Part I: What have we done?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

This weekend's aim was the mountaineering club's trip to Roybridge, near Ben Nevis. I had some hesitations about the trip, considering our close to zero experience from the mountains and our total lack of winter skills. So we arrived to the village hall and started to look around for a group doing something relatively easy and luckily found one. Then we had a crash course to the winter equipment, including ice axes and crampons, "have someone to show you tomorrow how to do a self-arrest, so you know how to brake if you start to slide down…" And then we heard that the mountaineering club has a clean record, because no one has died (apart from one girl, but that's ok because it wasn't a club trip) which I guess was supposed to encourage us, but just left me with a thought that I've joined a club where there is a possibility of dying… OMG, what have we done?

 

Part II: Wee bit of scrambling and the joys of not dying

 

Views before starting our climb

 

Loch Trieg

Our aim was on the west side of Loch Trieg. It was relatively easy trip (at least compared to what the other groups were doing), 8 hours, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />13 kilometers and "a wee bit of scrambling", which we heard after we had been walking for an hour already. Right, then. Wee bit of scrambling. Now I'm not the one to say what constitutes as "wee bit of scrambling", but at one point I realized that if I now slip, the end result is probably something worse than just broken bones. Especially after I saw girl in front of me, Allison, reach for support from a rock that actually was loose so she lost her grip and almost lost her balance… It's not that the scrambling was technically or physically that demanding, it was just the thought of possible effects of falling. But the feeling once you did get to the top… ;) I might seriously consider about getting hooked on adrenaline. Do I regret doing it or wish we would have done an easier route? Not in a million years. We actually did two Munro's that day, Stob a´ Choire Mheadhoin (1105 m) and Stob Coire Easain (1115). And a note: we actually walked to the top of these from the sea level. So only 282 Munro's to goJ

 

Somewhere before the scrambling

Maija showing her ice axe, behind her Stob a´ Choire Mheadhoin (1105 m)

It's easy to smile at the top! And we did actually use our axes (well just for support, but still:)

Coming down from Stob a´ Choire Mheadhoin and climbing up to Stob Coire Easain

Views from the top of Stob Coire Easain

 

After conquering the tops you'd think the hard part is over, but it was demanding in another way. Once again, I would've said it can't be done (like I would've said about 75% of the stuff that day) until I actually just did it. Because the ridge just seemed more sort of vertical than what I thought I could handle… And I did fell down a couple of occasions, but really didn't care that much, because the worst that could happen would be a broken ankle, not death. So you see, a day in the mountains changes your whole outlook on lifeJ

 

See what I mean - vertical

Don't exactly know how, but we came down from there!

But seriously, the trip wasn't so hard (although today I see that 8 hours of walking does take it's toll, especially after one spectacular fall I made in the mud and end result is my lower back being a bit sore – like all my muscles). You just have to take the mountains with a proper respect, every gear is essential and the weather does change rapidly, as we saw between the two tops.

 

Part III: CV of life

 

On Sunday we took it easy. Chocolate cake in FortWilliam and a walk in Glen Nevis. Amazing scenery once again, and Steall waterfalls. And we did get to do something that pushed our limits a bit more, a wire bridge across a river. From Maija I learned a concept I immediately adopted to my active vocabulary, cv of life. The reason why were are doing this is to get something in our cv of life, something to tell stories to our grandchildren and/or to people who weren't there and make them jealous, hopefully;) Let's just say that Goat Fell sort of lost it's significance;) And walking in Glen Nevis we looked at the mountains with Maija and thought, oh yes, we could do that…;)