Members Attending

James Duncan Fraser; Raymond Evenden; Norrie Shand; George Henderson; Susan Henderson; Gerry Weir; Alyn McNaughton; Tom Monaghan; Adrian Mowat; Ania Borg; Wallace Booth & Lorn Smith.

Apologies

 John Calder; Jim Aire; Duncan MacLeod

Friday

A mere 3 weeks since the Achnasheen meet and the next was upon us, this time to the Alex McIntyre Memorial Hut at Onich, just north of the Ballachulish bridge.  The forecast once again was a challenging one and offered little, so a steady stream of members descended on the hut, managing to shoe-horn eight vehicles into the small parking area at the rear.

Plans were hatched for Saturday, with so many possibilities geographically, but potentially severely limited meteorologically speaking.  Nevertheless, in typical fashion, some chose to tackle the conditions head on.

Saturday

First to push the envelope were Norrie, Adrian and Ania, with a forest walk from just around the corner at Inchree but, not content with that, they then hopped back in the car and headed for a walk along Fort William High Street….kudos!  Coffee and cake may have been taken.

Next up, Lorn drove back over the bridge, down to Kentallen where it was raining heavily so carried on to Appin and proceeded to wait in the car for 20 minutes for the rain to subside, before venturing out for a run on the mighty Airds Hill, all 181m of it.  The plantation here had been felled fairly recently and Lorn used a bulldozed track two-thirds of the way, before heading over rougher ground to the summit, which offered very good views to Lismore and Morvern.  A hasty retreat was beat in the face of another squal haring across his namesake Firth and just reached the car before it hit.  Retracing the drive back to Kentallen, now in glorious sunshine, for a run on Ardsheal Hill with similar views South.  From there it was back to the hut for a hot shower and some lunch…epic!

On to those who opted for an easier time of it and Raymond and Tom elected to let The Fraz lead them up Buachaille Etive Beag and, by all accounts, there were some three or more points of contact moments required to gain the summit of Stob Coire Raineach, before deciding discretion was the better part of valour and retreating for safer ground (though not before Raymond had covered every blade of grass in the quest for a November calendar shot!).

[Ania pipped him to the calendar slot but it’s a fine picture so we’ll give him the cover shot on the blog instead. Second’s no bad eh, Raymond? ed.]

It’s understood that there was some discussion among the trio on the descent, of finding a Corbett or Graham to do before returning to the hut but, as is often the case, such silly talk was forgotten when the Clachaig turning hove into view and The Fraz’s trusty motor made the same auto-pilot right turn it had done on so many occasions in the past.

Gerry was on a mission from further along Loch Leven from the hut to gain Meall Dearg on the Aonach Eagach ridge from the North, justified for offering shelter from the storm on the approach from Caolasnachon.  Not a day for the ridge though, so Gerry retraced his steps.

Susan and George meanwhile, had decided on a short hop on the Corran Ferry to Ardgour and the Corbett Beinn na h-Uamha, approached on the bike from Sallachan via Glen Gour, and probably just edged it from Norrie, Adrian and Ania for epic of the day.  The track was rougher than hoped for and the bikes had to be stowed not far past Loch nan Gabhar, but not before George had attempted some Aquagym in a deep puddle.  It wasn’t long before George’s penchant for Scotland’s waterways was again put to the test, with an unplanned dip while crossing the River Gour.  The pockets of George’s waterproofs passed the test when, some time later, he found them still full of water.  Undeterred, the intrepid pair continued to gain the Corbett, normally a wonderful viewpoint.  And on the return, found a slippery old oak to get back over the river unscathed and back on to the bikes.A quirky fact about Beinn na h-Uamha, is that it’s the 2^nd lowest Corbett at 762m and its near neighbour, Sgùrr a’Chaorainn, a metre shorter at 761m is the joint highest Graham.  Both punch well above their height.

By far the cushiest day of all was that chosen by Wallace and Alyn, deciding to spend most of it inside the car, before a brief interlude to splodge their way up Gairich from Loch Quoich, before returning to the comfort of the car and the drive back to Onich.  To be fair to them, like most (with the exception perhaps of The Fraz’s trio), the weather had panned out better than expected.

Various delicacies were being conjured up in the kitchen back at the hut in the evening (or from the chippy in Ballachulish!) and the music was soon in full swing with Gerry, Norrie and Alyn in fine form.  The sound when the three of them played together, was something to behold.

The highlight of the evening was still to come though, for those that had lasted the pace, as Fraz regaled us with stories of the bad old days in the hillfoot villages of the Ochil hills and the gang warfare of his teenage years.  Can’t recall all of the gang names sadly but, the Sauchie Puss was a standout.  Fraz was of course ran with the Tillicoultry gang and some of the other gangs saw the diminutive Fraz as a bit of an easy target but, what they didn’t know was, he wasn’t just Fraz back then, he was THE Fraz and soon put them right on that score.  Therefore, it was unanimously agreed (by those still not yet asleep at least) that JDF is to be given due respect and known hereafter as THE Fraz…to be preceded by a long Fonz-like, arms wide, thumbs up “Heeeeeyyyyy” …. a legend in his own lunchbox!

Sunday

Today was always expected to be a much better day so, while some headed home, Adrian and Ania followed in Wallace and Alyn’s tyre tracks from the day before, though not their bootprints, and scaled Spidean Mialach and Gleouriach on the opposite side of Loch Quoich from Gairich.  By this time, there was a good deal more snow on the tops and a definite wintry feel.

This was also experienced by Wallace, George and Susan on Buachaille Etive Mor’s Stob na Broige, giving those timelessly stunning views down Glen & Loch Etive.

No snow for Raymond and Lorn on Meall Mor at Rannoch Moor, but excellent views to nearby snow-capped peaks, particularly to the South and West, and over Lochan na h-Achlaise.

Tom and The Fraz headed for Ben Ledi above Loch Lubnaig to draw another fine club meet to a close.

Next up is Milehouse, near Kincraig (December) so, until then…