A report from John Carlin (team member) on the teams’ annual Scottish winter trip….
The first week of March saw Chris Moody and the band of merry mountain men (and women – sorry Stef) travel once again to the Cairngorms for what turned out to be a rewarding trip for everyone. While conditions favoured all sports during the early parts of the week a sudden warm spell meant grim faces from the skiers and grinning smiles from the ice climbers and hikers alike up on the summits. Several faces got their first taste or even just a refresher course in winter mountaineering before heading out to put them to practice in Coire an t-Sneachda, the mountaineers’ playground. Others felt the need to punish themselves on a pacey 35km overnight bothy hike taking in the summit of Ben Macduibh and the less said about the 3 hour, 2.5km detour in a short whiteout, the better. Suffice to say my compass might be better served in my hand than my pack! Meanwhile the less adventurous went for a spectacular meal at a broadsheet newspaper recommended restaurant which got the thumbs up from master chief Gerry Ryan – who himself delighted us with five star meals all week – thanks Gerry!