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Archive for May, 2010

Twenty two of the Kilimanjaro (and support families!) expedition met up on a sunny Sunday morning at Loch Lomond to be greeted by Graham from Cameron House with ample bacon and sausage butties washed down with a juice or two.

We then started off, forgetting  to look at the signpost and ended up doing the much more strenuous West route up to the top, firstly the top of Ptarmigan and then traversing onto the peak of Ben Lomond.

The last few metres were scary, scrambling up a steep rock face with the wind blowing all around! The views from the top were spectacular and as there were so many of us, some other climbers thought a bus party had arrived! A quicker descent followed down the route we should have taken, and I think all agreed, we had done the climb the right way as going down the steep side would have been pretty tricky!

After a quick look, back at base camp, at the Catering in Scotland magazine with its excellent article, some people headed off, and others went to the Boathouse at Cameron House for a fantastic informal bite to eat. Everyone had a story or two about their thoughts on Kilimanjaro….all very positive!

I bet everyone slept well on the Sunday night….ready to take on Ben Nevis next month!

Just when you thought we were going to Florida on holiday, these photos prove we were actually doing a quick preview of Kilimanjaro and seeing what the terrain and conditions were like!

Definitely an intrepid journey though the jungles and rivers of deepest Tanzania! We could, of course, have just been to Animal Kingdom!!!

As the Kilimanjaro expedition is climbing Ben Lomond on the 30^th May, I thought I should do the honourable thing and check out the route in advance.

This involved the help of a generous friend who gave me a lift to the top! The views are stunning and the path looks okay….but easier to travel by helicopter rather than hiking!!

Something for Mr Thomson to think about!!

Alan, Robert, Kathy, Sue and Elaine braved Schiehallion setting out from Crieff at 9.00 am in the midst of rain, rain and even more rain.

There was doubt about even going , but by the time we reached the Foss Forest it had at least dried up.

The first part of the track is not that bad, with man made steps, but the last part involves scrambling over boulders.   Oh and the deceptive Cairns on the way make you believe you have reached the top, when there is about an hour and a half still to go.  Well worth it though for the views of Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel.

Another Munro bagged

Completed in a very respectable 4 hours and 45 minutes.

On Sunday 9^th, Alan, Robert, Cathy, Val, Susan, Calvin the pooch and myself all climbed Ben Vorlich near Comrie.

This is a beautiful Munro with views all over Perthshire up to Glencoe, Ben Nevis, Ben Lomond and over to Fife. On a sunny Sunday morning the intrepid explorers made a good start and were the only ones on the mountain. Practising with base layers, power aid drinks, polo’s and my new boots, we all made good progress to the top. It started snowing briefly at the top but then cleared up quickly to return to fantastic Scottish weather. The telescopic poles were a godsend and we’ll be using them on every journey from now on!

We stopped off for an ale on return to make sure we were hydrated properly!!

Top walk and one step closer…….!