A month in Argentina for our youngest son's wedding in Buenos Aires was a slight handicap to increasing my Marilyn total this year, but as consolation we climbed one of the smaller foothills of the Andes, just a little higher than Ben Nevis. It was snowing on top.
Otherwise it was a fairly average year for me, with a number of repeat Corbetts, outstanding of which was Beinn Mhic-Mhonaidh (3C). We ascended from the south in glorious sunshine and spent an hour at the top admiring the view, with no wind and no midges. Other highlights were Meall Mor (1C), approached by a highly recommended scenic cycle ride from Stronachlachar, Sron a'Choire Chnapanich (2A), which has to be one of the easiest Corbetts, and Penvalla (28A), approached from part of the John Buchan Way from Broughton.
Beinn Damhain (1D) was ascended courtesy of a free bus trip to and from Glasgow, arriving back home in time for dinner. There are advantages to being a pensioner. Two trips to the Lake District in the winter gave abysmal weather, with high winds and rain. Binsey was the solitary new hill on the one decent day out of eight.
Burach (10C) and Beinn a'Chuirn (10A) were certainly unusual for sub-2000ft hills, as they both needed second attempts, the first attempts being thwarted by deep snow and failing daylight. The descent from the latter was much longer than it should have been as I lost my compass on the way up, but only discovered this at the summit in thick mist. Fortunately a very brief glimpse of a hazy sun on the way down corrected my direction and brought me down safely, if rather late.
