Meet Report: 20-23 February 2020.

The journey north as is often the case was accompanied by fair weather. A brief stop was made at Callander to purchase the final provisions and have a cheery chat in the butchers and bakery. The forecast was for strong winds and a continuation of the previous very wet weather but the timing, the estimates, well it might be possible to get away with it.

We soon arrived at Inverardran; this comfortable and well appointed hut is owned by the Ochils Mountaineering Club. The kitchen was extended a few years ago providing a dining area and somewhere convivial to sit and chat. Mick Borroff and Chris Hilton had brought some well-seasoned logs and soon had the stove in the sitting room looking, but not feeling, cosy.

The Best Western Hotel in Crianlarich proved a surprisingly good venue for dinner with a broad menu, smart surroundings and cheery staff.

Sixteen places were booked however only ten bunks were taken, Bob Clark arrived on Friday evening, just in time for dinner, that’s the kind of timing I like. A member of the Ochils MC was already ensconced for a week and could confirm that the weather had been awful.

Friday dawned with faint promise, all very wet and windy. Anca Pordea, David Large and Bob Clark headed east and walked up Beinn Ghlas in the shadow of Ben Lawers, finding the conditions rather unpleasant. Jamie Parker, Mike and Richard Smith had planned with Bob Peckham, Mick and Chris to take a low level walk in Glen Orchy. The two vehicles approached the car park from either end of Glen Orchy, but never the twain did meet. The rendezvous point was flooded for some considerable distance and a farmer passing in his mud splattered 4X4 leant out of his vehicle window in a nonchalant manner, recommending we leave Glen Orchy as the way we had come was also likely to flood. Calamity. The Smith party, ever industrious, turned south and drove in the direction of Killin to walk several miles of the Rob Roy way. It is not recorded whether this included impressions of Liam Neeson.

The Falls of Dochart were filmed by Mike and have now featured on the YRC Facebook pages. The Borroff party were far more organised and having failed to complete the shortest of walks from Victoria Bridge, being unable to cross the first flooded side-stream a couple of miles along the Glen, turned back to Bridge of Orchy to drink beer. The greatest exertion was expended by Hilton who chased after and retrieved Borroff’s beloved boot bag.

The Inveroran Hotel on the road between Victoria Bridge and Bridge of Orchy, was under renovation.

Chris as Meet Leader arranged the catering, Richard Smith as sous-chef made things happen. I extend my gratitude to all who attended for their hard work with the cooking, washing up and above all leaving the hut clean and tidy on departure.

Saturday, a glimmer of hope, best to get off early but all for naught. Mick and the two Bobs drove to Inverarnan, parking at the Drovers Inn. They had hoped to cross the bridge to Beinglas Farm and the West Highland Way but the bridge was closed due to flood damage. An alternative start was fashioned and the three walked to Tyndrum in wind snow and hail. Following afternoon tea, the train took the strain back to Crianlarich and Chris took Bob Peckham back to his car.

The Smiths, Anca and Jamie, the latter whose enthusiasm is second to none, headed for An Caisteal via a snow gully. The final scrabble to the top was achieved on hands and knees as the wind reached gusts of 60mph. Chris had set out for Ben More; the steady rise to the col just to the south of Ben More was hampered by increasing winds swirling in all directions. Determined to at least reach the col this lonely traveller was thrown to the ground on a couple of occasions. Taking scant cover against a boulder Chris pushed his leg through the strap of his rucsack to avoid it being swept away like a flimsy rag.

David and Matt headed to Glencoe and in particular the North wall of the Chasm on Buachaille Etive Mor, over-looking the Glen Etive road. The climb is graded II to III. However the grading was immaterial in the conditions. The rotten ice forced the pair to rope up. The strong winds hampered the crossing from the pinnacle to the opposite wall. Close to the top, Matt saw a small wall of ice to climb. Wedging his hefty rucsack in the snow against a rock he was half way up when he saw his rucsack rise into the swirling cloud and out of sight. Climbing gear, helmet and car keys! The walk back via the tourist route was difficult in the tempestuous wind though David said the day was compensated for by the great views. The pair managed to hitch a lift back to the hut. The one sided phone calls that evening to Matt’s wife and the Police were like a Bob Newhart show.

Sunday dawned a little brighter. Hurried farewells and shuttles to the bus stop saw Anca, Bob, David and Matt down the road. Bob e-mailed me later to say that after the bus to Glasgow; then another to Coatbridge they drove to Nottingham and the next day with spare keys, Bob and Matt returned to Glen Etive where Matt collected his van in one piece. The return journey was via Coatbridge for an overnight stay before Matt returned home. All this toing and froing is redolent of those dim and distant days when a trip to the hills seemed to have a one in ten chance that your car wouldn’t see the distance.

Jamie, Michael and Richard in reverence to the Ochils MC ascended the snow covered tops of the Ochil Hills in conditions that were almost as windy as Saturday. They made it up The Law and after a rather undignified stagger around the top, retreated. The indignity continued lower down as wet snow on steep grass resulted in many slides. Michael makes note of and recommends for future return trips, the impressive Mill Glen gorge with its numerous small waterfalls as an attractive return route to Tillicoultry.

A big thank you to the Ochils MC for the maintenance and provision of this excellent Hut. Will ye no’ come back again? Well, that depends on the weather.