Firstly a few words about the hut. In a break with tradition the club had gone with a bunkhouse - Farr Cottage - that had a roof and heating that actually worked and possessed proper beds with real sheets and blankets, a welcome surprise to those of us who had suspiciously dragged our sleeping bags up to Fort William just in case. However, there was a prohibition on drinking one's own alcohol on the premises (on the spurious grounds that the bunkhouse was a licensed premises), which did not matter as we ignored the signs, and there was zero storage space.

By midway through Friday the common area was piled high with rucksacks and food bags (by Sunday there were a lot of empty cans and bottles as well) in a squalor of Rick-like proportions. Conditions were especially bad in the Boys Room - step forward Henry, John Bradshaw, American Chris and Brad - which required breathing apparatus by the fourth day.

Despite horrendous problems with gridlocks and car crashes all over the country, some twenty people, to be reinforced by another four or five over the next couple of days, had reached Fort William by Friday morning and keen to do something before the good weather faded, got out onto the hills at first light or before with minimum faffing. Full marks to John B who, despite the Saab breaking down in Birmingham (yes, the demise of yet another club banger) still got to Fort William at a sensible hour.

Friday dawned clear and warm with much snow above 1000m. First away were the climbers, John B, Henry, Brad and American Chris, who left at about 6.00. After Henry and John headed for Green Gully, Brad and Chris decided the other classic line in the area looked like Number 3 Buttress, a nice and exposed Grade III further to the right. Upon reaching the base, the ice of Two Step Corner (V, V) looked in so Brad convinced Chris that they were doing Number 3 Buttress and away they went. All went well until the last 3m where the ice turned into sugar snow around the same time the rope would stretch no further. All 5 ice screws had been placed and Brad had not brought any snow protection, so withthe help of a friendly rope from above, the last 3m was done in less than good form. Instead of the usual salutary remarks at the top, Chris told Brad what he could do with himself and promised not to climb with him again.

Henry and John climbed Green Gully IV 4 in the Coire Na Ciste. Apparently the last pitch is 51m long so the rope ran out as John was trying to climb over the cornice. The boys had a late lunch on the Ben and glissaded several hundred metres down what they described as a near vertical snow chute on the side of the Ben.

John Pattison and Tony (away by 7.00) meanwhile climbed Number Two Gully III on the Ben, described by John as an 'excellent day out' but with those sneaky Scottish guidebook writers omitting to mention that the 120m route length mentioned in the book was in fact closer to 200 (or maybe the boys deviated off-route?) and that there was only proper protection on one pitch, the others relying on 'traditional Scottish psychological gear', which 'added to the adventure'.

Chris Thring meanwhile had found an exciting-looking horseshoe circuit circling the Killiechonate Forest and, despite bits of it seeming to tail out in sheer cliffs, managed to persuade Edmund to go with him. Things went reasonably well for several hours until they reached the col at the head of the valley below Anoch Beag with no way up except a steep snow gully. Dynamically the boys bounded up the hillside only to find themselves climbing a forty-five degree slope up a gully full of rapidly melting soft snow - ice axes clearly useless as a slip would have deposited them 500 metres down the mountain - with no way of retreat. A horrid scrabble over crumbling and flaky rock completed the climb. By now out of water they staggered on over Anoch Beag and Anoch Mor to the haven of the bar at the head of the gondala lift before returning (not in the gondolas) to the car some ten hours, twenty kilometres and 2000m of ascent after setting out.

Seven girls (Zoe, Tara, Sarah, Ally (new member), Caroline, Hilary and Lucy) and a Golf drove to the Beinn a Bheithir south of Ballachulish and ascended Sgurr Dhearg apparently by the steepest route they could find, reporting good views out over the islands and a fierce struggle with the pine forest on the descent. David B did a solo trek up the Ben tourist path and reported good conditions.

Most people went out in the evening to what was later described as possibly the worst curry house in the world let alone Fort William. It appears that the entire cooking staff had walked out as the MMC arrived, although these two events are possibly unconnected, and that the management had taken over. Tip: never, ever, eat curry cooked in this way - reports suggest that curry powder and indeed spices of any sort were strangely absent. The MMC ate various concoctions of stew.

The clouds had begun to thicken and the wind to blow by Saturday but it remained dry. Encouraged by the conditions the walkers - John B, Chris T, Edmund, Catherine, Zoe, Ally, Hilary, Natasha, Lucy and Sarah - set out on a mass assault of the mighty Carn Dearg arête and the eastern approach to Ben Nevis. The snow on the upper slopes had frozen during the night and six of the girls were forced back by lack of crampons at the first summit. Natasha, it has to be said, being particularly hampered by being clad mostly in Ying's cast-offs, most of which looked overdue for the scrap-heap. Only Catherine (sans crampons and clearly looking for another chapter in the book) and the boys made it onto the arête and onto the Ben. As the Ben was now wholly in cloud and no one had brought directions off, it was necessary to text a recuperating (blisters) Henry back at the hut for the bearings. Thank you Henry for prefixing the message with 'I think these are right....'.

A splendid glissade down Red Burn made short work of the descent and they were back in the hut by 5.00.

Tony and Tara drove to Torridon for some bizarre reason. Clearly no one looked at the map before setting out or they would have worked out that they would get there just in time to turn round....

Brad and American Chris went climbing again, only to be rained off a slab in Glen Etive. In the evening Ally, announcing that she was sick of drinking in a squalid bunkhouse, persuaded most of the group into town. Thanks for driving Catherine though seven in the car was probably pushing it a bit. A fine if somewhat blurred evening was had in the Ben? Glen? Nevis, enlivened still further by the arrival of a large hen party (hope your groin's recovered, John B). Ally enjoyed herself so much she was still drunk at 10.00 the following day - clearly the ideal new member - sign her up at once!

The weather had deteriorated by Sunday but various hungover parties crawled out of bed and outside, all except Chris T who refused to get up at all, pathetically whimpering that he had flu. Wendy appeared, having arrived in the middle of the night from Yorkshire but, unable to navigate the last few crucial yards to the MMC annexe, had dossed down in Reception.

Edmund and a large female party (Hilary, Sarah, Zoe, Natasha, Lucy, Tara, Wendy and possibly others) settled for a low-level walk at the head of Loch Leven while Tony, Johns P & B, Henry, Catherine, David and Nikki (friend of Catherine's appearing the previous day and particularly enthusiastic in the prior night revels) parked in Glencoe for a long plod up the mighty Bidean ban Bian 1141m. Conditions chilly and damp but an exciting initiation for Nikki who discovered how to use an ice axe and also why the rest of us were wearing waterproof jackets. The return route descended a series of narrow snowy ridges and a long glissade into the Lost Valley. All groups eventually met up in the Clachaig for beer, food and folk music.

Most headed home on Monday, except for Wendy, Lucy and Edmund, who headed on up to the Torridon. They climbed the Liathach Ridge, Beinn Eigg and Bein Alligin on consecutive days and in fine weather. Lucy headed home from Fort William first thing on Friday morning while Wendy and Edmund went on to traverse the Aonach Eogach Ridge (graded ‘moderate’ in summer conditions) above Glen Coe. It was clear of ice and snow, but they still had to rescue and coax three day trippers over the crux pinnacles. Wendy then drove them from the Clachaig Inn back to their car up the pass. But if she and Ed hadn’t made last food orders the three would have experienced a swift retribution on their night road home to Glasgow!

Thanks to Edmund for organising and for at least attempting to force people to complete route cards.