Weekend Meet at Elphin Caving Centre. 15-17 March 2024
Good weather, the stunning hills of Assynt and an enthusiastic team of IMC members and prospective members saw a good weekend meet at the Elphin Caving Centre.
Ewen writes - Federika, Callum and Robin ascended Quinag on Saturday. Also on Saturday, Marion and Peter went along the Cam Loch and up Cnoc an Leathaid Bhig and Bhuidhe, two rough and seldom visited hills. Michael and Ewen, being on the sick list, confined their activities to low level walks near Loch Assynt on Saturday and the very impressive new walks at the NTS Corrieshalloch visitors centre on Sunday.
Jan, Emma, Shona and Lindsay had good days on Suilven on Saturday and Canisp on Sunday. Conival and Ben More Assynt were tackled by Christine Martin and George on Saturday. George and Martin were joined by Robin and Arthur on Sunday for a trip to Glas Bheinn and the memorial site for a crashed aircraft on Beinn an Fhurain.
Jan, Shona and Linday write - It was a pleasure to be out on the hills this weekend in a beautiful area. Good weather gave us stunning views on our Suilven and Canisp walks. Suilven was a lovely and speedy walk in and out with a windy top with cracking views. Despite Suilven involving about 400m extra ascent than anticipated, it was a stupendous day out: the weather behaved, our spirits were high, the snacks were abundant, as was the conversation! Despite its category of 'Graham' it has to be said that Suilven offered a thorough leg stretch with even some minor scrambly parts. No vertigo for us tough mountain goat women, however! Minimal snow meant our pace was swift and the day passed us by frankly too quickly. The only disappointment of the expedition was the lack of liquid refreshments in any of Lochinver's watering holes upon concluding our exploits... another time!
George writes- Conival and Ben More Assynt. It was a beautiful sunny morning with minimal wind - at the car park at least. Setting off at Inchnadamph, Christine, Martin and George followed the well cut path toward Conival. with snow cover from around 600m. Once reached, the snow was knee deep in places, turning compact and, at times, slippery. This would become the theme for the snowy terrain throughout and crampons were utilised.
On reaching the summit of Conival, beautiful views of the surrounding Assynt hills unfolded. Although, one summit that could not be seen at this point was that of Ben More Assynt, hiding in the cloud. During the short walk between the two peaks, Ben More Assynt was revealed for fleeting moments, as if to provide the group with some encouragement as they carefully navigated a couple of short tricky patches. Unfortunately however, Ben More Assynt was not going to allow any views upon reaching the top. With the wind picking up, the group decided to make their way back and descend back to the car. A challenging, varied and wonderful day on two splendid hills.
And Martin writes - George and Christine were keen to tick the local Munros of Conival and Ben More Assynt. A considerable amount of discussion followed in the morning sunshine over the need for winter gear led to axes and microspikes or crampons, and we were glad of them. We reached the snowline before the bealach, with verglass on some rocks too. Once on the bealach we were able to kick steps in predominantly soft snow all the way to Conival in sunny spells. The strong S winds kept the temperature down until shelter was found when the March warmth was clear. My Platypus made a break for freedom travelling a good 100m downslope during a pause and was only recovered two hours later on the return journey. The undulations to Ben More Assynt were made easier than the summer route with banked up snow, while views were partial in increasingly low cloud. Christine will need to come back as there wasn't a view from Ben More Assynt (necessary for her Munro tick). We marvelled at a vertical geological fold/extrusion on the return, collected the escaped Platypus and coped with the steps. A long, but very satisfying day and good company.
Shona and Emma write -
Canisp was a gorgeous and not too boggy day with great views of Suilven.
A wee bog trot quickly gave way to meandering boulder hopping all the way up, punctuated by Emma’s ‘insignificant cairn’ search and Jan spotting a chance to stomp through the last vestiges of winter snow. We enjoyed lunch #1 in a heavy duty shelter up top, with entertaining chat and sublime 360 views all the way back down.
George writes - Glas Bheinn and Air Crash Memorial Site. It was another beautiful, sunny morning. Martin, Robin, Arthur and George set off from Inchnadamph on the aptly named mission “Four Men and Glas Bheinn” (thanks Robin).
We followed the fairly well trodden path initially, before opting to cut across the south of Lochan Bealach na h-Uidhe and approach the summit from the South to save retracing their steps later. We crossed some steep and rocky sections before reaching the summit for a bite to eat. From there we made their way down the path to South East of the summit, before re ascending toward the rocky ridge, where they passed over Beinn Uidhe. Thereafter we descended toward Loch Nan Cuaran to visit the WW2 memorial site situated between the loch and Beinn an Fhurain to the south. It is the highest grave site in the UK and is dedicated to RAF crew members who tragically lost their lives in a plane crash in April 1941. It is a fittingly tranquil and poignant spot. From there the group rejoined the path and made their way back to the starting point. Another enjoyable day out.
and Martin writes -With an improving forecast and following the heavy day on Saturday, we planned an easier day on Sunday. This would be summiting Glas Bheinn, a Corbett, via a stalker's path from Inchnadamph for the views, and detouring to the nearby memorial to an aircraft. In hindsight the day was certainly no easier and the pilot's memorial was several kilometres across rough rocky terrain. With no snow on the ground we passed a small herd of deer who seemed relatively unfussed by our passing. The views from Glas Bheinn were impressive, across Assynt's plains to the coast and to Ben Klibreck in the East. We were also introduced to Pipestone (Sandstone with worm tubes, which had then been filled with sediment and baked) and proceeded to spot it throughout the walk. A pair of Plovers called across the summit plateau and we disturbed a few white Ptarmigan. The rough rocky continuation aggravated my knee to the extent that I had to cut the walk short and leave the others to experience the peace of the memorial site. A stalker's path and a coffee break in a shooting box guided us down to a 22km 8.5h day.
Taking part : Jan, Callum, Federica, George, Marion, Peter, Martin, Michael, Emma, Robin, Ewen and prospective members Shona, Lindsay and Christine. Arthur joined the group for a walk on Sunday. (Welcome to Shona, Lindsay and Christine who have now become members of the club.)
Words and photos: Jan, Emma, Shona, Lindsay, George, Martin, Ewen, and Arthur.