Spean Bridge Weekend/Meet

Add to Calendar

Outlook Google

The first weekend trip of the semester and we are going to... Spean Bridge!

 

You will be required to have full membership to the club to attend and purchase a ticket for this Weekend. It is recommend to purchase a ticket as early as possible as weekend meets tend to sell out fast.

 

Malcolm Airey, who has taken over the role of St John Scotland Mountain Safety Instructor with Mountaineering Scotland from Ali Rose, will be joining us on this trip to deliver navigation and mountain skills training, this is a great opportunity to improve your skills with a professional. There will be a total of 12 spaces (6 each day) specifically for training with Malcolm which we highly reccommend attending for new members (or old ones!) as it is a great way to learn mapwork and mountain safety which will build confidence. Each respective day prepare for a full day on the mountain. 

 

A little bit about Malcolm taken from the Mountaineering Scotland website "From taking up climbing as a teenager and being heavily involved in the mountaineering club at Strathclyde Uni, he then pursued a career in the outdoors from 2008 onwards and currently works as a winter mountaineering and climbing instructor (WMCI) with a wide variety of clients all over the Highlands. Over the passing of time and a few grey hairs later, he still fondly remembers his university days of regular winter weekend adventures, and looks forward to sharing hints and tips for staying safe whilst making the most of them as St John Scotland Mountain Safety Instructor." For this trip Malcolm will be taking out groups on both Saturday and Sunday (1:6 ratio).

 

We will be making the journey up to Spean Bridge on the Friday afternoon/early evening and will likely have staggered leave times for the transport, this will be discussed in the pre-trip meeting.

 

Activities

Those who purchase a Skills & Nav Ticket will spend either Saturday or Sunday in a group with Malcolm undertaking training. On the opposing day you will be welcomed to join in with those that have a General Ticket and the information below applies to that day.

 

For those that are buying a General Ticket (no training delivered) as always, you make your own plans for what you want to do during the weekend. However, we will and can support you with tips for route choices and we will of course make our own plans which you will be invited to join!

 

Malcolm will be delivering a presentation to everyone on the Saturday evening for everyone attending.

 

This trip sees us at a new location for the club being Spean Bridge which is located roughly 10 miles past Fort William. We have a lot of mountains at our disposal, such as the entire Nevis Range which includes the Grey Corries, Stob Ban, Aonach Mor on the doorstep and we have the tallest peak in the UK nearby... Ben Nevis. To the Northeast we have the likes of Beinn Teallach and the circuit taking in a classic Munro, Creag Meagaidh. We also have close access to the Loch Lochy Munros to the north. There are also a few Corbetts in the area. Plans will be discussed in the pre-trip meeting and during the weekend. We will of course be subject to the weather in terms of where will give us the best days out.

 

Accomodation 

We are staying at Spean Bridge Community Centre, so bring your own sleeping mat and bag. As always if you are unsure please contact the committee, we will be covering things in the pre-trip meeting.

 

Facilities include:

-  A large hall which is 15m x 8.5m and has a wooden floor, this is where we will be sleeping/socialising so plan accordingly.

- The kitchen is fully equipped with a large fridge and freezer, electric cooker with 4 ring hob, grill and oven, microwave, kettle, and crockery & cutlery.

- There are ladies, gents and disabled toilets.

- Located within the disabled toilet area are two shower cubicles with electric showers.

- The current heating system within the building is electrically operated with low level convector heaters and high level radiant heaters within the main hall space. There are £1 and £2 coin operated electricity meters along with individual and time restricted controls for each electric heater.

 

We will need to clean the hall before we leave and we expect everyone to help with this, and in usual GCUMC fashion we aim to leave the place cleaner than we found it.

What to bring

This trip will need the usual stuff for a day on the mountain in the kit list, as we move into autumn we expect colder weather so please remember to bring a warm layer. If you're unsure on what to bring please contact us.

 

As this is a weekend trip we will be sleeping in the hall for 2 nights, you will be required to have a sleeping bag and sleeping mat along with your day sack for the trip, prepare for 2 days worth of mountain activity. It is also important that you bring something to eat in the evening, although there are places to eat nearby.

 

Pre-Trip Meeting

Date: 22nd October

Time: 7pm

Where: MS Teams

This pre-trip meeting is there to discuss any questions and talk through the gear list, which you will receive via e-mail closer to the date. This will also be the perfect opportunity to plan any group meals.

 

Ticket

Price: £55

Tickets are on sale from 13th October at 5pm until 22nd October at 5pm

The ticket cost includes: Accomodation and transport. Those with a Skills & Nav Ticket will also have a day with Malcolm.

Tickets do not include food on any of the days so bring your own.