Clach na Beinn

Today was our 2nd scheduled training walk for the short version of the WHW planned for September, but plans started to go wrong on Thursday when the cloud of Icelandic volcano ash grounded all flights in Europe and stranded Dave in Amsterdam for the weekend. Nonetheless, there was still the prospect of six of us making it up Clach na Beinn - Jack was due to fly out to Houston, but, he too, was grounded, so we thought he might like to join us, but, in the end, he declined, saying "I don't need any training".

OK - 2 down, but still another 5 possibles. I then got a text from Ian early on Sunday morning advising that he had made a late decision to stay overnight in St Andrews and wouldn't therefore be able to join us after all.

Anyway, Ken, Colin and I met at the golf club at 9 am, as planned, and settled down to our bacon butties and waited for John to join us. We finished our breakfast and then decided we better phone John, but it transpired there had been a bit of a communication breakdown - John had apparently decided not to come and had told Ian on Friday - only problem was that Ian wasn't with us now!

So it was eventually just the three of us that headed off. We parked the car and started walking about 9:45 am. It looked pretty misty up top, but there were glimpses of the sun trying to break through and it got warm enough to remove our top layers early on before the real climb began:



CK set off up the hill at a cracking pace and very soon I was peching and getting left behind:



It was a pretty steep climb - I thought so anyway - and the temperature dropped as we got up near the top - there had been some fresh snow overnight apparently:



The very last bit of the walk - the knobbly bit of rock at the top - meant a bit of clambering, but, when we got up, amazingly, there was no wind at all - it was flat calm as we consumed our snacks:





The way down was a lot easier on the cardiac system, but much harder on the dodgy knee and hip joints. We bumped in to the Meadens and the Drings who were on their way to the top as we descended.

Back down nearer the car park, we just had time for a couple more snaps:





It was 3.1 miles from the summit back down to the car park, and the descent took 1 hour 35 minutes. The round trip of 6.2 miles took about three and a half hours, including our 20 minute stop at the top, and we were back in the clubhouse for a tasty plate of soup by 1:30 pm.

So, now to start planning the next walk - probably Sunday 23rd May as Dave is home that weekend. KB, our professional coach, is away then, so the novices will be on their own. It's been suggested a longer, flatter walk may be appropriate this time. Ken didn't recommend Hill of Fare and although he thought Loch Muick would be good, he reckoned it was only 6 miles or so, so any other suggestions welcome. Incidentally, Gordon Moir is considering joining our future training walks.

Lastly, there was some discussion on Friday night about making commitments to hotel rooms for the WHW weekend. As a reminder, we have so far booked the following:

Friday 17th September - Kings House Hotel, Glencoe - one triple room and one twin room - enough space for 5 of us.

Saturday 18th - Tail Race Inn, Kinlochleven - Family room and twin room booked. The family room has a double and a single bed, plus bunk beds, so we have a total of 6 beds available for this night, assuming we're all happy to share, drawing lots for who gets which bed.

We have still to book for the Thursday and Sunday nights in Fort William, but I would like to have everyone's confirmation before I go ahead and make final arrangements. As I understand it, Colin, John, Ian and I are committed for all 4 nights. Ken is now willing to commit for 2 nights (Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday?) and Jack would like to join us for all 4 nights, I think. Dave was originally booked for all 4 nights but is now considering getting the sleeper up to Bridge or Orchy, so won't need the room in Fort William on Thursday night.