So, last weekend I went on an Arcadia sponsored trip to Firbush Point at Loch Tay in the Southern Highlands. Firbush is a centre run by Uni. Edinburgh with bunks, a dining room, a bar, and all the equipment you would ever need. They also supplied delicious homemade food. We arrived Friday evening (Day Zero), were fed an excellent traditional Scottish dinner of fish and chips with brown sauce or salt and vinegar, and mushy peas. Hung out at the bar, socialised, got to know each other.
Saturday morning we woke up early, around eight or half eight. Were fed another wonderful meal: a full Scottish breakfast - eggs, bacon, pork sausage, square sausage, roasted tomatoes, porridge, tea, coffee, and toast. We made and packed our lunches for the day's sojourn, packed our bags with what we thought we'd need on the mountain, and went to the briefing. We were going to be hill-walking Monros that day, and needed to be prepared.
A Monro is any Scottish mountain over 3000 feet high, named after the man who surveyed them. While not especially tall by mountaineering standards, they pose a challenge due to their high latitude, wind exposure, exposure to Atlantic weather systems, and craggy, difficult terrain.
The weather was a crap-shoot. There was a wedge of clouds over Scotland, with the tops of our Monros just at the very edge.
There would be no way of knowing if we would have views until we summited, but we did the the wind would be minimal: 10 to 15 mph. Our guides told us the procedure for getting boots, fleeces, packs, water-bottles, hats, gloves, wind- and water-proof coats and trousers, hot-drink flasks, and anything else we might need. I needed only the waterproof clothing and gloves, and decided to take a flask. My boots and hat are pretty amazing.
Everyone get set and we drove to the base of our first task: Beinn Ghlas, 3620 feet. We couldn't see the peak from the base; it looked as if we were about to walk a small hill. Nope. Every time (except the last) we got to what looked like it would be the top, there was another peak ahead. It was a nice hill walk, slightly challenging, especially at the speed we were going, but absolutely doable. We entered the cloud about half way up, and the mist over everything made for an interesting ambiance.
Nearer to the top the temperature dropped to zero, and the landscape was covered in rime ice. It was beautiful. The coolness felt nice because we were all so warm from our walking.
We reached the summit! WooHoo!
By this time there was actual snow on the ground, not just rime ice, and our instructors had us all don our waterproofs. That's a cairn, a monument, usually a pile of stones, on Scottish summits.
We didn't spend too much time there, and began to descend the other side. This time the path was on the top of a very narrow ridge with very steep sides. We stopped for lunch when we reach the dip between the two Monros, on a wide snow-covered field, still quite high. Lunch was good, as was my hot chocolate.
Then the cloud started to lift! The views were simply fantastic, like nothing I had ever seen. I couldn't believe I was looking at them with my own eyes. My camera, much as I love it, could not come close to capturing it. I tried though.
The group split at this point: those who would continue to the next Monro and those who would return to Firbush right then. Some people were having trouble, one girl in particular was getting a wee bit sick from the altitude and exertion. I was feeling tip-top, and of course chose the first group. We were told it would be about an hour's journey all together, up and back.
The second peak was Ben Lawers, 3984 feet. At one point a group of people built a 17-foot mound and tower on the top to bring it to 4000 feet, but these have since eroded away, and anyway wouldn't count in mountain-measuring. The ascent of Ben Lawers looked to be much more difficult.
And it was. It was steep, and slick, and completely amazing. We spent a long while relaxing at the top.
The cloud gave it this feeling that if we stepped of the edge we'd fall forever into the void - there was no bottom.
But it got cold after so much time not moving very much, so we headed down, sliding on our butts and boots, throwing snowballs. We reached the lunch spot quickly, having spent less than an hour in total on Ben Lawers.
The journey back to the base seemed to take forever. We used a different route, around the side of Beinn Ghlas. Our guide pointed out different interesting things, such as the remains of a Bronze-Age settlement, and how the National Trust for Scotland, who now own most of the mountain, puts small mounds next the path that subconsciously keep people on the path. Legally you're allowed to walk and camp almost anywhere in the whole of Scotland, but to keep erosion to a minimum, especially on popular peaks like Lawers and Ghlas, they like you to stick to the paths.
We had a traditional Rabbie Burns supper that night: split pea soup, then chicken stuffed with haggis, and something delicious though I can't remember what for dessert. Haggis is pretty damn good! Glad I finally tried it!
Then we cleared the tables and chairs, washed up, and were piped back to the dining room for a Ceilidh. This was after spending the day climbing Monros. Ow. But I danced every dance, and didn't want it to stop. I realize though, I'm growing tired of Ceilidhs. They're fun, but the same dances are danced at every one, just about. One or two might change. And they don't have the challenge that I'm used to with complex contradancing.
For the last part of the Ceilidh the piper talked about the traditions of piping. The thing I remember most is about Classical Scottish Music. I can't remember the word for it, but basically there is a giant repertoire of piping pieces that are not tunes, but meant to evoke certain seasons, or battles, or activities. They last for twenty to fifty minutes, are not hummable, and often basically tuneless. It's about the sound. Our piper discovered them too late in life to know any, and I'm glad he didn't play any, because indoors is not the place for an extended period of pipes.
Some of us stayed up late chatting, knowing full well we had to get up early the next morning again. Oh well.
Take a look at all my pictures here.
Day Two will be posted later.
I can't believe you had enough energy to write this after your 4 days in Paris. Whew! Thank you! I sounded fabulous. The photos are amazing.
ReplyDeleteIs that mountain that was in the movie "the englishman who went up a hill and came down a mountain?" I never saw it, but i guess it was about a hill that they added a bunch of dirt and stuff to to make it tall enought to be considered a mountain.
ReplyDeleteNah, that was in Wales. These are definitely mountains, people just thought that 4000 feet is sexier than 3984.
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