Roving Reports and Hall Highlights

Bert Barnett

Fine start to the year on snowy Munros. Opportune meeting with Graham Illing on Beinn Donachain (3C) on a dreich February morning of rain and snow.

Loch Maree in March, singing frogs, Kinlochewe to Gruinard two-Graham traverse. Heavy April snow in Glen Roy. Loch Arkaig hill encounter with Al and Moira Burks. May Mamore meandering - long Staoineag Grahams.

Benderloch / Airds Hill (3B) - first of the year's pine needle trials. Stormy May at Loch Glass, wind farm stopped with the force. Wet June Glen Affric - brolly sheltered. June on Ben Stack (16E) with a shivering dodging wet leveret on the summit ridge... Cycle up tarmac to Maovally (16E)... Dire tramp to Meall Dola (16D) using the 'path'. Wet July Morven and Griams (16C). First use of head net to counter July midges in Glen Kinglass after Beinn nan Lus (3C). August Mull Grahams ... quick dash to Tom nam Fitheach (17E) in the morning before the first ferry to Kilchoan. Surprise encounter with Dave McFadzean on magnetic Beinn na Seilg (18A).

Round of Glen Moidart ... people on the Corbetts. Carna then Ben Laga (18A): left behind by Hewitt and Dealtry. September round of Ettrick. Hardest hill of the year: Bainloch Hill (287m, 27C), brambles, bracken, random rubble dykes, willows ... admittedly off route, followed by relentless knee deep heather - not for the faint hearted. Wales in October: wasted great day on tails of Snowdon when Tryfan was calling to me for a much deserved second ascent. Four dry days. Rhinog Fawr in the rain and mist a rugged descent to the pass. Met Merlin the Welsh Nuttall nutter on Mynydd Mawr (30B) at 9 in the morning. Mullwharchar (27B) in November: GPS driving me nuts. Brilliant hard snow on Ben Vrackie (6B) in December.

Stuart Benn

Hill of the year for me was Bioda Mor (25) but also well up there for new ones were Beinn Mheadhonach (3B) in March - my first Graham for 11 months after my last bout of glandular fever; Beinn na Greine (17A) - a pleasant wee walk and one of the best viewpoints for the Cuillin; Carnan Cruithneachd (11A); Sgurr na Coinnich/Beinn na Caillich (17C) on a stag-roaring autumn day with the sun splitting the clouds over Bla Bheinn and views right out to the Uists; Sabhal Beag (16B) on a glorious, clear autumn day; a quick dash up Morven on the way home from Thurso getting back just before dark; Sgurr Choinich (10C) with Arkaig and Garry under a cloud inversion that stretched to Nevis; Dave's 200th Ben Cleuch. Of repeats, Carn Mor Dearg was the pick of them - an average forecast that had us heading for Binnein Beag. However, Dearg looked good so we set off up it instead, climbed through an inversion and popped out just below the summit with only us, Nevis and the Aonachs clear. Absolutely magical. Other excellent days with Mum on Clach, Mounth/Lochnagar, Sodhail/Eige and the Glenfinnan pair (she did 19 Munros in 1999 and has 18 to go so here's hoping for this year).

Least enjoyable hills were Conostom (24A), Cairnsmore of Dee/Fell Hill (27, hazy, roasting, muggy, flies, thick heather/grass), Beinn Lunndaidh (16D, heathery and soaking), Beinn a'Chapuill (pouring rain). Probably the one I liked least though was An Stac (10D) which Breac and I did in perfect conditions. The glen was awash after the previous day's rain and I fell into the first river which didn't help. However, I've never liked this area (too knackered) so I probably wasn't too well disposed to start with. Despite their rarity value I wasn't too gripped by Crowborough or Ditchling Beacon (42) either. Of repeats, a muggy, misty, midgy ascent straight up the north-west ridge of Sgurr a'Mhaim was the worst.

Dave Hewitt

As with most recent years, 1999 was relatively quiet in terms of climbing new relative hills. My total nudged up by 53 to 704, starting with Whitfell on the last day of February and ending with Lowick High Common (both 34D) as an avoid-the-kitchen hill for Christmas morning. Both were extremely blowy, the year's windiest walks - although Meall Lochan a'Chleirich (13A) with its tussock-hidden, ankle-wrenching holes was pretty wild, too.

Small hills are good hills is a mantra known to most Marilyn folk, and 1999 again bore this out for me. I climbed only five new English Hewitts, three new Corbetts and six new Grahams (overall Grahams included 41 Ben Cleuchs), yet didn't feel at all underfulfilled by 74% of my new Marilyns being sub-610m. Occasional pangs for something bigger saw me head off for repeat Murdos or Corbetts, but generally I was content to potter wherever mood and circumstance suggested, which is surely how it should be.

A rate of one new hill per week kept me happy, but I was a binge eater: 12 of the new things came in a very wet June week near Poolewe and a further 13 during a perfect October holiday on Skye (when St Kilda was seen from Trotternish). Rob Woodall's very enjoyable 1000-up Cairnkinna jaunt is lumped in with that Skye subtotal, as it came next day after a mad dash Dumfriesshirewards. My own 700 was reached on Brown Muir (9A) near Elgin, home to perhaps the oddest of all trigs.

Tradition demands that each year includes one abortive attempt on a small hill, and 1999's bag noir was the notorious Hutton Roof Crags (34D). Foolishly, we thought that a road rising to within 82m and just over 1km of the summit would give an easy route - yet two hours later, after trying to navigate around, through, under and over the limestone clints and tangled briars, we gave up and ducked out to Hutton Roof village (itself non-trivial from where we ended up). Even my fondness for foliage was wearing thin by the end, although the afterglow felt good: there can be few British hills with an 'interior' offering such roll-your-sleeves-up exploration. Next time however we'll receive a little wisdom and try it from the south side.

Easiest was Burgiehill (9A), a rival to Mount Eagle (although the latter ought not be taken lightly: the 1993 SMC Journal records an accident here). Cruachan Charna (18C), as other HoFmen and women will confirm, was a great day: perfect weather, good company, a tricky-to-visit island and the odd pleasure that accompanies any sub-200m Marilyn. This was my lowest to date, ousting Billinge Hill. Ben Laga and Meall nan Each (18A) followed immediately (when in Rome, roam), and the evening stroll up Cruim Leacainn (4A) with Eddie Dealtry gave one of the year's most contented hours.

Resolutions for 2000? To camp and bivvy more than of late, and certainly to start work on Wales: it would seem wrong to reach halfway with two zeroes in the national breakdown bracket. An April visit looks likely (at least in principality). And away from the logical lists, I really should climb a new Munro sometime: since reaching 240 on Slioch in October 1992 I've added only Beinn nan Aighenan in June 1996, which is taking slow progress to rather an extreme. That's what starting a hillzine does, I guess: you become bogged down in letterwriting rather than bagging up in Letterewe. Not that I'm complaining, though.

Largo Law (26)

Ken Whyte

I have not come across any problems with access, forestry etc - maybe this is because I have not been outside Scotland. There have been many memorable days and hills with maybe the greatest revelation being Foinaven (16B), a magnificent mountain but not easily attained, thank goodness. A few smaller hills appealed to me for their magnificent views for little effort: Carn Fiaclach (11B) above Loch Beinn a'Mheadhoin, Beinn Mhor (19A) above Easdale and Seil, North Berwick Law (my 700th Marilyn), and my local hill Druim na h-Earba (climbed 57 times during the year) which commands a wonderful vista down Loch Linnhe to Lismore, Mull etc (but don't tell everybody).

Foinaven (16B) from the east

James Gordon

Highlights of 1999 were the Ben Mor Coigach group in a shirtless late July heatwave, followed by a camp on Stoer Head, Carna (following a piss-up on a boat moored off Kilchoan and bouldering on the gabbro slabs of Beinn na Seilg) and Ben Stack in the storm on Hogmanay. I managed to evade the military on Mickle Fell by climbing it on Christmas Day, then crashed the car I was driving on an icy road back in Speyside. Another summer escapade gave the last 'wanted' hills in Barra and Uist at a time when most of the mainland had pretty foul weather but those hills and coasts were enjoying it pretty fine.

I raided the Brecon Beacons and various other bumps south of the Border on the way to and from the continent in September. Fullest sense of anti-climax was carefully ensured by 'climbing' Cheriton Hill, Crowborough and Botley Hill within 24 hours of leaving the Alps. The two new ones in Purbeck were a pleasant surprise on the way south, especially in balmy sunshine that made it feel like I was already across the channel.

Roderick Manson

Catching the 0801 from Tulloch to Corrour and taking in Creag Ghuanach (4A) and the Easains on the way back, I found the isolated remains of a bleached deer skull (replete with both antlers still attached) low down on Creag Ghuanach. This is, by the way, a gem of a hill with the rock outcrops easily avoidable. The skull and antlers in that condition were sufficiently rare for me to want to carry them back. As they wouldn't fit in my rucksack, jammed full of thermals and waterproofs, the decision to carry them for the remaining eight hours or so of the walk had uncomfortable consequences in the shoulder and right arm departments.

Chris Peart

Highlight of the year was a scorching May day on the two Mull Grahams Ben Buie and Creach Beinn. Low point was two days on Barra a week later without climbing a hill because of the weather. Weirdest summit of the year was Rogan's Seat in poor visibility - very strange - I expected to see a flying pizza any minute.
Alan Dawson adds: I found this hill weird too, as it was the second successive summit with a cement mixer on or near the top (Great Shunner Fell had one too, in May 1997). Contrary to what some folk say, the approach to Rogan's Seat, up Swinner Gill, was brilliant.

Chris Upson

Managed the whole of section 23 at end of November. 85+mph winds on Blotchnie Fiold and Wideford Hill. Had to look after a border collie on Fitty Hill. Very choppy crossing to Hoy. Bit of a mad end of year dash to get over a 100 for third year in a row. Actually managed 399 in the last three years.

Rob Woodall

After crossing a snowy Drumochter pass, Carn Glas-choire (9A) climbed in a near-blizzard Xmas morning. No access problems encountered at Auchtertang but footprints in the snow suggest occupant may have given chase for a bit.

Across a snowy Slochd, Stac Gorm (9B) is a great little hill, thigh-deep snow drifts notwithstanding. Boxing Day sortie into Farrar - careful drive along ice-covered road; glad of ice axe for SW end of brutally steep Beinn na Muice (12A); what a great summit ridge. Three Marilyns to its west fill the rest of the day; back at the car the road seems ice-free so I drive back quite casually - until on arrival back at the gate I step out of the car and fall flat on my back ... a wonder the car didn't end up in the ditch.

Back o' Ratagan, the two Grahams Beinn Clachach and Druim Fada (10A) provide a fine route despite deep soft snow. As I return dripping to Corran an old guy remarks - inexplicably - on what odd things some folk get up to in their spare time. Beinn a'Chapuill (10A) is every bit as interesting as the map suggests. Unable to face re-traversing the long E ridge I try my luck with the steep N face. I make a good start with a bumslide on steep soft snow, then as I'm verging on being crag-fast, two sheep gallantly lead me through the worst of the crags to safety. They won't give me their names, but please deal kindly with any sheep you should meet there. Sitting at the foot of Beinn a'Chaonich, I'm questioned by a farmer in a Land Rover - 'Are you going to the bothy.... No?...' Pressed, I have to confess I'm heading up the hill 'at this time of day?' (it's an hour before sunset). He shakes his head sagely and directs me across the pasture to the unpromising slopes beyond. Another day's end finds me atop Beinn Conchra (12A), looking west to where Eigg is silhouetted against a salmon sky and the Red Cuillin and Trotternish hills show white against an inky blackness.

Carn na Breabaig (12B) at the end of Glen Elchaig promises an easy bag when the ever-obliging Willie at Killilan includes a mountain bike in the price of a bednight. In the event, black ice on the private road through the glen leads to a couple of unscheduled bumslides.

Two of 1999's best hills are reserved for one of its worst days - Meall nan Eun and Slat Bheinn (10B) from Kinloch Hourn. The latter appears impossibly steep from OS33 but is climbable from most directions, with a west ridge which holds level before suddenly spiralling down glenwards. The River Barrisdale is swollen with a day's rain - I cross at an alder tree, but the current takes my legs, the branch I'm clinging to breaks, and I take a cold bath.

Rob Woodall reaches 1000 on Cairnkinna Hill (27C)
(left to right: Ronald Turnbull, Chris Upson, Alan Dawson, Rob Woodall) photo: Richard Webb