BEINN AN LOCHAIN (2992')

Sunday 6th May        Beinn an Lochain (2992'

Leader Glip

APLs Kenny (Frodo) Blair, James (Peasant) Gatherer

Scouts Adrian Simpson, Colin Beaton, Mark Sinclair, Lindsay Church, Douglas ‘Jobby’ McCrorie, Alistair ‘Frodlet’ Blair, Stuart (Merry) Dalrymple

Weather

Cloudy and the occasional light shower of sleet on high ground. Chilly on top with light to moderate wind

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Report

I cooked breakfast for everybody to be efficient. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a dry morning so I ordered camp to be stuck while the tents were dry. Adrian and Douglas got a bollocking for staying too long in pit …… Ally and Colin seemed reasonable however. Frodo, Merry and Peasant were also reasonable.

Once packed, we played our neighbours at football much to our lots reluctance. A nasty bit of work on the other side we had into Colin so I gave him his marching orders. That soured things a bit and it was fortunate we were leaving at that point. It was a bit of a pity. I find most of the lads reasonable enough and their leader/coach was very friendly. Still, if kids don’t hit it off, I suppose there isn’t much you can do about it. Different backgrounds seemed to have a lot to do with it.

We roared up to the Rest and be Thankful and the party instructed me we were going up Beinn an Lochain. (I had intended going up Beinn Dorain). We climbed the deep gorge directly from the car park, which is an interesting steep scramble.

Colin (who was in trainers) appeared tired after his efforts at football but recovered after the first hundred or so feet. Peasant, Ally, and Lindsay were full of beans on this climb. Peasant, in fact, is turning into a very good steady climber who chooses his own route and quite often drifts away from the main group. He ended up going up the right of the gorge while everybody else was going up the left.

Colin and Douglas were all right. Mark and Adrian were slowest but not dreadfully so. Merry and Frodo played on some rocks and generally fooled about. They almost got stuck on one section, however, and I was chuffed at that. Frodo decided enough was enough, but many carried on as is his wont, trying all sorts of ‘silly’ things.

As a result, Mary was last to the summit. Surprisingly, Lindsay was first, considering that this was his first weekend.

During lunch, Frodo (who had just had his ASS interview with KWP) insisted on a Scout Own.  This took the form of a discussion when Merry voiced distinctly anti-church sentiments.

I also pointed out the Scottish vulture (Vultura minima) (actually a hawk or crow)  to everybody and explained that it was the smallest vulture in the world and that only half a dozen lived in Scotland. I kept pushing my luck describing them as migratory birds which spend winter in Sweden. They believed that, so I told them they were cannibals and that only a couple of offspring survive out of the brood of 6 to 8. They believed that, so I told them the young ones were taught to fly by getting piggybacks from mum and dad. They believed that, so I stopped there since I couldn’t think of anything dafter than that. Wonder when they’ll cotton on to it.

Although there was no snow to slide on during the descent, there was plenty of fun since the steep grassy slopes provided ideal ‘bum slides’. The boomerang was also flung at every opportunity with frantic rushes to get to it first (so that one could throw it again)……… Merry attempted a down scramble with some skill, but I forbade the rest from following on.

We all ran down the last hundred feet and swept into the car park from all angles. That must have been an amazing site to those onlookers who were present.

We moved off quickly and stopped in Arrochar for tea / coffee and scones in the restaurant. Nobody was allowed to call Douglas by his nickname because it would cause severe hassle to me. Incidentally, the in phrases just now from the likes of Frodo, Ally, Adrian, Colin and co, when they get into difficulties are “Oh Hassle!” or “Trouble!”

During the drive back, I was shocked to find a motorcyclist overtaking me as I was overtaking a car. ( In hindsight, this might have happened on the Saturday).

We got back to Greenock at a respectable time and I had great fun roaring the minibus around the West end.

The Race to Everest

This weekend,

*Lindsay Church gained the Ben Nevis scarf, 

*Douglas McCrorie, Colin Beaton, Stuart Dalrymple, Kenny Blair, and Adrian Simpson gained the Eiger scarf,

* James Gatherer and Mark Sinclair gained the Kilimanjaro scarf.

The Sprint for the finish is really on. Ally, Peasant and Mark lead the field as Booboo flags badly to lose touch. Richard, despite his late burst, is unable to keep it going and falls back as Adrian, Frodo and Merry surge ahead, with late starters Colin and Douglas snapping on their heels. Roderick and Derek are left standing,

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