Rob Mitton and AG head over the border closely followed by Chuck, Brendan and Wendy. The five set up base camp in the warmth of Craigower Lodge in the Scottish village of Newtonmore for the final meet of the year. Lucy and Jim don't head north as planned because Lucy is ill.

Monday 27 December 2004

Keen to put up some daring first ascents, Rob, AG and Brendan rise early and purposefully check out the snow conditions in the corries near Cairn Gorm. Conditions are crap so after the long journey north the day before, they are secretly relieved to have an excuse to leisurely check out the gear shops in Aviemore. AG consoles himself by testing out every ice axe he comes across for size - one never knows when one might just find a better colour match for one's rather expensive Mountain Hardware windproof jacket... Chuck (who is recovering from a dangerous bout of mince pie poisoning) and Wendy rise slightly less early and head straight for the coffee and gear shops in Aviemore.

Tuesday 28 December 2004

With Chuck still recovering from the global mince pie epidemic, he and the recently arrived Stefan decide to check out those seductive gear shops in Aviemore. Chuck thinks he might have missed a bargain (any excuse) while Stefan needs a new helmet for his ice climbing course in two days time... Er, what ice? Spot the optimism of the recently arrived...

Meanwhile, Rob, AG, Brendan and Wendy make a heartening attempt on a snowbound Creag Meagaidh. With Hillary and Tenzing (read AG and Brendan) tirelessly breaking the upward trail, the intrepid party get to within 100 metres of the summit before being beaten back by seriously avalanche prone slopes and white out conditions. Several snowball fights and glissades later, the party seek refuge in Nevis Sport in Fort William where the only food left for heroes are three day old cheese toasties.

Wednesday 29 December 2004

Determined not to join the growing sect of hardcore gear shop devotees, new arrivals Sarah Glover, Pete and James Staff and Cath Billson stride out around Loch Morlich, narrowly avoiding getting knocked down by three racing husky sledges. The lean furry machines show little mercy and the first two sledge teams almost get the better of the MMC party. The third is less lucky the MMCers are now on high alert - their narrow survival is helped by the fact that the third sledge is drawn by a husky and a Jack Russell.

Meanwhile, itching to use their ice axes, mountain men AG, Simon, Stefan and Brendan walk up to Castle Ridge to check out the conditions. They reach the bottom of Castle Ridge on Ben Nevis. It's extremely wet and foggy. They head back lured by the four day old cheese toasties at Nevis Sport...

Rob is ill. Rob sleeps.

While Jim and Lucy make their way north, Chuck and Wendy walk along the West Highland Way before becoming the first of the MMC party to sight some ice at the ice tower in Kinlochleven. Not an original idea it seems - inside they find half of London in the shape of the Rockhoppers and the LMC…

Thursday 30 December 2004

Jim and Lucy recover from the drive up. According to Jim, they conquer a sub-Saharan country and trick the evil goblins into revealing the secret of fire. Lucy is feeling better but you can probably tell that Jim is not feeling too hot.

Rob is still ill. Rob still sleeps.

Stefan and Cath's ice climbing course is cancelled. Instead, the germfree party of Sarah, James, Pete and Cath attack the path up Cairn Gorm heading higher in particularly nasty conditions. Courageously, the daring continue and even manage to plant the official MMC flag Nil Satis, Nisi Optimum / Only the best is good enough (well if their gear preferences are anything to go by... ed) on Cairn Gorm's summit. In such appalling conditions, the navigation from the plateau proves a huge challenge and after battling against the elements on the ridge they eventually contour round and return following the ski lift back down to safety.

Chuck, Wendy, AG, Simon and Brendan go mountain biking in Laggan and have fun on the different purpose built trails. Chuck gets a bit cocky on one of the jumps and comes off with a girly squawk much to Ag's amusement. While examining his bleeding knees, Chuck is heard muttering that at least he didn't ride like a girl...

Breaking news from Reuters - the pair have now join-ed forces and will be entering the all-women's 24 hour mountain bike marathon around the world class trails and drop-offs of Epping Forest soon. Watch this space!

Friday 31 December 2004

A slowly recovering Lucy and Jim complete the treacherous wildcat trail around Newtonmore. Luckily for them, the wildcats too have been struck down by the mince pie epidemic and are nowhere to be seen.

Rob and AG walk up towards Cairn Gorm and then visit those darn gear shops one more time just to make certain that they haven't missed anything.

Sarah, Pete, James and Cath go mountain biking at Laggan. Sarah falls off and doesn't scream like a girl. She does break her bike gears though!

The Fearless Four - Chuck, Stefan, Simon and Brendan - embark on a day's epic scramble to Lochnager - a walk originally suggested by Wendy who is then struck down by the mince pie epidemic and strangely unable to join them. Surprised to discover that Lochnager is a two hour drive each way from the bunkhouse, the Fearless Four have a much longer day than expected.

Meanwhile Wendy recovers by sleeping in the warm bunkhouse. The four have fun scrambling up the Stuic in fearless style though and arrive back in Newtonmore just in time to sample James' expert culinary talents - haggis and steaming hot neaps and tatties!

The New Year is then ushered in with the famous Newtonmore torch parade, fireworks and drams of honey flavoured whisky. And as the first light of 2005 appears, so start the rumours of the curious incident of the wrestling trifle. The story goes that an associate of James' spotted a member from a rival mountaineering club making a quick exit with a luxury trifle. Not to be cheated out of a pudding of such high quality, the said associate apprehended the miscreant in a headlock and forced him to share his prize booty with everyone present.

Saturday 1 January 2005

Yes, you've got it. As most MMCers pack their bags and head south, flakes of snow start falling, the first for a few days. They keep falling... and falling...

Chuck, Wendy, Stefan, Sarah and Brendan play it safe and stay indoors perfecting their skills at Black Mariah. As the snowflakes continue to fall outside, Sarah and Stefan have a new dilemma... should they stay or go?

Sunday 2 January 2005

Sarah and Stefan both decide not to trust the weather (now why would they do that - ed) and head home as originally planned. Meanwhile, Brendan, Chuck and Wendy go cross-country skiing around Lock Morlich. Luckily, the racing huskies have day off and they survive unscathed. Meanwhile, Sarah sends a text message revealing that she is feeling ill - the infamous mince pie epidemic has struck again!

Finally, thanks go to Rob Brookes for organising the New Year meet, despite not being able to attend himself. Also, a big thanks to James Staff for preparing a delicious New Year dinner for everyone! Happy New Year!