A Gaels' View from the Edge of the World

Go North... and a wee bit West!

2010-03-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was looking iffy due to the high avalanche risk throughout most of the Highlands. Rather than than sit it out, I thought I'd check the various blogs and forecasts out there and find something doable, even if it was just a low level plod. Most higher areas looked like a slog through powder was the only way to get about, however the North West was looking pretty good. There had been considerably less snow falling up that way so I felt that it was worth a look. If nothing else the views would be good - the forecast was for very little wind and cloud cover negligible.

And so....

Ben Mor Coigach from the road, a good start!

Cul Mor from Stac Pollaidh

Stac Pollaidh was our chosen hill, conditions were friendly with little of the avalanche risk further South. We started off in full winter kit but this was rapidly discarded due to the mild conditions on the hill!

The views to the North were something special, Suilven has to be one of my favourite hills, I used to be able to see it from my bedroom in Lewis. The mountains of Coigach and Assynt seem to erupt from the surrounding moors and tower over the surrounding countryside, none of them are Munros but to be honest they all have the feel of bigger mountains.

Cul Beag and Loch Lurgainn.

So it was definitely worth the trip!

Of Otters and Avalanches

2010-02-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

Crazy, crazy conditions up here just now. Avalanche warnings are widespread across the Highlands and the risk of triggering a slide is considerable on even easier angled ground. Just this afternoon two skiers were caught in a huge avalanche at the Glen Coe ski area. If you are planning on heading out to the hills then take a look at the SAIS forecasts for the latest updates on conditions. Personally I'll be heading North West for a wander round Stac Pollaidh and hopefully conditions will be clear enough for some great photos. I'm toying with a wee winter traverse of the ridge but we'll see how it goes. My winter climbing techniques are rusty to say the least!

So... Otters.

Quiet, solitary, shy animals. Difficult to spot and still a reasonably rare sight on our rivers......?

Our most recent resident of Inverness would appear to think otherwise. I got an excited phone call at 4pm this afternoon from my friend Calum saying that he was a watching a wild otter hunt for fish all of a few meters away from where he was standing. Calum is a wildlife guide based on the Black Isle so I presumed he was out in the wilds somewhere up to his waist in snow, freezing his bollocks off. But no, he was in Inverness town centre, looking out over the River Ness just across the road from Johnny Foxes!

The Ness flows through the town centre and is flanked on both sides by roads, shops, hotels and pubs. There is a constant buzz of traffic and the roads beside the river are busy with traffic and pedestrians. It's not exactly my idea of a typical Otter habitat! However when we got down to the River... there it was. I think we stood there for about an hour watching it catch fish and frolic in the water. Incredibly it seemed utterly oblivious to the fact that it was in the middle of a bustling city centre. It would occasionally roll on to its back and idly float along while gazing up at the locals who were gawping at it, but other than it didn't seem unduly bothered by the noise.

We watched it long enough to discover that it seems to have a holt along the riverbank so I wander whether it's here to stay for a while? According to wikipedia their range can be around 11 miles so this would easily include the entire River Ness and into Loch Dochfour and Loch Ness. I've no idea how often they change holt or whether they'll have more than one in their territory. So who knows whether he/she will be a regular site in town, but I hope so!

It was incredible to watch and a real privilege to watch one of our iconic British mammals hunt and play so freely in front of us. The pictures aren't great because my camera is really struggling to take close ups. New camera please! I suppose the one thing we can take from this is that it proves the River is clean and has enough food to support a predator like an Otter. I've also noticed an increased amount of seals heading up the river in the last few months. Before you'd see one every month or so but I've seen at least one in the river almost every week since before Christmas.

Old characters

2010-02-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

Someone on the UK Climbing forum has started a thread about old characters they used to see around their village or town. Lewis had more than its fair share of the weird and wonderful.

One individual in particular used to be a family friend and due to far too many drugs and a mental breakdown ended up being a tad 'eccentric'. I remember taking my wife on a tour of the West coast of the Island and telling her about 'Kenny Leather' (he used to run the leather shop 'L for Leather' just off North Beach Street in Stornoway) she refused to believe the rumours that he'd set up his own golf course on the grounds of his old crofthouse in Shawbost. I proved her wrong when we walked past his house and the man himself was on his Sit On Lawnmower giving the green a fresh mow. Granted it wasn't the most traditional of courses, more a pitch and putt, but it was undeniably somewhere you could get a wee round in!

You can still see the old 'L for Leather' shop sign on the gable end of his house. I couldn't find any photos of the course.

Another character was 'Domhnall Ban' (Fair Donald) who used to live in a Black House down the road from me in South Dell, Lewis. A born and bred Niseach he'd been in the Second World War and would head out Guga hunting every year. This was in the early Eighties, he had no electricity or gas in his 'Taigh Dubh' and I think his only running water was from a stand pipe by the back door. He wore the uniform of your average elderly Leodhasach - an orange boiler suit with a tweed suit jacket.

He probably saved my life! I think I was about 8 and I had been playing in the ruins of an old house in the village. In amongst the rubble I found a large bullet shape metal object with a brass cap at the top. It had arabic writing on the brass section. I thought it was very cool and rolled it the half mile down to my house in the village. Intrigued I decided I was going to take it apart to see what was in it. I was eight, it was treasure! I spent a happy half hour attempting to twist the brass top off, when that didn't work I took a screwdriver to it and tried to prise it off. Still no joy so I bashed it with a hammer a few times. Nuthin' doing! Getting bored I kicked it down the road to my friend Robin's house to see if he could help.

As I was making my way down the road Domhnall intercepted me and asked 'De a seo a bhalach?' (whats this young man?). 'I found it, its mine' was my cheeky reply. He bent down to inspect the rusty and now slightly dented object by my feet, 'Mo Dhia!' he exclaimed and looked up at me, his eyes were now bug eyed and he'd gone very pale. "Where did you find it"? So I explained where I got it and helpfully told him how my investigation as to it's nature had gone.

'Amadan! It's a bomb!'

He hid it in the hatch of his black house and called the police. The bomb squad later disposed of it on Barvas beach, apparently it made quite a big bang.

It's a true story! It was in the local newsletter which if I recall rightly used to be called the Ness News? I think I've still got a copy of it kicking it about somewhere.

Gaelic - the great leech of the public purse....?

2010-02-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

So thinks Deirdre Mackay, councillor for East Sutherland who had a rather misguided, not to mention ill informed rant, against all things Gaelic. In a tirade at a community council meeting in Brora she claimed that Gaelic was for the elitist few, a costly 'luxury' that we could ill afford and criticised the proliferation of Gaelic posts. The original article was published in the Northern Times and can be seen here.

A couple of things seemed to have escaped Ms Mackay's notice; the actual cost of supporting Gaelic uses up less than 1% of the total budget of the Highland Council, in fact according to Arthur Cormack of Bord na Gaidhlig it's closer to 0.07 % of the budget!

My initial reaction to the article was one of dismay, more so when my eight year old daughter read the piece over my shoulder and asked 'daddy, why doesn't she like us?' I wonder whether people like this realise the impact they have on others when they sound off in this manner.

In response to the article, the Northern Times ran a poll to ask whether people thought Gaelic funding was a waste of money. The overwhelming response seems to be 'No'. What was heartening was the online response to the article. Out of 97 comments the vast majority were speaking out against Councillor McKay. The few that supported her seemed to be intent on trotting out the same tired old arguments that were at best anecdotal and at worst utterly false, quite often disregarding the facts that had been presented by other posters.

Arthur Cormack has repeatedly tried to engage in an open discussion with the Councillor and her father Councillor Rosie of Wick who is also fiercely opposed to all things Gaelic (conveniently ignoring the fact that next years Mod will bring a much needed boost to the economy this autumn). Frustrated by this he resorted to posting an open letter to them on the FootStompin forum. In short he picks apart each one of her arguments and shows how they are utterly without substance. He refutes her claim that there are a proliferation of Gaelic posts within HC:

"..you criticise the “proliferation” of Gaelic development posts. Where are these posts, Cllr MacKay? The Highland Council had one Gaelic Development Manager but that post is currently vacant. To my knowledge it has a Gaelic Early Years Officer and a Gaelic Development Officer. I am not aware of other Gaelic posts having been created by the Highland Council that would have resulted in Lawrence Jamieson, whom I know, losing his job. What are these posts you claim were being created? And in any case, don’t people in jobs who speak Gaelic contribute to the Highland, Scottish and UK economies in exactly the same way as the millions working in English, through the taxes they pay?"

He also notes that Councillor MacKay is a member of the Labour party... ".. I believe you are a Labour councillor. Indeed I understand you are employed part-time by the Highlands & Islands Labour MSPs. It was one of those MSPs, Peter Peacock, who led the introduction of the legislation to the Scottish Parliament on behalf of the previous Labour administration"

And so on. I really do recommend that you read the article!

So Ms Mackay, what now? Do you and others of your ilk continue to lambast Gaelic and shout 'No' at every opportunity, or do you open your eyes and ears and realise that supporting Gaelic is beneficial to us all. Economically and Culturally. Why be so ashamed of your own culture?

A Winter to Remember

2010-01-31T01:04:00.000-08:00

So 2010 is shaping up to be one of those winters to remember, we've currently got a decent layer of snow outside and apart from a couple of weeks during January it's been a constant presence since 18th December (the day we moved!)

The highlight so far has been the Sled Dog Rally in Aviemore last Sunday. For the first time since 1995 they were able to race the huskies on snow.

I think the pictures tell it better!

Wild Horses

2009-11-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

So Susan Boyle has released her version of the Rolling Stones classic 'Wild Horses' which to be fair isn't too bad, I can't deny that the lassie has got a damn good voice. However it's not a patch on the sublime cover done by The Sundays way back in 1992. This song was featured on the album 'Blind' which to this day remains one of my favourite albums.

It's one of these albums that I've returned to over and over again since it was first released. I was an angst ridden, spotty 16 year old when it first came out and I'd read a review in Melody Maker (remember that?! ) eulogising about Harriet Wheeler's voice. Off I popped to Engebretsons garage in Stornoway to see if they had a copy. Decent record shops on Lewis were few and far between or just downright nonexistent. We had Woolies on the High Street but new releases seemed to arrive just after they'd finally dropped out of the top forty and there was an electrical shop on Francis Street that occasionally had more recent releases. But if you wanted anything other than the poptastic offerings of the charts then the place to go was Engebretsons garage on Sandwick Road. They sold everything from petrol to newspapers to videos to tapes and cd's. Their selection of music was always a wee bit more eclectic and it was a popular stop for pupils at the nearby Nicolson Institute. It was here that I bought my first copy of 'Blind' on tape and its been with me ever since. That is the music has been with me ever since! The original tape has long since been lost and I've moved on to CD and Mp3.

The whole album has a haunting quality to it, the chorus laden jangly guitars join perfectly with Harriet Wheelers fantastic voice, it is one of those albums that manages to soothe frayed nerves after a busy day in the office. In my case it soothed injured pride and calmed me down after the usual verbal and occasional physical batterings from the school bullies. In later years it was the soundtrack to sleepless nights where nothing but the opening bars to 'I feel' would take the edge off things after drink, drugs and suffering the consequences of not giving a damn about other people had taken its toll. Now as I'm older and more mature (stop laughing at the back!) it's an album that I can chill out to whilst crashed out on the sofa reading with daughter.

I feel fine...
don't wake me up yet
oh the young & the old they get everything
& it's my turn...

The perfect album? Well I like to think so!

Eagle of the Ninth regiment

2009-10-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

EDIT: I've had to remove the photos as I've been told that Universal will get pissy with me for posting them.I thought they'd appreciate the free publicity...

My wife and daughter have just finished working on the set of the new Kevin Macdonald film The Eagle of Ninth. Based on the book by Rosemary Sutcliffe and set in the second century AD, it's about a Roman soldier who tries to recover the lost of standard of the Ninth Legion that disappeared in Scotland. The synopsis by Focus Features is as follows:

“The Eagle of the Ninth” is set in the dangerous world of second-century Britain. In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (played by Channing Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Jamie Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian’s Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the lost legion’s golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.”

They've been filming near Achiltibuie over the last week and have had to endure some pretty wild weather, Friday's weather in particular threw everything it could to make proceedings as miserable as possible. They've kept at it though and I was impressed at the professionalism of the crew and the fact that everyone seemed willing to muck in and help when things got tough. The stars of the film (Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell) had no airs and graces about them and were more than happy to mingle with the extras - they also signed my daughter's book so she went home very happy!

The added cash to the local tourist economy has been well received with most of the local B&B's hosting cast and crew members. Local people have also been used as drivers and of course extras - hence my wife and daughter's involvement.

It's been a busy few days but the camaraderie has been fantastic and even the crappy weather failed to dampen people's spirits. We did hope to get another day on the shoot on Monday but they don't need quite so many Extras next week. The film comes out in summer 2010 and I for one am looking forward to it.

(If anyone knows the name of lady in the hat in the background here, pass on our thanks. She was absolutely brilliant with the kids! I didn't get a chance to say thanks before we left for home. She's one of the costume designers and is a nanny for Kevin Macdonald)

Two Blogs?

2009-10-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

It seems that I'm writing two blogs, this one and the Cycle Around Scotland one. From now on I'm going to update this one with general non-cycling stuff and keep the other one as a diary for cycling trips and raising awareness of the 'big one' next year. This one has been neglected over the last year or so but I'm finding more things to write about, whether anyone reads it is a different matter entirely!

Coldplay's new album.......

2008-06-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

It's good!! Yes I know it's not out yet but apparently you can listen to it on their MySpace site. I don't have MySpace as I feel it's for children and the mentally deranged. But if you're of a dishonest nature you could always have a sneak peek on one of the many torrent sites out there.

Anyway I've listened to the whole album and it is very, very good. I know it's not always fashionable or 'cool' to like Coldplaybut I've been a fan since the start and have found that each album has got progressively better.

They've clearly tried to move away from their usual sound and Brian Eno has most definitely put his stamp on the album. At times the U2 similarities are glaring but fortunately this seems to sort itself out by the time the 3rd song kicks in. 'Strawberry Swing' could have been written by Tinariwen with African styled guitars weaving their way throughout the song. Stand out track for me is the current single 'Violet Hill' .....

Haven't posted in over a year!!!

2008-05-31T03:11:00.000-07:00

I shall rectify this forthwith. I just need to think of something to write about...

Cul Mor - Saturday 24th March

2007-03-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

Absolutely perfect! I couldn't have asked for a nicer day. I got a nice early start and drove North from Inverness with no real plan for the day. I wasn't convinced that the forecast was going to be accurate (it never bloody is up here!) so the predicted sunshine and blue skies were treated with a certain degree of scepticism.

They got it right! The drive was glorious and I stopped to get this photo of Beinn Dearg from the road at Loch Glascarnoch.

I decided to head a bit further North and drove past Ullapool to do climb Cul Mor, if you're into Corbett bagging then this one is the highest in the area. I'm personally not into Munro or Corbett bagging (not to mention the Donalds, Wainwrights and Grahams!) and tend to go to whatever hill suits my fancy.

I parked up at Knockan Crag and grabbed a bite to eat before heading up the hill. Already the views were promising to be pretty spectacular with a panorama taking in Beinn Mor Coigach,
Cul Beag, Stac Pollaidh and Cul Mor.

The walk up Cul Mor is fairly straightforward and only takes about 2 hours. The views are stunning though and it probably took me a bit longer as I kept stopping to take it all in. Suilven in particular caught my eye, standing alone like a great sphinx of the North West. Canisp lay just to the east and I could make out Quinag and Ben More Assynt further away. The hill was utterly deserted with not a soul in sight, unusual for what should be a popular, especially in this weather!

There was a bit of a breeze at the summit, I stood and gawped at the view for a while before deciding to head back a bit lower down to get a bit to eat. I didn't want to leave! The views were that good and the weather so utterly gorgeous that the thought of heading back down to civilisation didn't exactly fill me with joy. My peace was soon to be shattered though, with the arrival of the first people I'd seen all day. The sunshine seems to bring the best out in people, or maybe it's partly due to the fact that everyone you meet out on the hill has something in common with you - the love of being outdoors. We sat and chatted for half an hour putting the world to rights before parting ways.

It looked like most folk had chosen a later start and the hill was pretty busy on the way back down. Each group seemed keen to stop for a blether so it took just as long to get down as it did to get up! A lovely way to spend the day and I think I'll head back up that way again next weekend.

Questionable Content

2007-03-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

It seems that I’ve been sucked into the world of web comics . I’ve always had a geeky side (hence the fact that I work in IT!) and have a fair sized collection of ‘graphic novels’ already. Webcomics have been something of an unknown for me though and the first one I was really aware of was Questionable Content . Written by Jeph Jacques it follows the lives of Indie Kids Marten and Faye and their slightly dysfunctional relationship. He’s done over 800 strips at this point and I’m making my way through the archives to catch up. It’s interesting to watch the artwork develop along with the relationships of the characters. It has a sit-com feel to it, but the humour is vastly superior to anything you’ll find on an episode of Friends and a touch more risqué too! Jacques obviously loves his music and various indie bands are name checked throughout without feeling contrived or pretentious.

I’ve added a list of webcomics that caught my eye over the last week or so. Read, Enjoy!

UK Climbing.com, Meet in Glen Coe

2007-03-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a regular poster in UK Climbing and it has a thriving online and offline community, with members regularly getting together for climbing 'meets'. There's one every March in Glen Coe and seeing that it's just down the road from me I thought I'd go along with my daughter.

The weather was wet, windy and generally unpleasant so we didn't go too far, just a short walk along the West Highland Way from behind the Mar lodge in Kinlochleven. All the rivers were very much in full flow and the Blackwater dam had water from the Loch flowing over the top of it! Normally you can walk across it, not in this weather!

The wee one did well considering the dire weather, her efforts were rewarded with a hot chocolate at the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven. It was nice to meet the UKC folk a most of whom I'd never met before.

The Fannaichs - Again!

2007-02-18T10:04:00.000-08:00

Fantastic weather today! Got a nice early start and there were no cars in the carpark which was a surprise. I had the whole hill to myself. There was very little wind and bright blue skies all round. I had views across to Ben Wyvis, Torridon, An Teallach and the hills of the far North. It was like a day in Spring, if it hadn't been a bit of a haze I'm fairly sure I would have got a clear view across to the Western Isles.

Beinn Liath Mor Fannaich

2007-02-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

After the glorious sunshine on Saturday I hoped todays weather would be the same, unfortunately this was not the case. I got to the carpark by the Glascarnoch weather station at about 8am and was greeted with a downpour of biblical proportions. Typical!

Fortunately by the time I'd got my boots on the rain had eased to a light drizzle. The route I was taking follows Abhainn an Torrain Duibh before crossing Allt an Loch Sgeirich and heading up the slopes of Creag Dubh Fannaich and on to Beinn Liath Mor Fannaich.

This route is slightly longer than the usual way up the mountain, but I'm trying to get a lot fitter so wanted to push it a little. The way up to the base of the hill is an excruciating bog slog with little or no path to speak of. At one point I was close to going home as I stepped ankle deep into yet another quagmire and the rain lashed down. However I gritted my teeth and kept going. It was a busy hill, not with people but with wildlife.A couple of Dippers accompanied me on the initial walk along the river and there seemed to be an abundance of Ptarmigan on the way up, which was a surprise as I've never seen them outside of the Cairngorms! A flock of Snow Bunting seemed to busying their way the hill too. The highlight was the Mountain Hare that bounded past me just before the summit. I've never seen one before so that was a nice added bonus. I tracked what I thought was a Weasel for a hundred yards or so, the prints were very fresh, unfortunately no other sign if it though.

As I started to get higher the weather started to clear and I got some decent views of the Fannaichs, unfortunately the snow cover has deteriorated over the last few weeks and any winter climbing will be non-existent at the moment.

A steady pace took me over the top of Creag Dubh Fannaich and on up to Beinn Liath Mor Fannaich. Unfortunately it was very claggy so no photos. The weather seemed to deteriorate again near the top of the hill and considerable amount of snow was falling, once I touched the summit I decided to make a hasty retreat back down. Typically once I was half way down the weather cleared again. The views from the top would have no doubt been really good. If only I'd hung on for 10 minutes! I got a good look across to Beinn Dearg and Am Faochagach, very little snow across there too, although it did look like it had recieved a fresh dusting and the gully lines may have saved a bit of ice. It was difficult to tell from that distance though.

Dr Seuss Goes Climbing!

2007-01-26T02:54:00.000-08:00

I saw this on UK Climbing and thought I'd share it here. Enjoy!

Green Eggs and Slime

Hello my name is Zionwalls.
I've climbed on rocks and taken falls.
I wrote a trip report and posted,
Although I fear I will get toasted.
It isn't long, it isn't short,
I hope you like my trip report.

"I will not read your trip report,
I will not read it , long or short!
It hasn't any puncuation!
A product of a careless nation!
I will not read your trip report,
I will not read it, long or short!"

Would you read it on a ledge?
or hooked on a dime sized-edge?

"I will not read it on a ledge,
nor while hooked upon an edge!
I will not read your trip report,
I will not read it, long or short!"

Would you read it on rappel?
or on a climb that's named Green Hell?

"I would not read it on rappel,
or while climbing on Green Hell.
I will not read it on a ledge,
nor while hooked upon an edge!
I will not read your trip report,
I will not read it, long or short!"

Would you read it on belays?
Or in a bar on resting days?

"Not on belays!
Not on rest days!
Not on rappel!
Not on Green Hell!
Not on a ledge!
Not from an edge!
It hasn't any puncuation!
A product of a careless nation!
I will not read your trip report,
I will not read it, long or short!"

Perhaps because it's trad, not sport?
Would you then read my trip report?

"I do not care if your report
involves either trad or sport!
Paragraph's are what it's lacking!
You are no artist! You were slacking!
I will not read it at belays,
nor in bars on resting days!
I won't read it on rappel,
nor on 11.b Green Hell!
I will not read your trip report,
I will not read it, long or short!"

But we left lots of gear up there.
you could retrieve it if you dare.
Perhaps the ropes could yet be freed,
if my trip report you'd read.
Use them if you climb the Prow.
Free haul lines! Go get them now!

"I do not want your dodgy gear,
and not because I'm filled with fear.
Through written clay I will not plow!
I'll buy my own ropes for the Prow!
I don't care if trad or sport,
is the theme of your report.
I won't read it Zionwalls!
For though you have gorilla balls,
for posting text in solid blocks
about your climbs on chossy rocks,
I still won't read it at belays
or in bars on resting days,
or while dangling on rappel,
nor while smearing up Green Hell,
or while resting on a ledge,
nor while hooking some small edge!
Paragraphs? It hasn't any!
Bad posts on here are far too many!
You do not use punctuation!
A product of a careless nation!
I will not read your trip report,
I will not read it, long or short!"

You will not read it, so you say.
But you may like it, yes you may!
An epic we got thru some how,
I wish you would just read it now.

"Zion if you let me be,
I will read some, then we'll see"

[......time passes.......]

"Hey, I like this trip report!
It's not too long, and not too short!
I will read this on belays,
And in bars on resting days!
I will read it on rappel,
and when I try to send Green Hell!
I will read it up on ledges,
and while hooking fragile edges!
I'll even haul it up the Prow.
I am so glad I read it now.
I really like this trip report!
It's not too long, and not too short!"

by Cat_in_the_Hat

Highland Year of Culture 2007

2007-01-18T13:17:00.001-08:00

The Highland Year of Culture kicked off on Friday night with a huge party in the centre of Inverness. Around 15,000 people were estimated to attend and I have to say that me and the wee one were thoroughly impressed. Bloody cold though! Nessie's monster friends were just a little bit too realistic for my daughter and we had to go home early. Proof if any was needed, that Inverness can throw a good party!

We had music by the Blazing Fiddles and the Inverness Gaelic choir. The choir were incredible, singing one of the most haunting and powerful songs I've hear in a long time. It all made me very proud to be Scottish.

If anyone reading this is up in the Highlands this year, then check out the Highland Year of Culture website for a list of events. There's plenty of things to go and see. I'm in danger of sounding like a member of the Tourist Office (well I suppose I do work for them now!) but I honestly think this will be a good year in the Highlands.

Gaelic Word for the day (week?) : Partaidh! Party! Pronounced pretty much the same as the English (Part-ay)

Tioraidh an t-drasda.

Sad End to the Day

2007-01-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

Went for a walk in the Cairngorms yesterday afternoon. After a quick drive down the A9 I got to the Cairngorm Ski Car Park at about 11.30am. The snow had begun to fall and it was bitterly cold. My original plan was to walk up to the summit of Cairngorm, a mountain I've climbed many, many times. Mainly because it's quick and easy! But yesterday I felt pulled towards the Northern Corries, in particular Coire an t-sneachda. This Corrie and Coire an Lochan next door to it are popular venues for winter climbing, they are one of the first places in the UK to get snow and are relatively easy to get to, only being about and hours walk from the carpark.

It was one of those unusual days for the Cairngorms, not a breath of wind! I've walked into the corries many, many times and have rarely encountered conditions like that in winter. It was absolutely still, all around me I could hear Ptarmigan calls echoing around the corrie. Their call is something akin to a 2-stroke engine, if I closed my eyes I could almost imagine a group of Mods buzzing around the Corrie on their Vespas!

There was a good layer of crisp snow underfoot which made for easy and straightforward walking. The visibility wasn't too good with the cloud base sitting at around the 700m mark. As I walked deeper into the Corrie I started to hear the noise of climbers on the corrie headwall. The clink of gear rattling on harnesses and the steady 'thunk, thunk' of ice axes biting into the ice reverberated across the corrie basin. Interspersed with climbers calling out 'safe', 'climb when ready' and not a few curses! As I got closer the cloud started to lift to reveal the buttresses of Coire an t-sneachda. Conditions were lean, but there seemed to be a reasonable build up of ice on the buttresses. The gullies had a decent amount of snow in them and the trident gullies in particular were picking up quite a bit of attention. I made my way to the Mountain Rescue box and stopped to grab a bite to eat. The cloud moved on, revealing blue skies and a fantastic view of the cliffs. There were about 10 different teams of climbers in the main area and I could hear at least another couple of parties over on the Fiacaill buttress.

As I was sat having a bite to eat I was accosted by a group of about 10
Snow Bunting . Are these birds the Neds of the Cairngorms? The gathered around me in a group chirruping away in what I guess is Bunting for 'Gies a peck of yer sarnie ye dobber'. They're very brave little birds and come very close to you. A couple went as far as to sit on the toe of my boots and belligerently puff themselves up! Once they'd mugged me for the last bits of sandwich they'd move on to the next group of climbers who'd stopped for something to eat, where they'd repeat the process before flitting on to the next likely group.

My appetite sated (not mention those of the Snow Buntings) I packed my stuff and started to move off and make my way back home. I meandered my way through the boulder field, occasionally turning back to take another look at the cliffs and the people climbing. Realising that time was getting on I started to pick up my pace. A loud noise and a panicked shout made me turn round and to my horror I saw a figure somersault over one of the buttresses and crash into the ground below. I turned and ran towards where he lay, someone else had managed to get there sooner, my heart sank as he checked the guy over and then took a few steps back from him. The fact that he wasn't trying to do anything did not bode well. I got closer and asked if there was anything I could do. The reply was short and crushing. 'He's Dead'. Nothing to be done.

Out of respect to his friends and family I'll not speculate as to the whys and wherefores of what happened. Suffice it to say that it was a tragic accident. We sat with the chap till the mountain rescue chopper came and uplifted him. The funny thing was whilst we were sat with him, the Snow Buntings returned en masse and seemed very curious about the dead climber. After a short period they all took off and left. Part of me likes to think that they were escorting his spirit on to the next world.

The people he was climbing with had come to a halt in the gully they were climbing and were obviously scared and shocked. Fortunately the Mountain Rescue Team were quickly on site to assist them out of the gully. Myself and the others who were on scene carried his kit back to the Ranger lodge at the carpark where we were met by some of his friends.

I'm still a bit shocked by it all and didn't really sleep last night. I spent most of the night replaying events in my head and wondering what his poor family and friends must be going through. I didn't find out his name, but he'll not be out of my thoughts.

Rest in Peace mate.

Happy New Year

2007-01-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

Bliadhna Mhath Úr!

My brains a bit scrambled as I've started the New Year with some kind of winter virus thing. Needless to say I'm not really able to write anything particularly coherent or sensible a the moment.

Nollaig Chridheil!!

2006-12-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

From Rhiannon on C...

Thats Merry Christmas to all you English speakers!

Up at 6.30am with a very hyperactive child bouncing up and down with delight at the sight of all the presents under the tree. I'm currently drinking whisky and waiting for the tatties to finish cooking.

A bit about climbing

2006-12-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

I intend to use this blog partly to waffle on about my point of view of the world around me and partly to regale you all with my tales of derring-do (!) in the mountains of Scotland. I’m primarily a walker and winter climber, preferring Scottish Ice routes over summer rock. I love the feeling of freedom and the very fact that I can forget the world and the relentless media bombardment that seems to affect us wherever we turn. Only in the hills can you turn your back on the labels and cynicism of our Capitalist and increasingly corrupt society. Up there you can stop and blether with your fellow traveller and not be branded a weirdo for smiling and saying hello to a stranger.

Yes, truly you can avoid the Capitalist trappings of our Society.

Of course I never ever venture out into the hills without my Scarpa boots, North Face jacket (Gore Tex lined), Montane Salopettes and trusty Vango rucksack!

This year, the plan is to get enough days out to enable me to start a Mountain Leader training course (ML). With this under my belt I’ll be able to lead groups out into the hills during the summer (The Winter ML is for the real gnarly types, all big beards, real ale and ruddy cheeks). This will enable me to share my love of the hills with others and make a little bit of extra money too. On the downside it will no doubt make my Hill-days a more noisy and fraught experience!

Ultimately this will turn me into a well honed climbing machine, but the way the weather has been recently I’m more likely to be an embittered old grump due to a lack of exercise, too much chocolate and an ever expanding waistline. I haven’t seen the hills in the last couple of weeks due to the constant gales battering the Highlands. The odd glimpse of snow in the hills is all the more infuriating for it!

Gaelic Phrase for the day: Tha mo ceann gort. (Haa mo kee-awn gorsht) My head is sore. A handy phrase for the coming festive period

Apparently my Friend the Answer is Blowing in The Wind

2006-12-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

Well according to Magnus Linklater of the Times this is so.

The Lewis wind farm has been the subject of much impassioned debate over the last couple of years, with locals crying foul of the developers and money grabbing councillors, and the said councillors claiming in a Nelson ‘stylee’ ‘I see no Protests’ , conveniently missing the petition signed by 4000 odd residents of Lewis.

In case you don’t already know, the proposed ‘development’ will include 240 turbines and the associated pylons, sub-stations and roads. If this development was built in London it would stretch across the full length of Greater London. This was recently covered by Coast on BBC2 and was the first program that I have seen to really show what kind of impact this will have on the Island.

Magnus' article (I'll call him Magnus, I feel 'Maggie' would be a touch too familiar)quotes all the usual Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace rhetoric. He seems to feel that it is perfectly acceptable to create further noise and visual pollution at the expense of the 'odd' Sea Eagle or Hen Harrier. How are we possibly saving the world by building a forest of turbines along with a hundred miles plus of road, digging up tonnes of peat in the process in an area of Special Scientific Interest?

All to the benefit of one million people. Not alot of people when you think about it. If those million people used energy saving lightbulbs, remembered to switch lights off when they leave the room (best to make sure no-ones in the room first, it's not nice to leave Granny in the dark) and refrained from decorating their entire house in OTT ridiculous Xmas lights, maybe we wouldn't need this wind farm. I can't help but feel the Government are just a little bit guilty of spoon feeding the masses.

'Have you used all the power again?

'Look...right, here's the thing. It's just not on right? Yes I know you need your Sky TV and your 4x4 and of course it's important little Tarquin has all the mod-cons...What?...What do you mean you'll vote Lib Dem next time....Ok, Look here's a big windfarm, energy efficient (ahem) and Green too. Never mind that, the locals don't even speak the same language as us, Garlic or somesuch nonsense.'

'Just don't do it again. Ok?'

Monday morning blues on a dreich and windy December morning.

2006-12-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

I hauled myself out of bed with all the reluctance of dog being forcibly removed from his prime spot in front of the fire. The rain was absolutely hammering it down and the wind was howling like a madman. I left my family and the cat snuggled up together under the duvet while I made my weary way down to the car.

The drive to work isn’t too bad and I have to admit to a slight feeling of smugness as I go against the flow of traffic coming into Inverness, I work near Alness and fortunately for me I’m one of the few that do. The drive across the 2 bridges was somewhat dicey, with the wind doing it’s damndest to hurl me into the Moray Firth.

Work’s ok, if ever so slightly boring. It’s the canteen that provides the real entertainment. Sharing my lunchtime with a Vicky Pollard a-like and a Catherine Tate a-like provided me with a frightening insight into life as a Black Isle Young Lady about Town. Speech is spoken at machine gun fire rate:

‘Whatyoudo at theweekend?’

'AhwentootwithJaniceandTraceyandLaurenandwewentclubbin yeah?'

'That Janice she'sarightfukinslut yeah?'

'Yeah, anyway, wegotacoupleoflitresofciderandgotreallyfuckinblootered and anyway yeah, Sharon(TheSlut) sleptwithJohn(TheBastard) notthatI'mbovvered becauseIsnoggedMurdoandhe'shunglikeafukindonkey!'

-brays of laughter-

-and breathe-

First Post

2006-12-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog, which you will hopefully find full of intelligent commentary and witty anecdotes on life in one of Scotlands newest cities. Although you're more likely to be subjected to weary musings on the reality of life in TescoTullochNess and the realisation that the local 'Neds' all appear to have more money and better prospects than me!