Marhofn 106.06 - May 2004

Baglogs:

Ticking over: Les Cunningham

Last year, while I managed 145 Marilyn ascents, only 21 were new ones, and so my total only crept up to 724. My excuse is that my main interest is Scottish hills over 600m, and I have almost finished the Marilyns in this category, with only a few Grahams left. I was hoping to get a few more new Marilyns done, but I was not lucky with the weather in the Outer Hebrides, which was nevertheless enjoyable, and an intended trip to the south of Scotland just did not happen. Some of the best bits of the year's hill-walking:

• Climbing Gulvain in April in low cloud and drizzle, then emerging into warm sunshine on the ridge.
• Camping north of Loch Quoich, again in April, in warm, sunny, midgeless weather.
• Climbing Foinaven in May from the glen to the north, then watching the second half of the eclipse, once the mist cleared a bit, from Cona' Mheall the next morning.
• Managing to do all five Corbetts north of Tyndrum in a day in June (easy for some, but not for me).
• Getting above the cloud on Beinn Dorain in December, followed by a cloudless day on Buachaille Etive Mor.

The worst bits - the midges in Knoydart, Glen Kinglass and Glen Rosa, i.e. anywhere I camped in summer or autumn.