Hi everyone,
As per the calendar and Khalid’s previous posts, there is a Scottish Winter trip planned from the 3rd to the 11th of February. It will be great ‘fun’ of a kind that only Scottish Winter can provide.
Yes, conditions have been quite rubbish in recent years, but there’s already been a cold snap and a healthy dose of early season snow - people are already getting routes in. I was up in Scotland last year and the conditions were pretty awful, but there was still great climbing to be had with some inventive planning.
This trip has a few conditions - you will not need to be climbing hard grades but will need to be a) a paid member of the club, b) self-sufficient in a winter environment and c) competent in Scottish winter including navigation and hazard identification.
Before we start booking accommodation, I’d like to gauge interest. Time is of the essence here as Scotland is a surprisingly popular place in February and things are booking up - so please reply to this thread by the end of the week if possible to let me know if you’re interested.
To that end, please could you let me know:
(a) How interested you are on a scale of 1-5 (5 being fully committed, 1 being I’ll only come if I have some kind of life altering experience)
(b) What dependencies might constrain you coming
© Whether you’re around for the whole week or only part - if we have a range of availabilities it may make sense to move lodging during the week
Accommodation
The provisional plan would be to rent a place near Fort William, with the possibility of moving somewhere else to mix things up a bit and see some more venues. This all depends on what’s available though. I’m keen to base ourselves somewhere where we can reach venues in the east and west in case conditions are variable, and also have somewhere comfortable to put our feet up after draining epics in the snow.
Travel
I think flying is the most sensible option, either to Glasgow or inverness depending on where we end up staying. Flights are around £45 plus luggage. We could then rent a few cars. Driving up is the other option, which I know has been done in the past.
Gear
You’ll need to bring your own, but there may be some generous folk out there will to lend some and rental is always an option.
Guy