Fort Augustus Weekend 25-27 September 2009

Two Munros were climbed on the Friday by those fortunate enough to be able to cram in an extra day's walking, Geal Charn and Creag Pitridh by Loch Laggan. The highlight of this walk may possibly have been the lovely sandy beach where we stopped both on ascent on descent. A really peaceful place with a view over Loch na H'earba.

The following day one group set off for a walk, going south along the hills towards Loch Oich with an excellent coffee stop on the way, and walking back again along the canal towpath. A good round trip. The other 4 drove over a most spectacular road with views over Loch Garry and Loch Loyne to Loch Cluanie where they then climbed 2 Munros, Sgurr nan Conbhairean and Carn Ghluasaid. These are an escarpment of 3 Munros with a precipice on the far side which is most impressive. We had hoped to do all 3, but the wind was against us and discretion being the better part of valour, we left the third one for another day. Generally an excellent walk and the mist cleared for super views to the west from Sgurr nan Conbhairean, but the end of the path was not easy at all, very steep and slippery. The following day, the group of 4 who had not walked along the canal on the previous day, did the towpath walk back from Loch Oich on rather a wet morning.

Lastly, the 2 cars, at different times both visited Glen Roy to see the parallel roads.

Evening walk April 2008

Wednesday 16th April 7pm at Warren Woods near Durris
Grid ref sheet 45 805972 (car park at woods)
turn off from A93 at GR 792988 or
turn off from South Deeside Road at GR 803975

Glen Affric Midweek Break June Tue-17th - Thur 19th 2008

A midweek break was organised by one of our club members.

Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Sponsored Walk Saturday June 7th 2008

See AMRT website link for details of route

Weekend in Arrochar

The weekend meet in Arrochar was on August 8/9 2008.

Clubs 20th Walking Trip

In 2008 it was our clubs 20th anniversary and we organised a walking holiday for one week in the Lake District.

Club Ceilidh

It is now twenty years since the club was founded and we celebrated this by holding a ceilidh on Saturday 8th March 2008 in the Heritage Hall.

AGM 2008

The Annual General Meeting was held on 5th February and there was a very good attendance by members of the club. The new committee elected for 2008/9 is as follows :-

Chairman Brenda Noble
Treasurer Alan Duncan
Deputy Treasurer Marianne Meres
Secretary Elsa Brown
Membership Secretary Rosie Hastings
Webmaster Jackie Potts
Social Secretary Vacant

Many thanks to our former committee members Lauranne sharp, Alison Odds for the hard work over the years and in particular to our former treasurer Peter Fraser who has now given up his post after 15 years.

Ullapool Weekend August 2007

We had a good weekend with 15 members attending at the Morefield Motel in Ullapool. Ten members tackled Stac Pollaidh (612m) on Friday and one did Ben Wyvis.

Saturday was the big walking day with seven members doing a 13-mile circuit around Ullapool through Strath Nimhe and Glen Achall. Good weather and sunshine all the way. The more adventurous - four tackled the Fannichs (Meall a Chrasgaidh), but then turned back because of very high winds - and another four impressively completed the Ben More Coigach horseshoe despite very high winds. On Sunday, six of the more adventurous returned to the Fannichs and managed to complete Sgurr Mor and Beinn Liath Mhor Fannich, complete with challenging river crossings and challenging descents. Four of the six managed to complete Sgurr nan Clach Geala, as well.

The less adventurous (9 of us) took a wonderfully scenic boat cruise around the Summer Isles.

Torridon Weekend

In September 2007 we braved the wet and windy weather and had weekend in Torridon with the professional guidance of Alan Crchton.We did both munros on Ben Eighe on the Saturday and on a rather wet and wild Sunday a couple of people climbed Ben Alligin and the horns with Alan Crichton while others opted for a slightly drier option of walks near the loch. It was a great weekend despite the weather and many thanks to Alan for looking after us all.

Talk 25th April 2007

A presentation entitled 'The Dee and the Don - Inspiration' was given by Folk of the North East which is a charity organisation that was founded in 2006. Its aim is to promote the heritage of the north east of Scotland – specifically the literary, artistic and musical heritage.

Club Weekend Assynt

In mid May 2006 a few members and their guests spent a weekend at the cottage in Elphin. The weather was excellent the entire weekend and the air free of midges! Our first day was spent walking up Suilven starting at Elphin, walking along the edge of Carn Loch across the moorland and ascending Suilven SW of the col to the summit. Our return descent was down Bealach Mor NE to Loch na Gainimh and Lochan Fada and returning along Carn Loch to Elphin. Our trip took just over twelve hours and ended with spectacular views in the sunset. Our second day was not quite so strenuous ascending Cul Beag with superb views of Stac Pollaidh and the near by lochs.

Visit to Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Station

A visit was organised to Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Station at Westhill, Aberdeenshire on Tuesday 21st November 2006 at 7.30 pm. Alan Crichton gave us a guided tour round the Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Station, along with insight into the vital emergency service the team provides.

Weekend in Kintail

The club held a weekend in Kintail in September 2006 staying in bunkhouse accommodation at Kintail Lodge. Our walks were the Five Sisters and the Forcan Ridge under the professional guidance of Alan Crichton.

August 2006 Weekend In Kinlochleven

By popular request! We did Ben Nevis on the first day of this weekend, leaving options open to individuals for Sunday.

Evening Walks 2006

We held our first evening walk on Thursday 29th June. This was a short walk in the wooded grounds of Castle Fraser.

Evening Talk

The club held an evening talk in Peterculter on 28th March 2006. It was presented by the chairman Lauranne Sharp and also Susan Low and Jean Johnson. Lauranne gave a talk and presentation on her walking holiday on the West Highland Way and her walking trip in Majorca and Susan gave her talk on her walking trip on the Cuillins in Skye. Antarctica was the subject of Jean Johnson's illustrated talk on her recent trip with some superb wildlife photography. The evening ended with some excellent photographs and amusing captions provided by Norman Harper of our recent club walks

MCofS gathering and AGM June 2005

The Mountaineering council of Scotland's annual gathering and AGM took place on the 17th and 18th June. A small group of our members including two committee members attended the event, representing the club at the AGM. It was an enjoyable weekend with entertainment provided in the form of talks and film show and various taster activities such as scrambling in Coire an-t Sneachda! An excellent buffet was provided in the evening. Further details of the AGM will be found on the McofS website.

Crianlarich Weekend June 2005

Once again the club stayed at the OMC hut in Crianlarich. We had a misty start but were blessed with warm sunshine and unfortunately plenty of midges for the rest of the weekend. Eight members attended this weekend and between us several Munros were bagged. On Saturday we walked up Ben More and Stob Binnein ridge. Some opted for a traverse, others chose to complete the horseshoe. On Sunday we did Sron Garbh ridge, An Caisteal and Beinn a Chroin, which had a couple of small scrambly bits. A couple of the group went on to do two further Munros, Beinn Tulaichean and Cruach Ardrain, while one member had already opted for Cruach Ardrain on Friday. Photos of the weekend are available on this site.

Weekend at Glenmore Lodge July 2005

Braeriach was the favourite for everyone this weekend. Although shrouded in mist for the duration of the walk it was never the less enjoyable. The following day we all chose to do our own thing. A couple of us avoided the rain by using the indoor climbing wall.

NEMT

The club was sent information on the work of the North East Mountain Trust. Any members interested in joining the NEMT can find out more on their website or can ask the secretary for the information booklet. The NEMT are holding a series of excellent evening lectures this autumn and winter, for more information visit the NEMT website.

Evening Walk 2005

This summer we decided to introduce a short local walk for the evening. This took place in the middle of August before we lost the best of the evening light but as daylight faded we opted for a visit to the local pub - a much more attractive alternative to getting out the head torches. If anyone has any suggestions for an evening walk for next year please contact the secretary.

Weekends 2005

We will be having a weekend meet at end of June in Crianlarich staying at Ochills MC hut. Our intentions are to do Stob Binnein and Ben More or other munros in the area At the end of July we intend to do Braeriach and alternative hills, with overnight stay at Glenmore Lodge . There are now several members attending this weekend for more details contact the club secretary Elsa on 077470178657 or email the club. In June 2005 McofS holds the Annual Gathering and general meeting weekend which a few members will be attending. It is also hoped we may be able to arrange a weekend in Assynt in the Autumn.

Club Talk- 11th April 2005

On Monday 11th April the club was given a talk by Alan Crichton of Mountain Skills Limited on incident / group management and first aid. This was an extremely informative talk and was well attended by our members .

AGM 2005

Culter hillwalking Club AGM was held in Peterculter Sports centre on Thursday 10th February. The committee remains unchanged from 2004. It has been agreed that the membership fee will now be £30 to cover increasing costs of insurance and bus hire. The cost of bus will now be £10 to cover transport costs,this is the first time we have had to increase this for many years.The minutes of the AGM will soon be available and will be sent out to all members.

Purple lines!

For those of us who have been none to happy with the bold purple lines depicted for Forestry Commission and National Trust owned access land on the new OS 1:50 000 Landranger maps. You will be pleased to know Ordnance Survey are reviewing this with their cartographic design group as a result of customer feedback form various sources. Perhaps the lines may be less prominent in future - lets hope so!

Weekend in Crianlarich 2004

A few members of our club spent the weekend in a cottage in Crianlarich in September. The accommodation was excellent and had the added attraction of being handy for the pub next door! However the weather was not so favourable and unfortunately we had to abandon Ben More due to bad weather and like so many walkers that day explore the outdoor shops as an alternative! The following day we had a much drier walk discovering some of the other hills in the Crianlarich area enjoying the spectacular views towards Tyndrum and beyond. It is hoped we can return at a later date as we feel this is good central location for many popular Munros. If you would like to suggest another weekend meet please get in touch with the club secretary.

Weekend in Kingussie

At the end of June 2004 our club had an excellent weekend based at Kingussie. We all participated on the first day in a walk incorporating the two Munros A'Chailleach & Carn Sgulain where we had a window of good weather giving us some good visibility. As usual in the evening plenty of liquid refreshment and excellent food it's a small wonder we managed to climb anything the next day! The following day several members walked up the Corbett Carn an Fhreiceadain and others climbed Munro Carn Dearg and further afield Geal Charn . Altogether a great weekend and many thanks to Trish and Alan for their hard work organising the weekend for us all.

NEMT

In September 2004 a few of our committee members attended the The North East Mountain Trust BBQ which included a short presentation . The evening was informative and highlighted much of the valuable work undertaken by the organisation.If you would like to find out more about NEMT or about their 2004/5 winter lecture series click here or enter the link on our links page.

Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Sponsored walk 2004

Several members of our club participated in the annual sponsored walk this year to help raise much needed funds. It was a beautiful route in fabulous hot sunny weather and much appreciated tea and cakes at the end! We shall be back again next year to give our support.

Winter Mountaineering Course

In early February 2004 a small group of club members participated in a two-day winter mountaineering course ran by Alan Crichton Mountain Skills Limited for our club. This was an extremely informative and enjoyable weekend covering many topics vital to winter safety. We hope to encourage more members of the club to consider such a course particularly if they are hillwalking in winter conditions.

Club weekend in Killin

At the end of August 2003 our club met in Killin in Perthshire for a weekend away. Click here to read a report.

Walk coordinators

Culter Hillwalking Club has no members who are qualified leaders or instructors. Therefore anyone volunteering to assist the club on a meet cannot be held responsible for other members' welfare. Members must be aware they are solely responsible for themselves at all times and adhere to safety guidance.

Scrambling course

As a follow up to one of the topics in our winter course some of our members participated in an introductory scrambling course in June again with Mountain skills Ltd. Our intention is to continue with further instruction late summer at the sea cliffs. If any other club members are interested in this type of activity please get in touch.