Torridon 2005

UMHC Easter Trip 2005: Torridon.

Present: Mark Owen, Chris Owen, Jake Thompson, Catherine Jones, John Proctor, Chris Waring, Dave Cowham

On Monday we drove up to Kinlochewe in Wester Ross. The drive took about nine hours, including a stop in Lockerbie for chips and in Inverness for a supermarket shop, where an enormous amount of food was bought. We arrived in Kinlochewe at about 8 pm. Six of us went to check into the bunk house; Dave did not join us as he managed to get locked in the bus. Once unpacked, we began to drink “Psychosis Safari”, John’s home brew that was allegedly 7%. We also visited the pub and sampled the beer there.

On Tuesday everyone went up Beinn Alligan. We scrambled up onto the ridge and round onto the horns, before descending back to the bus. The weather was generally good, giving views across to Liathach and Beinn Eighe.

In the evening we played Risk. A Texan called Hillary who was staying in the bunk house joined in. Chris O and Jake won Risk. We did not go to the pub after Risk because it was too late. At bed time Jake belayed himself to his bed for fear of plummeting off the top bunk.

The weather was not so good on Wednesday, so we went up Fionn Bheinn, which took just under four hours from Achnasheen. The hill was very boggy, heathery and generally not very exciting. On the descent Mark fell in an ueber-bog. We also saw an ueber-truck on the way to Achnasheen that appeared to just drive over cones rather than drive round them.

Back at the hut another game of Risk was begun, and then we all went to the pub. Roger, who was staying in the hut, bought us all two pints. Dave enquired as to whether Mark and Chris O had gone to school together? It transpired he did not know that they are brothers. Back at the hut three-quarters of a bottle of Jaegermeister was consumed, along with much Psychosis Safari. At about 2.30am everyone was in bed, except for Dave Cowham who got lost in the drying room.

By Thursday the weather was diabolical, so we went to Ullapool and had lunch there and went back to Kinlochewe. On the way we tried to visit Corrieshalloch Gorge, but it was closed due to the bridge and viewing platforms being structurally unsafe. Back at the hut we played Risk after tea and Chris O and Jake won again. Tea was spaghetti Bolognese, but it was forgotten that we actually had spaghetti to have with it (shaped pasta was used instead).

All week Jake was trying to use up his 100 texts on his phone, mainly by texting Kate, his girlfriend. Therefore in the pub, Jake’s phone was hidden. In retaliation, Mark’s watch ended up in Jake’s pint. On returning to the pub the hut was cold, we tried to heat the hut by turning on all eight rings of the gas stove, but this set the fire alarm off. Dave finished his alcohol supplies for the week in the hut. Much entertainment was gained from the photograph on the front of the early 1980s edition of “Scottish Winter Climbs”. It shows a badly pitched tent outside the CIC hut on Ben Nevis, along with a random plastic chair.

On Friday the weather was still rubbish but we went for a low level walk at the visitor centre for Beinn Eighe. We did the hard-core mountain ridge walk, all 1.3km of it. Then we went to Applecross. Between snow blizzards, we did some bouldering on random roadside rocks and also found a lobster pot in a layby. We aquired the lobster pot. Initially the pot was to be used on the Freshers’ Fayre stall, but it could also become the new club “broomstick” and be presented to the chairman of the club each year.

In Applecross we went to the pub for a drink and there Dave met Christoph the Pole, who subsequently bought Dave a pint. Christoph was working locally cutting down rhododendrons and had no English. Somehow Dave had a conversation with him. Dave also bought more beer (spending all the cash he had with him) in the shop in Applecross. Back in the bunk house the heating and hot water were not working. It was so cold that water was condensing on the radiator.

Despite the weather still being lousy, Saturday was our last day so we decided to go for it and get up onto the ridge of Beinn Eighe. The weather was so uninspiringly bad that even playing “Eye of the Tiger” at full volume in the bus did not make us want to run up the hill. The walk up to the ridge was hard work, especially for Jake who broke trail through the knee deep soft, wet snow. Half way up we paused for breath and Chris W took his rucksack off, and promptly watched it roll down the hill to the coire floor. After waiting for Chris to retrieve his sack, we continued up onto the ridge.

On the ridge the weather was windy with snow/hail and not very pleasant. At the trig point, Catherine, Dave, Chris W and John decided to retreat back down to the minibus. Mark O was keen to continue along the ridge, as was Chris O and Jake was persuaded it was a good idea. After getting to the next main top on the ridge they descended over the back into the coire and walked out round between Liathach and Beinn Eighe. It is reported that on the way they crossed an “ueber-river” with all three getting wet feet.

Back in the hut tea was cooked, consisting of a chilli-pepper sauce and 50 sausages and spaghetti. We went to the pub and played Risk. Chris O won both games but it should be noted that the tactics of all the group improved remarkably through the course of the week.

On Sunday we drove back to Manchester. The journey took about eight and a half hours. We stopped in Lockerbie for chips and discovered that no chippies are open in Lockerbie on a Sunday. We arrived back in Manchester, complete with lobster pot, at around 6pm.

Despite the fact that the weather was not great, we all had a good time in Torridon, and it is definitely a good location for a club trip. The bunk house was well suited to communal cooking, though the drying room did not work well. The local pub served till midnight and had good beer.

Catherine Jones, April 2005

Pictures from this trip can be found here