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9th September 2006 - Dinner Meet, Onich Ken Murray's Last Munro It hardly seems like a year since the last one, but this year's dinner meet has now been & gone. It was a special one for me this year, as it coincided with the long overdue ascent of my last Munro, Creag Meagaidh. As ever, I'll start with a note about the weather, the hill walker's first topic of conversation. After quite a few consecutive weekends of grim weather, I was beginning to think that I'd left it too late in the year. However, perhaps the weather Gods were happy with the brownie points earned in the rain, because on the appointed Saturday, the weather was perfect. Blue sky, and a wind to keep the midgies away. The folks who were at the Inchree Bunkhouse on Friday had something of a late night. Less than ideal preparation, some heads were not as clear as they might have been in the morning. Nonetheless off we set to the car park, to meet up with the rest of the party. The car park seemed very busy already when we got there, and it turned out that there was another Compleation Party on the hill that day. Quite a coincidence. They left before us, but we soon showed them a clean pair of heels, in true BFMC fashion. We're real mountaineers you know !!! The path up the hill was being rebuilt, so its quality varied, but we made good time. It's a pretty gentle walk up, until you get close to the Window, where the path steepens for a while. That's really the only taxing part of the walk. Past that, up on the plateau something of a stronger breeze blew up. But we weren't to be denied. Past Mad Meg's cairn (what is that about ?) and on to the true summit we went. I climbed the cairn and that was it, my last Munro ! I'd always wondered what it would feel like, would I burst into tears, would it be just another hill ? In the event, it was a time to remember all the good times I've had & all the friends I've made on the hills over the past 12 years. Don't believe people who tell you that Munro bagging's boring. It takes you to the best places in the country. You get to see the hills in all their moods. You have all sorts of adventures. To paraphrase Dr Johnson, "When a man is tired of the hills, he is tired of life". At the very least, it's better than playing golf. We partook of summit champagne and chocolate cake. I wonder if there's any chance of this replacing lukewarm coffee & cheese rolls ? Terry took his fiddle out and played a summit jig. The wind cramped his style a little, but I've never seen a fiddle at the top of a hill before, so a pretty good effort. All too soon, however, the photos were taken, the champagne finished, and it was time to descend. We split up, with some folks returning via the Window, some folks via the ridge of Sron a'Choire. Some took in the easy peaks of Stob Poite Coire Ardair and Carn Liath - closet baggers one & all ! Meanwhile, John Kay had been off on a wee run. Carn Liath, Stob Poite Coire Ardair, Creag Meagaidh, and Beinn a Chaorainn weren't enough. He decided that the next hill looked nice too. Arriving there, he'd run off his map, and had to ask some hill walkers "Excuse me, but can you tell me what hill I'm on ?" One can only imagine that they're still tutting ! We all met up again at the bunkhouse for the dinner itself. Excellent food & drink prepared us for this year's speaker, Niall McNair. Niall is undoubtedly one of the top climbers in the country, with a ton of routes that most of us can only imagine under his belt. His talk took us through his early life, a vivid description of how unpleasant it can be for a deaf kid in a mainstream school, his discovery of climbing, and a few highlights from his climbing career so far. He finished with some videos, including the awe inspiring ascent of Dalriada on the Cobbler. An excellent and thought provoking talk, thanks to Niall for taking the time to come and speak to us. I did ask if the "heel hook by the ear" move on the 8a was strictly necessary, or perhaps showboating just a little ... He said it's a good way to rest your arms on steep climbs. A bottle of whisky to the first club member who performs this move on Fishhead Arete. As ever, more drink was consumed, meaning that activities on Sunday involved varying levels of effort. At the high effort end, inevitably, was John going up the Ben, Colin & Neil went up Garbh Bheinn at Kinlochleven, Calum & Fiona went for a walk on Ardgour. For some, the waterfall in Glen Righ, and more chocolate cake, was as tough as it got. Can I finish by thanking those who came along to Creag Meagaidh, and those who phoned with their good wishes. I hope to see you all again on the hill very soon. KM
A fine day for a walk up a hill 
The first bottle of champagne ...
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