Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd March 2014
The weekend’s excitement began much earlier than expected as an incredibly heavy snowfall during Friday evening dumped inches of snow on the road in just half an hour. Luckily each car carried enough passengers who could get out and push when the hills got too steep so all arrived safely albeit after a 7 hour journey. On Saturday Jim and Sarah reached a summit on the Cuillin Ridge via An Dorus, a great achievement given the snowy conditions. Paul and Mhairi tackled Marsco, and the rest of the group thoroughly explored the bizarre pinnacles of the Trotternish. Back to a cozy hut and Bruce valiantly whipped up an excellent meal for us all. Janni, the Gaelic teacher from the local college, joined us for the meal then gave us a lesson in Gaelic for mountaineers. She was an excellent teacher; her teaching aids were great fun and had us all joining in so that by the end of the evening we had all learned a lot, including why there’s no quiche in Knoydart and the true meaning of Am Bodach! Awakening to a clear blue sky on Sunday we all grabbed our boots and dashed out into the hills. Some of us trekked across the foot of the Cuillin to Sligachan via the Fairy Pools. Mhairi and Paul climbed An Dorus this time and a group of 5 headed for Marsco. The whole day was bathed in glorious sunshine. The jagged peaks of the Black Cuillin, coated with fresh snow, sparkled in the blue sky.
