A fairly productive year (for me), despite another spell in Kashmir. The year provided several encounters with Scottish weather, thankfully restricted to the lower hills except for a sub-zero blasting from an arctic gale on Mount Keen in early April. On 7 March I climbed my 300th Marilyn - Beinn a'Bhacaidh above Loch Ness, on a snowy overcast day, with a dram on top to celebrate the occasion before beating a retreat to a warm fire in Inverness.
High point: Ben Nevis again, twice. On both occasions the hill had upwards of 500 people in various stages of exhaustion or elation strung out along the path, but it made a pleasant change from being on my own in the hills. On the second occasion in October the clarity of the view was the best I have ever seen - breathtaking - and it was good to have someone to share it with. (I did manage to get to a height of 2650m in Kashmir in June, but sadly it was a mountain pass rather than a summit, and I had no time for a walk up the adjacent hill.)
Low point: Moncrieffe Hill above Perth. And yes, you've guessed it - a view out of all proportion to the effort involved. A wee gem, once you've found the start of the walk.
Highlight: Ben Cruachan, a real mountain, with plenty of granite, and an exposed slabby bit just below the summit which could have been tricky in poor weather; but I tiptoed across it on a lovely July afternoon and trotted on round the horseshoe to bag Beinn a'Bhuiridh before returning to the dam.
Low vis: Now which day of clag and rain shall I single out for special mention? 24 January was notable because, in desperation at not having climbed any Marilyns in over six months, I climbed three hills in the one day - Beinn a'Mhonicag, Creag Dhubh (9C) and Cruim Leacainn (4A) - and hardly saw a thing except a map, a compass and several varieties of wet grass.
In 2007 I am hoping to continue my protracted exploration of the Scottish Highlands, and may even venture further south than the Forth-Clyde canal at some point in the year. With only five Marilyns climbed south of the border, there is plenty to do.
Beinn a'Bhuiridh from Meall an Fhithich (photo: Bert Barnett)
