Some of the Lomond Mountaineering Club meets are known for their incredible mountaineering achievements, but this was not one of those meets. With a forecast of persistent rain throughout the weekend, the plan was to have short outings during the day and enjoy board games and drinks in the evenings. The Inbhirfhaolain hut at the heart of Glen Etive is a great little place to stay, especially when surrounded by the autumnal colours of …
Alpine Summer Week with LMC Date: July 12th to 28th, 2024 Participants: Baptiste, Mia, Hannah, James, Aurelie, John, Alan, Katie, and Andrew After a successful alpine trip to Saas Fee, Switzerland, in 2023, where three (soon to be four) LMC members summited some 4000m peaks, this year’s adventure was even more exciting. Thanks to Baptiste’s enthusiastic lobbying, we selected Ailefroide in France for the 2024 LMC alpine trip. LMC members (and associated) spent …
As you approach the Isle of Arran on the ferry from a distance, the hills appear serene and pleasant. However, up close, the peaks reveal rocky outcrops that are sheer in places, providing an excellent challenge for those willing to attempt the climbs. During the July meet, the ferries were busy and booked well in advance, so walking or cycling over became the only option. The weather was excellent, with high temperatures, low wind, and the chance …
As a club, we’ve been pretty unlucky with the weather on meets over the last few years, so imagine my surprise when the forecast was set fair in the run up to the Lakes meet at Coniston! Unfortunately the Yorkshire Mountaineering club made a mistake with our booking, meaning that numbers were reduced to a maximum of 8 for this one. This meant that a few folk couldn’t come, but it was out of our …
On the run up to the meet there was the possibility of an excellent weather window, and Skye delivered. The club were staying at the Coruisk hut at the south of the Isle of Skye, a remote hut usually access by boat. Most the group arrived on Friday afternoon to take the ferry from Elgol to Coruisk at the south of the island. Some of the group were even able to get some climbing in …
The CIC meet will always be eventful, sometimes, it can be too eventful. There were lots of good memories from this meet but also lots of lessons learned! Here’s a summary of what went on. Enjoy! The Friday Night Friday gave us sunny conditions for the walk into the CIC hut located at an elevation of 680 meters below the picturesque North Face of Ben Nevis. It was cloudy around the Ben Nevis summit but …
The iconic Black Rock Cottage in Glen Coe was the base once again for this popular oversubscribed meet which saw – in no order of importance – Cameron, Flo, Hana, Mhairi, Fraser, Mia, Baptiste, Vicky and her guest Evi, James, Michael H and me Jules, all meet up for some ice climbing, cycling/Munro Bagging, or in Fraser’s case just pottering about, Flo and Cameron got up at daft-o-clock on Saturday morning and headed off to …
Skye Meet – December 2022 A meet in December on the Isle of Skye: you must be mad! The December turned out to be the cold snap that plunged Glasgow into temperatures down to -8 °C, so where better to go than one of the most fantastic places in Scotland. The group of five of us headed to the Glen Brittle memorial hut at the foot of the Cuillin ridge. The weather was looking good, …
Cairngorm Walking Meet – November 2022 How about a meet without a hut in November! The original meet had to be moved due to a clash of dates with the club dinner, so instead of a hut we went for a walking meet in the Cairngorms. Three of us set of with the forecasts predicting intense winds over the weekend, although we had delayed our plans to avoid the worst of the weather. The …
This year’s camping meet was to combine climbing in Ardnamurchan and Glencoe. We were staying at the Red Squirrel campsite in Glencoe and despite no organisation on our part the two cars arrived within a minute of each other at the campsite which was excellent, but this did double the time taken to decide on a suitable camping spot. Tents were pitch, a fire was built and there was much sitting around with a …
Strawberry cottage is one of the most remote huts in Scotland. We had twelve Lomond members head to Glen Affric stay at the hut and explore the hills in the area. As only two vehicles are allowed down the road the Friday evening took a bit of coordination to gather people together. Everyone had arrived by 8.15 pm so we could load all our kit into the Bongo camper van of Stu and Emma. …
The weekend of the two halves………. The drive up was wet and then gave way to sleet and high winds so interesting driving and of course we had to stop off for our fish and chips….yes I know it’s expensive but it is also good!!!! Murray and I were in the van on Friday night and the high winds and rain battered us the whole night but we were warm and cosy so we could …
By Stephen M, For me, this years Cairngorm’s meet started early on the Friday. With a day off and early season snow, Jack and I headed to the ski centre car park for a mid morning start. Despite sub-optimal conditions, the optimists in us decided to have a crack at sliding down Cairngorm. Me with a snowboard and Jack with skis, we trudged our way up Cairngorms slopes, resenting the ski tourers in front of …
By Steven, Sometimes in the hills, the weather turns out to be just right. This month the club were visiting Ronnan Cottage, probably the most luxurious hut in Scotland. The property, located in the far north-west, is owned by the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club and has proper beds, proper sofas, a warm shower, and a very well-equipped kitchen. On Friday the folks arrived after their 5-hour drive from Glasgow, apart from Helen who cheated by …
By Ruth It was a beautiful evening when we got to the hut. Some of the others had arrived the day before and gone bouldering. I was excited to be on a meet again as this was the first one I had been on since COVID. Over food we discussed plans for the next day. The forecast was looking good and most of us decided to the circular route up Stob a Ghlas Chorie and …
By Lorna Picked up Diane and Alie on Friday night along with all the food Alie had prepared for the dinner on Saturday night and it was placed next to all the wood I had promised to bring for the fire. It was a long drive up but not having seen the girls for so long the time flew past. We arrived at the hut just in time to meet Alan and then hand off …
By Steven For the first time (post lockdown) the LMC where able to stay in a club hut! With 8 of us staying in the Glen Brittle Memorial Hut surrounded by the beautiful Skye landscape. Once again, we were surrounded atmosphere of an excited hut morning, with folk making breakfast and preparing for the day eager to explore the Cuillin Ridge. Looking out of the window on Saturday morning the weather outlook was not looking …
By Jules Well what can I say about the second official LMC meet since lockdown eased. The weather, the company and the craic were all excellent and my only regret was that I had to return to the hot sweaty Central Belt on Saturday evening, leaving the rest of the group to enjoy the beauty of the Galloway area.It was a great turnout and testament to Marco’s enthusiasm as meets secretary that attracted eight members, …
At 6am the rising sun is nowhere to be seen. The rock towers that hold it back lay a cold shadow upon us. We stare up at a piece of virgin rock and trace an imaginary line of potential over slabs and overhangs, a route with all the makings of an epic day out. Stewart’s vision was inspired. Amongst the jungle of routes, he has taken an interest in a blank section, and has made …
By Emma, Arran Meet Friday 11th- Sunday 13th It was so exciting to be on the ferry and heading over to Arran! Almost a return to normal! New people and old faces… Even if finding each other on the ferry in facemasks was a tad unnerving! Introductions and routes discussed before driving to the blessedly midge free campsite at Seal Shore and OTTERS! Otters playing on the beach and dashing just short of the tents, …
By Rob As the Covid Pandemic limited access to “real hills”, my pack had swollen due to the snow covering outside. I then left my flat near the outskirts of Edinburgh with an internal debate: was carrying a winter pack required, it was only the Pentlands and the target, Castlelaw Hill, only 488m high; was it training for bigger objectives; or, was it an excuse to get out some “toys” that hadn’t been used in …
Russ Salisbury (l) and Julian Hearne (r) By ex-hut custodian Julian Hearne The following account of my time as the hut custodian for The Manse Barn in Onich is not meant to be an exhaustive account of its history, but rather just a semi-coherent account of funny anecdotes with some facts thrown in to anchor it in reality. Better men than me – and it was all men in the 1970s – could tell you …
A short history of the LMC Manse Barn (Nov 2007 – July 2014) Read More »
The club has begun to compile an online archive of our photos from the past. You can view these in the link below. If anyone has photos that they would like to add, or comments/memories/names on ones that you see please get in touch via our email at the bottom of the screen. LMC Online Photo Archive Link
Pete Ogden’s memories of the first ascent of Spacewalk at Aonach Dubh, currently E5 6b. It was 1978 and Ken Johnstone was amongst the best climbers in Scotland but also definitely the slowest. The descents in darkness off the crags were legendary and it was essential to pack a headtorch along with sufficient food and drink for the gruelling experience of hanging off belays for hours. Fortunately, we had climbed together for years and I …
LMC Memories, First Ascent of Spacewalk, Aonach Dubh Read More »
Our archive of LMC Journals include fascinating reports of mountaineering life during the Second World War as well as lino cut cover prints by member Sam Drysdale. View journals here.
Salvaged from the old website: 7/18/2004 Reiff part IIILast visit, left of Pinnacle area: SomethingBlue (Hard Severe 4c) where I was unable to pull over the top which makes it a 4c. Didn’t affect my confidence, just backed up that I am not yet technical enough to make 4c moves. Sonia tried Juniors’ Groove (vdiff *) but I think her confidence had taken a beating the day before, and she was fed up doing corners, which most of …
Salvaged from our website circa 2006 from Doug – now Professor of Glacial stuff and a bit more at St. Andrews and University of the Arctic, Svalbard (UNIS). Peter Scott – an Appreciation – By Doug Benn I joined the Lomond Club in 1973, when I was sixteen, along with three older friends who worked at Weir’s engineering firm, near my home in the south side of Glasgow. These three – Alan Anderson, Willie Johnstone …
Report by Alie, As the rest of the UK wandered blindly into the epicentre of a global pandemic, Michael, Steve, Jack, Alie, Colin, Dorota and Cat all loaded their cars and set off up the road for the long drive to the Scottish west coast for a weekend at Ronnan Cottage in the wonderful highlands, untroubled by closing borders and terrifying statistics. Little did we know it would be the last opportunity to get away …
I was looking forward to this meet which is surely the pinnacle event in any climber’s calendar. Thanks to the herculean efforts of our meets administrator Steven, the club had managed to book out the whole CIC hut in February but the forecast was turning very grim with high winds and a storm forecast. People even began pulling out and I lamented that it was almost 2 years since I had been on a …
Lagangarbh Burns Supper Meet Report by Michael This was the 3rd Annual Burns Supper Meet and was by all means over attended with 23 members taking the short hop up the A82 to Glencoe and the wonderfully situated Lagangarbh Hut. Cameron and I were on security duties on the drive up with Lorna , protecting the cargo of “live ” Haggis for the Supper. There was plan for some of the wealthier members to meet …
The meet held just north of Glencoe was a well-attended affair with a full Alex MacIntyre Memorial hut. The events began with the usual endeavour of trying not ending up in a room with Danny, to make sure you got a quiet night’s sleep. Soon enough the usual evening’s entertainment of meeting new members, sharing stories and planning for the weekend where well underway. The Saturday comprised of one group doing the Ring of Steall …
By Jules Go with the Flo For all those naysayers who thought the Lake District Tranearth Conniston meet would be a complete washout, I’d like to say “get it up ye”. It was a great weekend with only a wee bit of rain in the mornings that meant a nice long lie-in on both mornings in a hut that would better be described as a mansionette – it was huge. I arrived late on the …
By Cameron The meet at Braedownie offered LMC members the last chance to get out in the pishing rain before it turned cold, and as a consequence – we had an excellent turn out. Lorna drove myself, Stewart and Cat, and kept us all on the edge of our seats playing the petrol game and exiting motorways like Colin Macrae. Once we arrived at Braedownie mansion we were introduced to a large number of unfamiliar …
By Marco Back when I was doing this mountaineering stuff alot the CIC hut was a mysterious place to me. I had been brought up on the rougher side of climbing, the wild bivi under some boulder or tenting on the side of a high ridge. Well times move on and here was the opportunity to spend a couple of nights in this revered place, the Charles Ingles Clark hut. This was my second club …
The Black Rock cottage with Stob Dearg towering behind has been the centre piece of many breath taking photos and lines of poetic mastery. The Lomonder’s managed neither of these for their April meet report, so this must be an achievement of sorts!
By Michael, 2015, The Eiger, what can say about this mountain that hasn’t already been said? When I was 21 my friend Jed gave me a VHS video of a French climber Christoph Profit called A Winter Trilogy . It features Christoph solo climbing the north face’s of the Eiger, Matterhorn and Grand Jorasses. This was 1987 so long before HD and Uli Steck, but I loved to watch this video and often dreamed of …
The LMC meet at Mill Cottage might be the last winter meet of the year. The winter had not been great so far, but the weather report suddenly turned in winter’s favour and the club members scrambled to be added to the list. I headed up on Friday night with Steven – we exchanged ambitions for the weekend; a climb at Sneachda on the Saturday and perhaps a munro on the Sunday. We arrived at …
Hut: Lagangabh Hut, Glencoe Weather: Scottish We had a lot of new faces along on this meet. Friday was the traditional event of drinking whisky, and checking weather reports every hour or so in the vain hope that something might improve. With nothing looking promising many of us decided that we’d scoot up Curved ridge in the morning. Those that didn’t fancy the scramble decided to walk up Buachaille Etive Beag instead. The worst …
By Michael, This years Burns Supper meet was held at the very upmarket Kintail Outdoor Centre. It was attended by 16 Lomondeers and despite the atrocious weather was an absolute blast.A few of us met at the dearest chippie in Scotland on the way up, I think some of them even enjoyed the food!! On leaving the chippie Cameron joked about Lorna getting a puncture before getting to Kintail, unfortunately that comment backfired and poor …
In 1989 club members Gordon Longmuir and Graham McGill made an attempt on the Eiger North Face. A presentation by Gordon was given at the 75th anniversary dinner based on photos and field notes. This content has been added to the website. Gordon and Graham on Die Eigernordwand – Eiger North Wall Notes 1989 To the Swallows Nest (start of 1st ice field) and back Friday 4/8/89 One month to the day before my 48th …
LMC Glen Affric Meet Report Dates: 30/11/18 – 02/12/18 Attended by: Lorna Ferrier, Holly Duncan, Michael McAnenay, Stewart Gibson, Julian Hearne, Tim Hough, Rob Sim and Cameron Watts. A great turn out and successful Meet to a really remote hut – Strawberry Cottage in the beautiful Glen Affric. Tim thankfully had his land rover and so was able to ferry people and bags down the track to the hut saving tired legs after a long …
By Rob. On the 5th and 6th of October 2018, the club met in The Grampian Club’s Inbhirfhaolain Hut in Glen Etive. After arriving on Friday night and catching up over tea and beers, we made our plans for the Saturday. Anna Lisa, Marshall and Maysam walked Ben Starav. Myself, Danny, Stewart and Cameron headed to Rannoch Wall on Buachaille Etive Mor. Lorna also joined us for part of the walk in on her way …
By Harry, Me & Paul , met Danny, Richard & Rob in Etive. Because of a mid/day start (9.30) we ended up behind two parties; we met the two girls at the first short wall which was wet and they decided to rope-up. I went up first followed by paul who ended back in a pool of water, so the rope came out and the girls leap frogged us. A chossy loose traverse then took …
Mid-summer solstice meets don’t get much better than this. Arran was bathed in sunshine with just enough breeze to keep the dreaded midges at bay. Unusually the midges were the least of our worries. Instead we had to put up with alcohol fuelled Hawick neds and a young Glaswegian ned couple who got so drunk that the guy fell onto his tent in the wee small hours of Saturday morning . . . but …
By Lorna, In comparison to the boys hike the night before Julie and I went up the night after, on the actual summer solstice!!! (those boys were just that bit premature and over eager ? It was a beautiful walk in and great catch up as I don’t think either of us drew breath ? I know shocking isn’t it! bet you are all surprised as we are both such quiet wee things? We scrambled …
The Cobbler, Summer Solstice on a Sunny Thursday Read More »
