Walking Forum

Regions - Trip reports, destination advice, recommended routes, etc. => Scotland => Topic started by: jontea on 23:36:36, 21/10/17

Title: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: jontea on 23:36:36, 21/10/17
A full report of how we got on during the weekend of 14th October 17 in the Highlands, staying at the SYHA Glencoe. The Ballachulish Horseshoe and it's two Munro's of Sgorr Dhearg at over 3,360ft and Sgorr Dhonuill 3,284ft were the target summits for Saturdays walking, but it didn't go to plan  :(


http://johntrowsdale.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/glencoe-weekend.html

Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: adalard on 09:06:55, 22/10/17
Shame about the weather, Jontea, but it sounds like a good time was still had by all. Enjoyed reading the trip report.  :) O0
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: Mel on 10:50:20, 22/10/17
Nice write up jontea.  I love the pic looking down Glen Coe with the low cloud and the mountains either side  O0
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: sparnel on 17:42:41, 22/10/17
Great write up and photos! Enjoyed reading it..............
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: Dovegirl on 19:54:51, 22/10/17
Enjoyed the TR jontea    :)    Glad everyone had a good time despite the weather
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: redeye on 20:46:01, 22/10/17
Enjoyed that and also the newlands round on your blog. I did that this year but the other way round and in different but equally fantastic conditions. Nice one  O0
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: jontea on 06:49:41, 23/10/17
Thanks guys for the kind comments, glad you enjoyed the write up.  O0
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: midweekmountain on 11:15:08, 25/10/17
I used to do trips like this years ago, nowadays I have learnt if you use a bit of nous there really is no need to do bad weather.

This weekend we looked at the forecast and went to the Dales that weekend, twas brill.

Over the years I have played the wet weather game many times and learnt more than a few lessons so here are a few tips.


1/Don't blindly book expensive accomodation way in advance coz you have idea what the weather will be doing on the day.

A great alternative is to join one of the major mountaineering clubs that give access to a network of accomodation across every mountain area in the UK without having to book weeks in advance.

My tip is to fix a date for a trip then ring round the group 24hrs before before and decide the venue, pending the weather.
There is a choice of last minute accomodation in Cornwall,South Wales, North Wales, Peak, Dales, Lakes, several areas of Scotland, its rarely wet everywhere in the UK.

You cannot control the weather BUT this way you can pick the best of what is on offer.

Plus its a fraction of the cost of a YHA so your onto a win/win...........


2/If you do get caught with bad weather in Glencoe, stay low, In the past when faced with situations like this I have found the solution to be the coast, check the map of the Glencoe area of Scotland, it has dozens of mini peninsula’s all of them are potential coastal walks.

My favorite is to take the Coran ferry  and head south. Look for a blister of land jutting out into the sea. It gives a great day out stunning scenary with optional scrambling, very similar to the Aonach Eagach, there is even a bothy half way to have your lunch in..........


3/The Balachullish Horseshoe is a tough walk cos it starts at almost sea level (most munros are tough compared to english/welsh hills).

The best/easiest/safest wet weather Munro in Glencoe is Aonach Beag, cos its a roadside hill, good paths and you start walking from the top of a pass, well worth saving this one for a wet day...........


4/You will drive past some superb hills on the way too and back from Glencoe that may be dryer than your final venue.
Over the years many wet Scottish Sundays have been saved by dry weather on the way home.

Contenders for this are Arrochar Alps, the little known Moffat area is superb, like Lake District hills perched next to the M74.  Have even done things like Blencathra and Cross fell after being rained out of Scotland.

Even now when I travel to Scotland to do my Munros I normally bag a hill driving north and another one or sometimes two on the way home..........
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: ljmeerkat75 on 21:59:07, 25/10/17
Nice write up and photos John beautiful place Glencoe even when the weather is pants hopefully I will get back this winter
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: Strider on 22:47:06, 25/10/17
Cheers for posting John, looks like you nabbed our usual table in the corner of the Clachaig.
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: Ridge on 08:29:04, 26/10/17
Great report and pictures John. Shame about the weather, it's a long way to go to get wet.
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: jontea on 19:21:37, 26/10/17
Nice write up and photos John beautiful place Glencoe even when the weather is pants hopefully I will get back this winter


Thanks Luke, it's a long way but worth it  O0


Cheers for posting John, looks like you nabbed our usual table in the corner of the Clachaig.


Thanks mate, just luck with the table Colin, happy to get any table we could in there, great pub but always chocker of an evening  ;) 


Great report and pictures John. Shame about the weather, it's a long way to go to get wet.


Thanks Mark, yeah it is a long way, but I don't mind walking in wet weather or winds up to a point. We still had a great time, and hopefully the next one will be drier. O0
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: yorksgal on 19:29:11, 26/10/17
Midweekmountain


Im sure you didn’t purposely mean to sound condescending but unfortunately for you I’m afraid you achieved this.


Jontea organised this meet and its ran at this time of year for over three years. We don’t “Blindly book expensive accommodation” £34 for a weekend in Glencoe is fantastic value for money.


Your tip about waiting till the 24 hours before is again not really valid. People were travelling from Wales, Cheshire, Yorkshire and Scotland. We travelled up the day before and enjoyed the hospitality of the clachaig inn. We all had to book time off work to be able to do this trip so it really has to be organised.

Major mountaineering clubs are just that. “Mountaineering” clubs. They pander to the elitism in mountaineering and always seem to be a closed organisation for climbers not walkers. Even the BMC seems to be taking this elitist stance too. Being that we are all walkers none of us are members or aspire to be members of a Major mountaineering club.

We enjoy a laugh, a pint a well cooked meal and a lot of good will. No snobbery just a group of like minded individuals enjoying the hills in a really nice location. We all know what we are getting into and what we want to achieve.

This meet was stopped due to bad weather but I hope this will allow others to see that this is a fantastic opportunity to join a nice group of people and explore areas of the country they might not have seen. They should also be happy to see we are not gung ho and we were all perfectly happy to turn around and not push on in a difficult situation. We were all sensible about our limits and we all agreed to turn around.
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: ljmeerkat75 on 20:42:20, 26/10/17
Midweekmountain


Im sure you didn’t purposely mean to sound condescending but unfortunately for you I’m afraid you achieved this.


Jontea organised this meet and its ran at this time of year for over three years. We don’t “Blindly book expensive accommodation” £34 for a weekend in Glencoe is fantastic value for money.


Your tip about waiting till the 24 hours before is again not really valid. People were travelling from Wales, Cheshire, Yorkshire and Scotland. We travelled up the day before and enjoyed the hospitality of the clachaig inn. We all had to book time off work to be able to do this trip so it really has to be organised.

Major mountaineering clubs are just that. “Mountaineering” clubs. They pander to the elitism in mountaineering and always seem to be a closed organisation for climbers not walkers. Even the BMC seems to be taking this elitist stance too. Being that we are all walkers none of us are members or aspire to be members of a Major mountaineering club.

We enjoy a laugh, a pint a well cooked meal and a lot of good will. No snobbery just a group of like minded individuals enjoying the hills in a really nice location. We all know what we are getting into and what we want to achieve.

This meet was stopped due to bad weather but I hope this will allow others to see that this is a fantastic opportunity to join a nice group of people and explore areas of the country they might not have seen. They should also be happy to see we are not gung ho and we were all perfectly happy to turn around and not push on in a difficult situation. We were all sensible about our limits and we all agreed to turn around.
It did seem a little condescending tbh I have had many a good mountain day in lousy weather
I remember going up Siabod's Ddaer du ridge just as storm Desmond started hitting the forecast expected it much later in the day it was an experience or getting caught in a blizzard on the Carneddau also the last Tryfan meet we did wasn't good a wet start and end also very windy on the tops but we all had a good day
It's a case of you pays your money and you take your chance with arranging a mountain day in advance but good company in fantastic setting always makes it worthwhile
If you only go into the mountains on fair weather days in the UK you don't get out all that often
I think the Haggis at the Clachaig is worth the trip itself
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: Glyno on 21:00:43, 26/10/17
still reeling them in I see


(http://www.freesmileyfaces.com/files/day-by-day/hobbies-smiley-faces/193.gif)
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: jontea on 06:41:28, 27/10/17
It is no wonder we have so few meet ups organised on this forum, as it only takes one patronising and insulting post to put people off organising an event.


However, I do thank those of you who have a bit more understanding of how these meets are organised for the benefit of ALL forum members who might travel from any corner of the UK to attend.


Just to put it into context, this forum has had about 11 or 12 hostel meeting around the country over the last few years and this unfortunately as far as I'm aware was the first time weather has forced a walk to be abandoned.


Once again guys thanks for the support  O0
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: Jac on 09:08:52, 27/10/17
Whether the inappropriate post, which personally I considered pointless, was intended to stir things up or not I can't help thinking that it might have been better to simply ignore it.
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: Percy on 10:11:54, 27/10/17
I'm afraid to say I have blindly booked some expensive accommodation in Keswick next April.  :(


Fortunately, following the sage advice of others, I have a contingency plan in the event of poor weather.  8)


Route as follows:


The Wainwright, The Dog & Gun, Oddfellows Arms, The Royal Oak, The Chief Justice Of The Common Pleas, The Twa Dogs. 3 miles, 27m of ascent, 5-6 hours.  O0
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: April on 19:38:43, 27/10/17
Route as follows:


The Wainwright, The Dog & Gun, Oddfellows Arms, The Royal Oak, The Chief Justice Of The Common Pleas, The Twa Dogs. 3 miles, 27m of ascent, 5-6 hours.  O0

Sounds like a perfect route to us, but really, only 5-6 hours? Ya bleddy lightweights  :D :crazy2:  :)
Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: Summit on 20:15:09, 27/10/17
Jontea


Thanks for organising this fantastic trip mate. It was brilliant catching up with old friends. Spending time in the hills is not something I have done for a while and I intend to do a lot more. Hopefully we can meet up again at the forum hostel meets around the country.


I fancy the lakes trip Percy has organised and I feel I will maybe even pray for heavy rain. His alternative route sounds fantastic.


Take care mate and ignore people who only want to bring you down. I’ve found karma has its own fantastic way of sorting negative people out in the long run.

Title: Re: T/R Glencoe Forum meet 2017
Post by: Percy on 06:30:58, 28/10/17
Sounds like a perfect route to us, but really, only 5-6 hours? Ya bleddy lightweights  :D :crazy2: :)
I'm always happy to take advice from an expert.  ;)