I was working in Madagascar until mid-July, so did not climb my first new Marilyn of the year until 6 August.
High point: Tsiafajavona (2643m) - one of three Ultras on Madagascar, and the only one within relatively easy reach of the capital city, Antananarivo. Tsiafajavona means 'never without cloud' in Malagasy, but since the rain-forests were cut down in the 19th century it is now quite often free of cloud. My ascent was on a beautiful warm autumn day in May, which made the final slog to the summit cairn rather hot work. Two locals were at the cairn (which is considered sacred) performing some sort of pagan ritual, and they were rather displeased by my arrival - a case of 'get off my summit'.
View north from Tsiafajavona (photo: Jonathan Appleby)
Low point: Beinn Mhor (194m) near Oban. A dreich evening in autumn, but I was treated to one of those lovely evenings when the setting sun dips below grey rain clouds; everything silver and gold.
Highlight: Cul Mor in early December; a cold crisp day with some snow underfoot. We tackled the summit head-on, scrambling through some sandstone bands to reach the famous quartzite cap above. At the top it was calm enough to sit and admire the view for an hour before returning to Knockan via An Laogh, a SubMarilyn and another fine viewpoint.
Intermittently scary day: Meall a'Phubuill (10D), gave me a nasty surprise when I attempted to descend the SW slope en route to Meall Onfhaidh. I had not studied the map closely in advance, and ended up slithering down a hideously steep slope on my backside. Of course, looking back from Meall Onfhaidh, I was able to see an easy line further east - ah well, it got the adrenalin going.
Milestone: I managed to finish my first RHB region - fittingly it was region 9, which is my home patch. Creag Dhubh was the final hill, on a cold autumn morning. I reached it from Glen Banchor to the north by first wading the River Calder - rather chilly on the legs. The bridge shown on my old OS map has long since disappeared.
