GLASGOW GLENMORE CLUB NEWSLETTER SPRING 2005

Now that the daylight is improving and with the prospect of Spring beckoning just around the corner, followed by long summer days – but alas no guarantees about the weather - this newsletter may help in planning trips to new places or to old favourites like Torridon. It is a healthy sign of the Club’s level of activity that meets have been so well attended over the last year, and the weekends in particular, but this does bring the occasional disappointment for those who delay in deciding to go. In order to try and treat everyone equally with the issue of the newsletter and news about the forthcoming meets, the e-mail issue will follow the day after it is sent out by first class mail to those who receive a hard copy.

Henry

Members will recall that following the strong support at last year’s AGM to support footpath repair and maintenance, the committee decided to make an immediate donation of £250, with the intention of making a further donation subject to a review of finances being made early in 2005. This has been done, and the committee decided that a second donation of £750 would be made, making a total of £1,000 for the NTS Sole Trading Project.

Those who attended the indoor meet on 11^th. November will remember that this project aims to repair and maintain our mountain footpaths in as sensitive and unobtrusive way as possible. The NTS is delighted with the donation, the Glasgow Glenmore Club being the first hillwalking club to make a club donation. The NTS intends to give some publicity to our donation in the hope that others will follow our example. Well done Glenmorons!

(Note : all indoor meets are held in Wellington Church, Southpark Avenue, Glasgow, doors open 7.30 pm with talk starting at 8 pm. )

Thursday February 10th. - Club Quiz Night set by Alice Mitchell, Gordon Dykes, & John Donnelly

Test your knowledge and pit your wits against Scotland’s finest, come along to arguably the most popular indoor meet of the year and see how you stack up.

Whose names will adorn the ice-axe for 2005? And there are prizes !

A day meet at The Glenkens in Galloway where there is something for everyone. For the energetic a traverse of the Rhinns of Kells, the pick of two ticks for the Corbetteers, or a choice of many low level forest and lochside walks in the event of bad weather.

Carsphairn is nine miles south of Dalmellington on the A713 and has easy access to the hills. Meet at the Heritage Centre where there is ample parking. A pub, and a coffee shop/store are conveniently located in the village for "après walk" refreshments. A transport list will, as usual, be at the next indoor meet for those needing a lift or able to provide lifts.

Jimmy Connelly, an Area Access Officer with the recently formed National Park, will discuss issues surrounding the Scottish Outdoor Access Code with regard to provision of access within the National Park and The Land Reform Act (Scotland).

Jimmy’s talk will be illustrated by a power point presentation.

All 32 places on this weekend have now been taken up, and there is a short waiting list.

Anyone who missed out and is still desirous of attending; the adjacent Glen Clova Hotel has B & B accommodation available priced at £30pppn . Contact details for the hotel are:Tel 01575 550350

E-mail hotel@clova.com , booking should be made direct with the hotel

For those members who have intimated that they will be eating at the hotel please note that meals are served from noon until 8PM , the cost of food should be settled directly with the hotel

Breakfast is also available at the hotel for Bunkhouse members at a cost of £5pp

To get there from Kirriemuir follow the signposts to "The Glens" to Dykehead (B955) and from there the road directs you to Glen Clova

A transport sheet will be available at the upcoming indoor meets. Anyone with space available or requiring transport to the meet is requested to sign up.

Pre-meet meal at Di Maggios, on Gibson Street, at 6.00 pm

Jodi is a well known local physiotherapist and a former Club member, so come along and learn more about your knees, ankles etc. and how to care for them – and what can be done if you’re unlucky enough to suffer problems.

Meet at the Glen Tilt car park at 09.30, 1km. north of Blair Atholl just west of the Old Bridge of Tilt. There are plenty of Munros and Corbetts in this area and we might even have some snow and will definitely have longer daylight.

We have booked all 38 places at Carn Dearg Youth Hostel for this Easter meet. The hostel is a former hunting lodge and is situated next to the sea with sandy beaches nearby.

To get to the hostel take the B8021, opposite the grocery store in Gairloch, for 3 miles towards Melvaig. The hostel is next to the road. , and has the usual SYHA facilities – ie bedding supplied and good cooking facilities.

From Gairloch there is easy access to Torridon, Fisherfield and Flowerdale hills and if anyone doesn’t feel like being too adventurous there are the gardens at Inverewe.

Places are likely to be in demand, so to reserve yours please send a cheque for £35 to Liz, made out to Glasgow Glenmore Club.

Pre –meet meal at Cafe Andaluz, Cresswell Lane (parallel to Byres Road), at 6.00pm.

 

A promise of an enthralling evening with video and slides of a climbing expedition to the Cordillera Real, a 6500metre range in the Andes. This is serious stuff, topping out on the highest peaks and an epic tale, a la "Touching The Void", where Dick’s climbing partner fell into a crevasse and only just managed to climb out. This night should not be missed.

Dick Tough is the Deputy Leader of the Lomond Mountain Rescue Team, mountain leader and an experienced ski instructor.

The rescue teams are always strapped for cash and I’m sure the Lomond MRT would be grateful for any donations – so bring your change!

Meet at the picnic site at 9.30a.m. Two Corbetts, Cam Chreag and Beinn Dearg are accessible from here. For a more serious day out the Carn Mairg group, comprising Carn Gorm, Meall Garbh, Carn Mairg and Meall nan Aighean, is just a little further along the road.

Sue and Gordon will present a magic lantern show detailing their trip to Mongolia last summer. The cunning plan, with one flaw, was to climb the highest peak, Mount Khuiten, in the far west at the junction of China, Russia and Mongolia. This fascinating land is slowly emerging as a strong democratic country after 50 years behind the Iron Curtain.

http://www.carbost.f9.co.uk 

We have exclusive use of this bunkhouse (which can be viewed on the above website). Situated on the shores of Loch Harport, the accommodation consists of 24 places, two rooms of six, three rooms with four bunks and a fully equipped kitchen. Cost for the three nights is £30.

Travel across the toll-free Skye Bridge and take the A850 to Sliaghan then take the A863 and six miles further on Carbost is signposted on the B8009.

The Old Inn is a matter of yards away and can provide breakfasts if booked. We may want to arrange an evening meal at some stage – you can let me know what you think.

The Old Inn will also do bed and breakfast but it is rather expensive and if you wish to take this route it would probably be best to contact them directly. (Tel: 1478 640 205)

Camping is available at Glen Brittle and is marked on the map.

Most of you will have come to Carbost to visit the Talisker Distillery but for those who wish to go on the hill access to the Cuillin Ridge can be made from Glen Brittle.

The AGM is the Club’s annual business meeting when you hear from the outgoing committee about the year’s activities and elect their successors for the next year. Democracy in action – your opportunity to air your views, make suggestions etc.- so do come along because at the very least, we need 25 members for a quorum to hold the meeting.

Dave Webster will be standing down from the committee, having served 6 years. Gordon Dykes, Liz Maitland, Alice Mitchell, Arthur Whittaker, Bill McIntyre, Kate Stewart, Hugh Bourhill and Henry Perfect are all willing to stand again.

Papers for the AGM will be sent out in early April.

Meet at 0930 in the Kingshouse car park. Endless options with the good weather and long days of May!

SYHA has the following to say about Torridon. "Torridon is a magnificent corner of the North Western Highlands with some of the finest mountain scenery in Europe. Torridon is an excellent base for mountaineers, as well as those simply wishing to relax and enjoy the surroundings and wildlife. Situated at the head of Upper Loch Torridon in the shadow of the mighty Liathach, the 4 star hostel has small comfortable rooms and family rooms. It has its own store, self-catering facilities, two panoramic lounges, hot showers, an excellent drying room, and all in a superb location."

We have booked 30 of the 60 places in the Hostel. The cost for the 3 nights is £36. To secure a place, please send a cheque to Arthur (payable to Glasgow Glenmore Club).

Camping nearby is also possible.

Tel 01339 755727

This is a mid summer midge avoiding event in the East. Book you place and then take to the hills. Happy Walking!

The Club has managed to secure an exclusive booking for this Hut which has a maximum occupancy of 12 persons. Situated at the west end of Loch Affric set amidst magnificent scenery, and surrounded by normally difficult to access Munros and Corbetts, don’t miss this great opportunity!!

The cost for the weekend is £22 per person, contact Hugh to book a place, making cheques payable to Glasgow Glenmore Club.

And ……….. advance notification of this year’s September weekend meet, 23-26 September, will be at Ratagan YH. Details to follow in the summer newsletter, along with the dates for Bon Accord pub nights for keeping in touch with what’s on.

50^th. Anniversary Book

Copies of the 50^th. anniversary book are still available, so if you would like a copy then don’t delay and get in touch with Caroline Thompson on 0141 931 5368 or carolinemt2001@yahoo.co.uk. Price is £10 or £12 including p&p

For those of you who didn’t buy one of the 50^th. anniversary Club T-shirts, there is both good and bad news. OK, let’s have the good news first, and it’s that the cost is just £5 or £6.50 for p&p if required. The bad news, or maybe not so bad after all, is that we need an order of at least 24 for the manufacturer to make a second production run. Oh, and unfortunately we can’t have lots of different colours – it’s sort of stone grey because of the need to have a good contrast with the gold and green of the club logo. Sizes to fit chest – small(36"), medium (38"), Large (42") , XL (42/44") and XXL (46/48" - £1.20 extra). So, if you want to add your name to the list, please get in touch with Henry at 0141 931 5962 or by e-mail at

henryperfect@camberley.charitydays.co.uk 

Brian McDaid has a spare and totally unused Karrimor Alpaniste sack for sale. Capacity 60+15l, so it’s OK for backpacking. A snip at £50. Interested ? Phone Brian on 357 3126.

And while on the subject of kit, Cotswold in Crow Road, Partick, have invited the Club to their Preview Night for Winter Sale on Thursday 10^th. February, starting at 6.30 pm with the ‘opportunity to see and buy many fantastic offers before anyone else.’ With light refreshments served, you could kit up to arrive in style at the Club Quiz night. If you go, remember to quote the Club’s contract account reference number : G15008.

Club Equipment

Dave Webster is the custodian of the Club’s equipment which comprises:

2 sets of fully adjustable ‘walking’ crampons

7 ice axes

3 harnesses

2 50m 9mm ropes ( yellow and blue)

2 10m 6mm ropes ( confidence lines) – Pink !

2 helmets

plus small selection of belay plates, carabiners and slings.

If you have any of these items in your possession, please tell Dave without delay , on 0141 954 3755 or at davidjwebster2003@yahoo.co.uk. It is important that kit is returned and in good order. Please note : the Club no longer has any tents members’ use.

MBA have issued a new edition of their excellent Handbook which includes a great deal of information, especially useful to all bothy users, whether staying overnight or not. This information includes:-

-         MBA origins

-         How to help, including organisation of work parties and reporting on state of bothies

-         Bothy hygiene

-         Organisation and policy of MBA

Last, but by no means least, it includes a complete and up-to date list, with grid references, of all MBA-maintained bothies!

Like all MBA Newsletters, this one included up-dated news on bothies in all areas.

For those interested, MBA are in the process of up-dating their website (www.mountainbothies.org.uk).

Advance notice is given of the next MBA AGM (a special 40^th Anniversary one) on 15^th October 2005 in Cumbria (exact venue still to be fixed).

Articles included in this issue were:-

-         "Snakes in the Grass" – all you want to know about the only poisonous snake in Britain – Adders.

-         Information about Shetland "bods" – something between a bothy and a hostel. In Shetland there are seven of these which could be useful for anyone visiting.

-         An informative and amusing article on Midges, including the latest technology.

-         An improvised mouse-trap used at Sourlies bothy!

The above Handbook and Newsletter are both available from Connie Thomson, the current Librarian.