Bian, Glen Coe - 2nd May 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Stob Coire nan Lochan - stop kora nan lockyn (peak of the corrie of lochs), Bidean nam Bian - beetyan nam beeoan (peak of the mountains), Stob Coire Sgreamhach - stop kora skree-yach (peak of the fearful corrie)

We had spent the night camped at Drochaid Tolaghan on the western shores of Loch Tulla. Arriving after our post-hike meal at Paddy's in Tyndrum, we had quickly pitched our tent with only headtorch lighting. Midge conditions were good for the time of year, but be warned this area rates as one of the worst for extremely high populations of midges during July and August. I recall last year having to swat the most amount of tent invaders ever while camped at the same location.

Early morning sunshine meant another great day for hitting the mountains was on the cards. We made our way up over Rannoch Moor to Glen Coe. Starting from the main parking area overlooking the Three Sisters, we headed down to the bridge crossing over the River Coe. From here we decided to set a spritely pace up the Coire nan Lochan. A fairly straightforward path zig zags it's way up the gully to the waterfall below the Stob Coire nan Lochan Buttresses.

The Aonach Eagach Ridge from Aonach Dubh.

Clachaig Gully (left) from Aonach Dubh.

Glen Coe Village from Stob Coire nan Lochan ridge.

Once upon the plateau we stopped for a short snacking session. The next part of this route is my favourite. Taking the northern shoulder that runs from Aonach Dubh up the ridge towards the Stob Coire nan Lochan summit, each new view is breathtaking. As you near the summit you begin to veer south and there is some scrambling to be done over large boulders until you reach the top.

Bidean nam Bian peering from behind Stob Coire nan Lochan's north ridge.

Pinnacle Buttress.

Pinnacle Buttress.

From here, the summit of Bidean nam Bian looks invitingly near, but there is still quite some legwork to be done. We followed the path south off Stob Coire nan Lochan down to the ridge at Collie's Pinnacle. Some steep scrambling here is again required to gain the summit of Bidean nam Bian which is a little less spacious than it's neighbouring summit.

360degrees from Stob Coire nan Lochan summit.

Stob Coire Sgreamhach, Bidean nam Bian and Stob Coire nan Lochan from Stob Dubh.

We descended back down to the ridge, it was our plan to take the steep route off the ridge into the lost valley (Coire Gabhail). An earlier plan to take in the summit of Stob Coire Sgreamhach was scrapped as we had noticed that Bracken our new Springer Spaniel was finding the going a bit grazing on her paws.

Path down towards lost valley.

We were soon onto the main path that runs along the lost valley. The valley floor widens out further down to an unusual glacial flood plain. It is said that in the days of the Highland clans, The massacred MacDonald clan once grazed their stolen cattle on this area of ground. At the northern end of the valley the path drops steeply down to Glen Coe. This area is full of cascading waterfalls, plunge pools and mixed woodland.

We made our way across the River Coe once again a little further up it's flow this time, and headed back across the Coe valley to the start/finish point of our walk.

After our walk we were pleased to find our camping spot down in Glen Etive was free and waiting for us. The dogs enjoyed a cooling swim in the river and Shona and I were sound asleep before it was fully dark.

Beinn Ime, Arrochar - 1st May 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Beinn Ime - byn eem (butter hill)

This was the first Munro that Alfie my Springer did last year when he was just on the turn of pup to young dog. On that occasion we took the route up between the Cobbler (Ben Arthur) and Beinn Narnain.

This time we tackled it from the western side with Shona bringing Bracken along for her 3rd K9 Munro-bag. Beinn Ime is the tallest peak among the Arrochar Alps, and ascending from the west is a relatively short route. It is however a very steep trek up constant grassy slopes.

Starting from the Butterbridge car park in Glen Kinglas we headed into the glen then veered right onto the hill and steadily upwards towards the Glas Bhealach between Beinn Chorranach and Beinn Ime. Two gullies cut down from the Bhealach and in my opinion it's best to stay on the left of both during the ascent. A pair of hikers ahead of us attempted to go up over to the right of these gullies and seemed to find the terrain much steeper and slower.

A mixture of spongy moss and springy heather in places made this route quite tiresome on the thighs. Such slopes always seem to look far tamer from below, where the eye automatically assumes that the greenery is close cropped. It comes as some relief to make it to the Glas Bhealach. The ground underfoot is much firmer and you now feel like you're progressing towards the summit of Ime. It's now just a case of climbing due south to the summit. There are a few visible tracks that can be taken, but you really can't go wrong as long as you keep the apex of the route as your target.

On this occasion the weather could not have been better and once on the summit, views in all directions were stunning. There is a very elaborate summit cairn on Beinn Ime, almost like a little turret which can be used to shelter from the wind. Today the wind was whipping in from the east, so Shona and I took to the western outside wall of the cairn to grab our lunch. We chatted with the hikers who had been ahead of us on the right side of the gullies on their ascent. I think they had been surprised that we had reached the summit cairn a good 10 minutes before them. Another group arrived on the summit from the southern approach, so we got our packs back on and headed back down to the Glas Bhealach.

We were pondering the possibilities of crossing over to Ben Vane to the east. Instead we decided to drop east into the Gleann Uaine for a pleasant longer walk off the mountain. Heading north we arrived at a controlled mixed forest plantation skirting the top of Glen Kinglas. Ironically the deer fencing set up to prevent red deer from stripping the young trees had in fact trapped a large group of deer inside the plantation.

From here we stepped onto the estate dirt track and followed it leisurely back down to the junction on the A83.

Being a Sunday before a Bank Holiday Monday, the Drover's Inn was packed out. No seating available, so we boosted on up to Tyndrum to get to Paddy's Grill before they stopped serving food for the night. Paddy's in Tyndrum is great. Good pub grub with big portions and no fuss. Well behaved dogs are allowed in the bar too, which is a necessity for us.

Unexplored routes in Arctic Norway

I've just been confirmed as a team member for Gore-Tex's Expedition to northern Norway with climbing legend Dave MacLeod.

A shortlist of candidates were chosen to attend a final selection process with Dave.

We then go on the adventure of a lifetime with Dave and Paul Diffley of Hot Aches film productions to Tromso in Norway.

The expedition should take place in August 2011 and will cover 15 days of exploring and hopefully successfully climbing a batch of new unclimbed routes in the areas surrounding Tromso and it's numerous islands and peninsulas.

Thankyou to everyone who helped get me on the team, I really do appreciate your support, Eric.

Skiing Everest

  Just added another great Snagfilms documentary to the right-hand column of this page.

I'm not a huge fan of skiing, probably because I'm not that great at it, but watching this film has inspired me to perhaps try and improve on my skills for next winter. For sure, I won't be attempting to ski from 8,000m. If I'm lucky I might manage from 800m.

So... go put the kettle on, set aside an hour and a half, put your feet up and indulge in this, an alternative method of descending the summits.  >>>

Glen Etive wild camping - 28th April 2011

Following Bracken's double Munro debut on Buachaille Etive Beag we thought it would be kinder for her weary paws to take a relaxing rest day down in Glen Etive. After our stay the previous night at the Kingshouse camping ground, we decided to venture down the Glen in search of somewhere more secluded by the River Etive to wild pitch.

Dotted along the single track road on the left as you drive down, there are some good places to set up camp. It's usually best to head there early, as before long all the more level spaces get snapped up. We took a drive down to the Loch and then back to find the most appropriate pitch for the dogs. Finding a spot where the river was nice and deep for them to enjoy a good swim was our priority, and we luckily managed to locate a small green area of ground just above one of the rivers many waterfalls.

Having already bought provisions we set up camp with all that we needed and spent a wonderful chilled out day playing with Alfie and Bracken by the river and exploring the surrounding area. Later in the evening we were joined by 14 deer making their way up the glen. As the sun set and the stars once again came out, all we could hear was the constant stream of the waterfall and the occasional cries from birds settling down for the night. Bliss!

Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe - 27th April 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Buachaille Etive Beag - booakil etiv bek (small herdsman of Etive), Stob Coire Raineach - stop kora ran-ach (peak of the corrie of ferns), Stob Dubh - stop doo (black peak)

Post Easter camping and hiking got off to a belated start on Tuesday 26th. It was to be Shona's new Springer Spaniel's first camping trip and we were a little unsure how Bracken, formerly known as "Marli" but changed to curb Alfie's confusion, would get on sleeping al fresco.

As things turned out she coped with all the fresh air and fun admirably. Day one saw us ease her in gently with a semi-wild camp near Victoria Bridge by Loch Tulla. After pitching, we took a walk over the West Highland Way path to the Bridge of Orchy Hotel. After a quick pint we headed back along the same path to the Inveroran Hotel for another, my kind of walk!

A few doggy paddles around in the river for our two pooches, some food for us and it was soon time to bed down, and for a while gaze up at an amazing starry lit, night sky.

Day two, and we moved on up to the Kingshouse Hotel camping ground with the tent. After our usual hit of cappuccino from Nisa in Glen Coe village we got our kit organised and set off along the lower end of the Lairig Eilde for our traverse of Buachaille Etive Beag, the little brother of Etive Mor.

There are two Munros to complete on this stretch of mountain, Stob Coire Raineach to the northeast and the slightly higher Stob Dubh to the southwest. I previously climbed them in late summer last year and felt that they would be a good place to introduce Bracken to the delights of Munro-bagging.

A short way along the Lairig Eilde, just before the path veers down to cross the stream, another path forks left uphill towards the first steep section of this route. An abundance of carefully laid steps take you steadily up onto the bealach of Mam Buidhe. Here is a good place to stop for some intake of food and also gives some cracking views of Buachaille Etive Mor to the east.

Many hikers prefer to scale Stob Dubh first then Stob Coire Raineach, then head back down from Mam Buidhe the same way they ascended. Where I can, and if time permits, I like to climb over a mountain rather than just up and down it. I feel that you get to know the area much better this way and it makes for a more interesting walk too.

We tackled Stob Coire Raineach first then headed southwest along the ridge over the middle rise to Stob Dubh, then descended south off the second summit. Here we got to indulge in a little bit of scree surfing. After dropping considerably in altitude we picked our way around some of the tricky crags and moved westerly across the contours to lower ground on the southern side of the Lairig Eilde. We finally joined onto the main path that runs the full length of the valley and although a long walk back, it is very pleasant in the late afternoon sunshine.

The usual post-walk refueling took place at the Clachaig Inn, I just wish they'd stop serving those mushed up peas with their fish and chips, could it be the chef is a Sassenach?

A couple of days camping in Lochaber and Wester Ross 27-29 March 2011

As Shona bagged Monday and Tuesday off from her work, we headed up the A82 in search of some new places to explore. It was a good excuse to christen our replacement tent (Karrimor Beta) after the inner from our old one managed to kite-surf it's way across the Sound of Arisaig a few weeks back.

We would have set off earlier had I not decided to clean out my platypus hydration tube. This took longer than I anticipated, due to the difficulty in removing bullets of saturated kitchen roll while using a wire coat hanger and a bicycle pump.

Because of my useless pipe-cleaning episode, we made it up to Fort William just after 7pm and decided that the Glen Nevis campsite would be ok for the night. I just want to add here that the woman on reception is a great ambassador for this campsite. She is always very cheery and willing to help out, and on this occasion she had clocked off and was getting in her car to leave, but still happy to direct us to our pitch and on-site facilities.

The normal deerfield area was closed for the winter, so we were pitched alongside a handful of other back-packing tents on the caravan area in front of the main entrance. Underfoot it was nice and flat with short, spongy, mossy grass which made an ideal sleeping arrangement. A thing I love about this site is the Tawny Owl soundtrack as you drift off to sleep.

The next day we drove up through Glen Shiel and could easily have been persuaded to do the southern ridge walk if only we had an extra car to drive us back to the Cluanie Inn. We continued on and decided to head up to Torridon. Plans to camp beside the Youth Hostel here were scrapped when we saw the state of the small boggy area set aside as a free camping zone. Yes, there is a toilet/shower block, but sadly nowhere to park other than the firestation which was emblazoned with anti-parking signage.

A wild camp looked on the cards, but as with most areas of Scotland, overnight parking is the main problem. I really think that authorities should consider this and allow a certain number of layby areas to permit overnight stays so that responsible campers can park and then hike to an out of sight area at altitude to wild camp.

We pushed on up the road towards Ullapool, and decided to try a campsite in Gairloch.
No other tents were here at all and only a few caravans were dotted around the large field. A pleasant evening was somewhat dampened not only by the rain, but also by an over-zealous permanent resident who insisted that Alfie was kept on a lead at all times. Had we met this gentleman earlier in the day I would have packed up and moved to another site. Instead after a few heated exchanges we bedded down for the night in our tent. Alfie our springer spaniel is for the most part an excellent close controlled dog who returns to whistle and never ventures further than my arms can throw his ball, but some people sadly tar all dogs with the same brush.

Up early the next morning, we were eager to leave behind the restrictive site. A rainy night before was now turning into a pleasant dry day, which made for an enjoyable drive south. We stopped to explore the 914 outdoor shop at Eilean Donan Castle, where Shona got a nice pair of Ron Hills and I invested in a Deuter bladder tube cleaner! Happy days.

In the afternoon we reached Glen Coe and with the weather being so nice we decided to walk along the lower glen trails, so often missed out in our eagerness to gain altitude. Alfie had great fun messing about in the River Coe and it was nice to just relax and enjoy the tranquility of the glen with it's clear waters and only a light breeze.