By my standards 2006 began well with three productive and memorable trips to Scotland. A week in Glen Coe and nearby areas in February produced snowy ascents of the Corbetts Mam na Gualainn and Garbh Bheinn, as well as the more modest Dun Coillich (2A), along with other repeats. In April there was a fine week on Jura with the Littlewoods. We didn't quite manage to do all the Marilyns but gave it our best shot.
In early July I was on the summit ridge of Ysgyryd Fawr (32A), watching a distant pair of common buzzards, when there was a sudden whoosh from behind and a buzzard came within inches of my head. I've never been mobbed by a bird of prey before, but fortunately I carry just a bit too much ballast to be food for young buzzards. However, for the next half hour I carried my walking pole pointing upwards above my head. It made the ascent of Bryn Arw on the other side of the valley through head-high bracken (excess density) seem almost normal.
By this time however I had also picked up the dreaded plantar fasciitis foot injury. If you ever get this then I hope your doctor is a bit more clued-up than mine. It didn't take long to find a number of other people who had previously suffered this affliction, and they all agreed that it only started to improve after seeing a specialist. Attempts to rest a bit and then try again failed, as even such modest hills as Normanby Top produced uncomfortable foot pain. So, with the prospect of not walking for months, I was eventually driven to seek a private consultation. Now there was progress, but it was not until the end of October that I was back in the hills - the northern Cairngorms of all places. After weeks of sedentary activity I really toiled up the easy Corbett Geal Charn, though Carn Daimh and The Bochel went easily enough.
Now it's a brave man who would claim a record ahead of the readers of these pages, but consider this. In October 2005 I got down to my last Welsh Hewitt. Well over a year later it's still outstanding, and not because I'm waiting to conjure up any kind of multiple list finish, but just because I haven't got around to it. I am well aware that there are people who have made the decision not to complete the Munros, and there are others who have the In Pinn outstanding. But they have probably made a conscious decision not to complete. So, hands up those of you who couldn't have resisted the temptation to finish, and just how long might I have to wait before it does become a record?
