Ardmair aka Hardmair

I am ashamed to stay that I have only been to Ardmair once before.  I remember being perplexed how to climb the routes.   It's not that I don't like the climbing, it's just that I'm not really a crack climber and if you're not good at something it is very easy to avoid.  So when Shiela suggested Ardmair, I didn't know quite how to respond.

I loved it.  Perhaps never loved the botanical battle to the bottom of the crag and the swamp to negotiate but the climbing was awesome.  Sheila, Queen of Cracks danced her way up numerous routes whilst at the bottom of the (very tight rope) I pulled faces, groaned, stuck my tongue out and spent hours trying to figure out how to use elephant bum holds.

As they say, everyday is a school day.  Today I was well and truly in nursery.

And that was that

Oh my goodness.

We didn't even make it out the starting blocks for an attempt on the Skye Ridge Traverse on Saturday.

If I am perfectly honest, we hardly made it out the car on Saturday morning.  Within 10 minutes we were utterly drenched - nothing and I mean nothing stayed dry.  However, we persevered and had a cracking day out.

Todays mission was to get out, up, along, down, up and down before the rain set in again.

The window wipers remained on all the way from Sligachan to Grantown and the van stinks of wet dog - shame I can't blame one.

Nice to be back on the mainland :)

25 years

25 years of marriage is a pretty big deal in today's world.  I would assume that most couples making it this far in life together would like to mark this special occasion with a proper pampering holiday.

But then again, Pam & Gary are not your normal couple.

For the past 5 days we have avoided the heavy rain (nearly), enjoyed the views and ticked off all the Munros in the Cuillins.

What is more impressive, neither Pam nor Gary would call themselves climbers or scramblers.

Thank you so much for letting me enjoy the celebrations, and good luck for the next 25 years!

A rare visitor?

We saw a Mink!!!!!!

What we done ....

What we done on our holibags:

#1 wobbled up some routes;

#2 decided to beat the rain and visit sandwood bay;

#3 decided to leave it for another day;

#4 thought what salty beef would taste like;

#5 bagged some very far north corbetts and 

#6 reminded ourselves what an amazing little country we live in.

Changing plans

Instead of complaining about the summer, we are going to embrace it.  We did pack the bolt climbing gear yesterday as we drove North but we also packed the dookers.

When we drove over the brow of the hill and saw the Gates of Mordor up ahead, we turned left instead.  Loch Duntelchaig - without doubt the coldest open water swim I have ever had.

Last night we were supposed to be Northbound to Lerwick but made the hard decision to cancel last minute.  So, the van is packed with wetsuit, snorkels, fins, climbing kit (ever hopeful) and running kit.  

Webbed feet

With the exception of Thursday and Tuesday, it has been wet.

Now, there is wet and there is Skye wet.  The only good thing about the wet on Skye is that it keeps the midgies at bay.  Do people actually get paid to live on the Island?  

Apart from chumming around the Island with Clare I had tip top days working for the MCofS on their scrambling courses.  OK, the first 2 days were slightly grim and the camera refused to even get out of the rucksack but made an appearance for both Robert & Andy.

The best part of my job is giving kindred spirits the confidence to explore more challenging parts of mountains.

The MCofS provide a whole range of heavily subsidised courses for members.  To see the entire list, go here.