OldAberfeldyReports

Most Recent Trip Report Friday 22 - Sunday 24rd November

24 people fled the smog of Manchester to experience some of the best hiking country in Scotland. We were staying in a superb new(ish) bunkhouse 200m up a valley side on the Tay valley. We had one day of mad hiking and one shorter day for more rambles! Saturday arose to cloudy views from the bunkhouse, undetered 4 hikes explored the Ben Lawers Range. One hike climbed Meall Corranaich (1069m) and Meall a' Choire Leith (926m) and experienced the best views of the day. Another hike climbed Beinn Ghlas (1103m) and Ben Lawers (1214) from the west, whilst a third climbed the two in reverse walking up a long partially snow covered eastern face. The fourth hike climbed the main Ben Lawers ridge, containg five 1000m+ mountains and a total ascent of 1800m. The warmth of the amazing bunkhouse was a welcome to the exhausted hikers who enjoyed proper? cooked grub accompanied by beverages to the small wee hours (well for some anyway!). The forecast for the Sunday was promising with a chance of...SUNSHINE!!. The majority of the group walked up Schiehallion with its annoying false summits, through lots of low cloud until the summit was reached and popped above the clouds to some amazing views of tops of clouds and the odd mountain. The spectacular phenomenon (ask physics students for an explanation) of Brocken Spectra was seen (see Snowdon 2001 photos!!). Other people went for a potter around Loch Tummel or stayed in the bunkhouse and wandered around Aberfeldy, then watched the traffic lights change in the village for a while!! Overall a great weekend.

Second most Recent Trip Report Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd December

On Farragon Hill... ...and on Schiehallion

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. This weekend was practically crippled by some transport "difficulties". For a start, on Friday night it was discovered that the ice-axes and crampons were in Stockport, and had to be collected before we could set off. So after setting off an hour late, the journey north went smoothly until just after Stirling, when the (automatic!) minibus decided to "lose" some of its gears, which made driving it a little tricky.

So the AA were called out, and after much trauma and arguments, we ended up being recovered to Aberfeldy, and the last people got to bed at about 5.30am. It was about then that we realised that we didn't have a minibus, and all the decent peaks were a drive away. Doh!

Anyway, on the Saturday most people set out late to climb Farragon Hill, a nearby Corbett, while a couple had to stay in to sort out a minibus for the return journey. Those that did go hiking had a good day, although the weather was cloudy, drizzly and unpleasant all day. One group reached the summit and made it back before dark, while the other came back earlier.

The evening's entertainment consisted of the hour's walk to a pub in Weem, finding it was shut, and then going a bit further to Aberfeldy, which did have a nice place for drinking 80 Shilling. The walk home at midnight was followed by a wee dram and then bed, excessively late again.

Sunday had nicer weather. A few drivers went to collect a new minibus from Perth, and when they got back most people dived into it to go and climb Schiehallion in the last few hours left. Others were feeling too disillusioned at this point and went for a bacon buttie instead! The hikers enjoyed themselves, got good views (sometimes), and there was even snow on the top - enough for snowball fights, anyway.

All in all, it was still a good weekend (for most people, anyway) - and a good place to come back to with a working minibus!