A bit of a busman's holiday for me over the last few days, as my pal Steve (aka Begsy) came up for his first bothy trip. I took the opportunity of livening up an otherwise tedious track walk to a munro I needed for my second round by choosing Beinn Dearg, and then an overnight in the fabulous little All Sheicheachan bothy.
We set off from the Old Bridge of Tilt car park with enormous packs commensurate with the kit you need for a winter night out, the weight saved by having no tent more than replaced by the coal and fire logs we packed to ensure a cosy night. We chose the higher route to relieve the boredom of the traipse along the track, and had some fun practising navigation, especially as the estate had altered various tracks and fence lines since my map was printed. After what seemed a long time plodding through some residual snow fields on the track, we turned the final corner to see the splendid little bothy tucked in its wee valley. Home sweet home.
After a cuppa and some lunch, we dumped our excess gear and struck off for the summit of Beinn Dearg, at 1008m. The route follows a track, then a good stalkers path and finally in this instance a large snow field over what I presume is boulders to the summit. It was hard going, the snow just giving way enough to be toilsome, but Begsy is fit, so we got our heads down and made excellent time to the top. 
What views greeted us. A 360 degree panorama of mountains, from Schiehallion, past Glencoe and Lochaber, Ben Alder, Creag Meagaidh, Drumochter to the Cairngorms and Beinn a'Ghlo. Spectacular in the late afternoon light. We stayed on the top 35 mins, thankful of the light wind, as it was only just above freezing.
We made light work of the descent, startling a lovely mountain hare down on the track, and getting a great shot of him running, albeit a little blurred :) Then it was a case of settling down for the night. We had carried 3kg of coal and a fire log in, but we needn't have bothered...the bothy was chockablock with coal, wood, candles, gas and even wine! I have not been a fan of ever-increasing publicity for bothies, but if this is the result, I am all for it. We made use of what was there, and I may even have made rather too much use of the splendid cabernet shiraz alongside our own 'bothy tea' ;)! 
In the morning, we tidied up, filled two carriers with rubbish, bottle, gas canisters and used tea lights, and left the grate clean and ready for the next occupants. It always feels most satisfying to have a lovely cosy night, but leave the place better than you found it, and also well stocked with fuel.
The walk out wasn't too bad, given the terrain and endless track, and we saw some very large herds of deer to liven it up, testament to the successful management of the estate. We also had fun spotting the myriad animal and bird prints in the fresh dusting of snow.
Finally, we even resolved our only outstanding problem, as when we got into phone signal, it turned out Begsy's lost iPhone, driving license and credit card, (dropped on the walk-in), had been handed in by some kind folks who had managed to trace my number to let us know. Makes you feel good about us hill-types eh! :)
​A great couple of days, see you next time Begsy lad!

Last Tues to Thurs I was with Rob on his Winter Expedition Training. We had excellent conditions day 1, but rather less than excellent days 2 and 3, so after a really enjoyable camp high in Stob Coire nan Lochan where we practised lots of skills, we packed up and headed down for the valley. Our last day was spent on micro navigation before Rob had to get off to get his flight home, to a rather warmer Dubai!
Well done to Rob for hauling a large load up some steep terrain, and for keeping smiling as his boots let him down on the descent - Beware being sold fandango posh new boots that whilst being great for Ueli Steck, are no good for Scottish winter with big packs on!

I have just spent a very enjoyable three days with Kate and Chris camping up in the Coire and Lochain area of the Easter Mamores. Our plan was to experience cold weather camping, which we certainly did as the temperature dropped to -7c, and to gradually build on the guys' mountaineering skills ready for adventures further afield.
The wind was blowing cold from the East, and was initially gusting to 60mph on the Saturday. That meant our plan to camp in the high coire was shelved, as to haul our necessarily heavy packs across the narrow steep path in such conditions would have been difficult at best, and possibly dangerous. Also the coire itself would have been a maelstrom. We therefore elected to camp at 410m, and spent the late afternoon on boot use, axe use and step cutting etc.
Sunday saw us make our way into the snow-laden coire, and we made an ascent of Sgurr Eilde More at 1010m. It is normally a straightforward bouldery walk, but with the vicious and perishing cross wind, it was quite exciting. We kept to the rocks to minimise the effect of any slip, and the heavily rimed rock and hard neve made for very enjoyable climbing. The summit yielded fabulous views, and the team were really rewarded for their efforts to achieve their first Munro. On the descent we practiced more skills before dropping down to our warm sleeping bags and a wee dram to celebrate the summit.
Sunday night got colder, but the wind finally dropped, and Monday dawned bright and cloudless. After two very full days, we opted to spend the day practicing navigation, as we worked our way down towards Kinlochleven. In the Spring-like sunshine, we set up a rope in the woods and practiced the skills needed for ascending and descending fixed lines as our final session.
A very full three days, where we went to bed early due to darkness and cold, but rose early as a consequence and filled the days completely. The guys are planning an ascent of Elbrus and Aconcagua, and given that high-altitude mountaineering is 60% attitude, 30% skill and 10% fitness, I am absolutely confident that Kate and Chris will succeed in their objectives, as their attitude is faultless!! 
Thanks for sharing a great three days.

This winter has brought some challenges with the Easterly wind bringing snow and extreme conditions aplenty. One of the challenges was trying to execute a night navigation exercise without it turning into an epic, where battling with the snow and ice distracted from the initial learning curve of map and compass. There's plenty of time for that in later sessions!
Keith and I had been exchanging emails for months, setting dates that eerily seemed to perfectly coincide with the next roar from the 'Beast from the East'. We had to cancel at the last minute twice, and I was most appreciative of his flexibility, understanding and persistence when we finally met last night at Pendreich car park on the Sherrifmuir road out of Stirling! 
The objective was to hone some of the navigation skills the guys already had through years of hill experience. I think it's fair to say that most of us hill-goers by necessity have dallied with maps and the like, and most of us possess some skills and general map awareness. Keith, Douglas and John had various skills, specialities and techniques that we tried to bring together as a team. The trick is to use a system, a methodology that gives you confidence in what you are doing - 'I know that I have walked X distance, I know that it is on a correct bearing, I know the ground is doing what I am expecting it to do looking at the contour lines, and I know I haven't gone too far otherwise I would have encountered Y, so even though it doesn't look quite like I was expecting to, I MUST be here, at point Z'
Also, it is important to accept your fallibility - How often we ascend whilst contouring, how often our bearings are just a smidge off, how often we make assumptions on what things MUST look like. In the darkness, or indeed mist or whiteout, these are magnified, and believing in your ability, relying on the fact you have practiced the skills many times pays dividends. As Douglas so accurately put it, 'it's like a jigsaw', and you shouldn't try to make pieces fit. If they don't fit, something's wrong. Re-think, re-trace if necessary, review. You're probably just metres off, but in a whiteout and near a corniced edge, that's serious!
We had fun finding increasingly challenging 'features' in the darkness, planning strategies, executing them, refining them, and moving on. Working as a team, the burden of pacing and walking on a bearing was shared, and with some coaching, the guys located all of the objectives successfully, moving around unfamiliar terrain in darkness with increasing confidence.
We ended up with a walk to the summit of Dumyat, that unassuming peak so familiar to Stirling folk, and a great vantage point over the Firth of Forth, lit brightly as it was. The wind was fresh, so the photo quality is very poor I apologise! 
On the walk out, we reflected on our learning, and I made the point that confidence is gained through practice - Don't always go out in good conditions. Find an objective with relatively safe approaches, put the GPS away and nav! Test yourself. Gain experience, gain confidence. And suddenly the encroaching dusk and enveloping cloud will hold a little less consternation, the night a little less worry. You never know, you might even enjoy it....afterwards in the pub! ;)
Thanks to Keith for organising, and to Douglas and John for some great banter and enthusiastic participation. See you guys next time in the snow!