BEN CRUACHAN AND CRUACHAN RIDGE 1979

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Ben Cruachan and Cruachan Ridge 1979

Friday, 8th June 1979 - Drive north

At 8 PM we set off from headquarters stopping en route for oil. The campsite was reached at 10 PM. We obtained permission to camp from the farmer, Mr Gray, at castles farm. He also gave us a key for the dam  road. Mr Gray revealed that he had personally discovered the body of a woman climber only last week on Ben Cruachan. The women had disappeared in terrible weather conditions at the beginning of the year.

Saturday 9th June 1979  Ben Cruachan and the Cruachan ridge

Rivet was in one of his slow moods this morning, so it wasn’t till 10:30 AM that everybody set off. When the van was been driven to the dam along a kind of our Alpine road (steep cliffs below) most of the scouts were persuaded that they had to sit on the ‘safe’ side of the bus so that it wouldn’t topple over! Gullible people.

At the dam, another gullible person called Glip was fooled into thinking that the dam lights worked by a photo cell since since they switched on whenever he passed them. It took five minutes before the ruse was discovered– a switch at the end of the dam.

As we started our climb, the top was just about visible, but the mist soon came down. We followed the bluff up to Meall Cuanail (3004 feet). The mist was deceptive and fooled us into thinking that we were further on than we really were. At the top of Meall Cuanail, we stopped and were surprised at the steep slope at the other side which did not look right on the map. As it happened, the contours were missing because of a badly placed word on the map, and at first glance,  the map suggested a small saddle of about 50 feet rather than the 200 feet drop which was there in reality.

Eventually we got it right and climbed the last steep section which was very rocky. At the top, we had lunch while John went of on his own to conquer to conquer Taynuilt Hill. Dome demonstrated how to flatten a coke can, empty of course. After lunch, we walked along the misty ridge and had reached the next top (3312 feet) when John caught us up. Everybody began talking at this point, and as a result, nobody navigated since it was assumed someone else was. Therefore, the group went down the North ridge from the top (3312 feet). This was rather annoying but was a valuable lesson to us all, not to take anything for granted. On the way back, we met another two climber who had made the same mistake. They had the nerve to blame us!

We reached the ridge again and descended to the lowest part of the ridge which, at 2900 feet, was clear of mist.  A climb of of 300 feet took us to the next top at 3272 feet and back into the mist. Dome discovered a water bottle with lime juice in it and devoured it despite dire warnings of typhoid, botulism, etc.

Striking south now, revisited a top at 3215 feet, thought about climbing Ben a’ Bhuiridh  and decided against it. Instead, we descended to the dam for the usual celebrations at about 5:15 PM. Surprisingly, the local shop was still open.

At night, the scouts visited a nearby castle (Kilchurn Castle) which was closed because it was unsafe. Back at camp, Kevin, Rivet, and Shrew celebrated attaining Everest with a midnight feast. Willie Grant achieve the Eiger.

Thus, in the space of week, five scouts and one leader had reached Everest, well ahead of expectations.  The first midges of the year celebrated that night as well, with a well-balanced diet of Scouts and leaders. John eventually fled to the minibus.

Logistics

Leaders:  Glip and John Hennessey

PL  Willie Grant (Dome);      APL   David Eadie (Deedie)

Scouts: Colin Roach (Shrew); Kevin Byng; Andrew Davies; Graham Bolster (Rivet)

Equipment

The Scouters used Glip’s tent and John’s Primus stove.

Willie Grant and his group had the Explorer tent and cooked by Trangia

Kevin Byng and co had the Tornado tent and cooked by Trangia.

Each group provided their own meals

Weather

Saturday: Cloudy with hill fog. Mild with very light winds. Clearing up at night

Sunday: Very muggy. Still cloudy, but sun coming out about 3 PM to result in a nice day. No wind. Slight breeze from the North at higher levels.

Transport

A Sherpa 12-seater minibus was borrowed from Glasgow University Student Social Action. Driving at 50 mph, petrol consumption was £7 (Six and half gallons) for the trip plus the Glasgow to Greenock return. Very satisfactory.