Explorer's Munro Bagging Camp 2005

Nine Explorers & five Leaders (from both Daviot/Oldmeldrum and Balmedie Explorer Units) plus 2 Guests got together on the May Day weekend for a couple of days hill walking and Munro Bagging in the Glen Coe - Nevis Range area of Western Scotland.

Friday

Thirteen of us assembled at Daviot Scout Hall for the weekend trip. They consisted of Mike, Ally, Des (Mike’s Dad), Gav, Deek, Marsha, Michelle, Sam, Finlay & little Deek from Daviot and Oldmeldrum as well as Ali, Owen and David from Balmedie Explorers.  

After a slightly later departure than planned we headed off on our journey to Glencoe. On route we stopped off in Kingussie for a break and something to eat. While the public toilets were open, the chipper was closed so we ended up eating sandwiches from the local Alldays. OK, so maybe we should have stopped in Aviemore instead!  

Arrived at the Red Squirrel Campsite around 10:30pm where Keith having travelled separately, met us and showed us to where we were camping. Got all the tents up including the mess tent (thanks to Inverurie Scouts for lending it to us).  

Somehow Gav and Deek managed to bag the bigger 4 man tent for the two of them and let the other three lads (Finlay, Sam and little Deek) cram into a two man tent. The girls Marsha and Michelle managed to get it right and have a two girl tent for the two of them.  

Saturday

A leisurely start with a cooked breakfast including porridge cooked by Ally S. Once everyone was fed and lunches were made we headed off up the road to the heart of Glencoe itself. Our aim was to hike to the top of Aonach Dubh (892m) on the most western one of the Three Sisters.  

We set off from the carpark in two separate groups at around 10.45am . The first group lead by Mike managed a steady pace up the very steep pathway. It took them just over two hours to reach the cluster of small Lochans under the shadow of Stob Coire nan Lochan where they stopped for lunch. The second group lead by Keith had made slightly slower progress and had decided to stop for lunch at the end of the main path just below the Lochans. After the lunchtime radio call it was decided that the second group were still going for the goal of Aonach Dubh. As the first group was nearly an hour ahead they decided to also go for Aonach Dubh but via the peak Stob Coire nan Lochan. Stob Coire nan Lochan height is 1115m but is not actually classed as a Munro due to its close proximity to Bidean nan Biam at 1150m.  

This entailed a scramble up the ridge between Stob Coire nan Lochan and Gearr Aonach. For some of the group this was the first time they had used their hands as well as their feet when hill walking but everyone managed it without any trouble. Once on the summit we had an amazing 360 degree view over the West Highlands. Ben Nevis summit could be seen although covered in cloud.  

From the summit Keith’s group could be seen getting nearer the top of Aonach Dubh so Mike’s group set off to meet them there. It took longer than expected to get round to Aonach Dubh and Keith’s group were able to have a nice long rest waiting for Mike’s group to arrive.  

Once everybody was suitably recovered the two groups made the long knee jolting descent back to the car park. The decent was particularly frustrating as you had to descend to a height below the car park and then climb back up to it!  

On returning to camp everyone got cleaned up. Mike B and Terry arrived and we helped them put their tents up. We all then enjoyed Spaghetti Bolognese followed by desert of Pear Halves and Custard.  

In the evening we had a camp fire and Michelle made everyone toasties with fillings of their choice on the fire using her American campfire toasty maker.  

Some of the leaders who hadn’t been to Glencoe before were taken down to the Clachaig Inn by some who had been there before for a swift pint and to savour the atmosphere of the Boots walkers and climbers bar.  

Finally before everyone went to bed they each made a packed lunch in anticipation of Sunday’s early start.

Sunday

We had an early start due to the long hike ahead of us. We had the usual cooked breakfast and porridge. We then abandoned all the dirty plates and pans and drove round to the car park at the foot of Ben Nevis . One car was dropped off near the Ben Nevis distillery as this was the planned finish of the alternate route if some people didn’t want to go all the way to the summit.  

At 9.45am 16 of us and a dog set off on the tourist route for Ben Nevis . The path was very busy with other folk going for the challenge. By around 11.30 we had reached the edge of Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe.

Here we decided to split into 3 groups, One group of people that couldn’t face climbing any further and 2 groups ready to reach the summit.  

The first group headed off along the side of Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe and then turned right along the south side Alt a Mhuilinn towards the mountain rescue post. This route lets you see the best view of Ben Nevis (assuming it’s not covered in cloud!). Before reaching the mountain rescue post they crossed the river and then headed back along the northern side towards the distillery. Some how they managed to miss the path to the distillery and ended up in the middle of the golf course. A quick consultation with the GPS soon sorted them out and got them back on the right path again.  

The other two groups headed on up the infamous Ben Nevis zig zags. Soon the cloud came down and it started to rain so at 1pm we stopped for lunch and got all our waterproofs on. Only little Deek thought it might be a better idea to wait another half hour until his trousers were really soaked before putting on his leggings! At least he wasn’t as bad as other people we saw just in jeans and trainers!  

We soon reached the snow line much to the pleasure of Cassie (Terry’s dog) and by 2.30 we reached the summit. The weather was extremely windy, wet and cloudy. We could only see about 200m ahead of us but navigation was made easy due to the row of cairns and the masses of footprints in the snow. We got all the obligatory summit photo’s out of the way as quickly as possible and headed back the way we came. On the way down we all had a go at body sledging and seemed to have started a craze as everyone behind us started body sledging on that bit of the path. We also did our good Samaritan bit by pointing a lost couple in the right direction as they had conveniently forgotten to take a compass bearing when they left the summit.  

The descent was much quicker than the ascent and we were soon back down to Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe. On the next radio call we found out the group that didn’t go for the summit had returned to the car park so as we had a couple of hours to go they decided to head back for base camp to start the washing up from breakfast. The remaining two groups made it back down to the cars by about 6.30pm . A quick muscle stretching session was held to minimise the pain the following day.  

Once we were all back at base camp we all got rapidly cleaned up and headed off to The Macdonald Hotel in Kinlochleven for our evening meal. The burgers outdid the more famous McDonalds by far and the Glencoe Chicken stuffed with haggis and a whisky sauce was a sure fire hit. When desserts came round the favourites were the sticky toffee pudding and the giant jaffa cake. With giant being the key word Sam needed encouraging to finish his by having a wager placed against him that he wouldn’t be able to. Between Terry and little Deek they offered him £6 to finish it. Although he didn’t meet the time limit he did manage it all (even the bits he tried hiding by dropping on the floor!) and Terry and Deek paid up only for it to snatched from under Sam’s nose by his dad in order to pay for the dessert in the first place!  

After the meal Keith then left us to head home as he was on holiday for the rest of the week with his wife.  

On return to camp everyone sat in the mess tent for a while but not as late as the night before due to being so knackered from the days walking.

Monday  

After offering everyone a lie in until 10am we got awoken at 7.30 by the younger three, Sam, Finlay and Little Deek running round the campsite laughing their heads off. They had finally got revenge on Gavin and Deek while they were asleep (for having the bigger tent) by turning the flysheet round 180 degrees on the tent so there was no zip for them to get out!  

As they were up anyway we got them started on breakfast. Soon everyone was up – so much for the long lie in!  

Once breakfast was done and cleared away we got the packed lunches made and then slowly got camp packed up. We were ready to leave just before 12. To let everyone see the full extent of Glencoe we headed up to the King House Hotel originally an old drovers inn.  

The view of Buchaille Etive Mor wasn’t at its best due to cloud. This is one of the most impressive mountains in Scotland . Its imposing profile appears to guard Glencoe against invasion as you approach the glen from the south, its near vertical walls and buttresses soar towards upwards as if the mountain were a pyramid. It was decided to make this one of the challenges for next year’s camp.  

We then headed into Fort William for a bit of shopping and to get the “I climbed Ben Nevis ” T-shirts. For once it was the leaders that were late back to the cars – just too many outdoor shops to visit in such a short time!  

We then set off back to Daviot calling in at Aviemore for some chips – unlike Kingussie the chipper was open but the toilets were shut! We got back to Daviot for about 6.30 and got all the tents hung out to dry.  

All in all a tiring but exciting trip – hopefully not too many people are suffering from stiff muscles this week.