Members' reports 2019-20 

Stas Burek, Feshiebridge, 22 February 2020

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And so we gathered at Lagganlia in Feshiebridge for our February weekend and Burns Supper. The previous few days saw torrential rain of biblical proportions, with roads flooded and barely passable in places, and so it seemed touch-and-go whether many would actually turn up. But Cairn Ban is made of sterner stuff, and in the end most folk turned up as planned on the Friday evening.

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Whilst on Friday rain and flooding were the challenges, on Saturday it was different. Overnight the wind had blown up, and the rain turned to snow and settled, providing a slippery surface to the roads. Any ideas of climbing expeditions or outings near crags were shelved – for fear of getting blown off! In the end, we headed as a group of twelve to Garva Bridge to climb Geal Charn. On the way we wondered at the water all around, impossible to tell where the river bank finished and the flooded fields began.

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Stuart: ‘It’s been some years since we came here, but I really don’t remember this causeway.’

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Me: ‘Errr… according to the map, there is no causeway here – those are just flooded fields on either side of the road!’

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After some hesitation, considering whether the river would burst its banks during the day and prevent us getting back to the hostel, we made it to Garva Bridge and set off. What on other days would have been a tedious slog through the heather across a featureless hillside, was made distinctly more challenging by the high wind, deep snow and in-spate burns. As we climbed higher, the wind grew stronger, conversation ceased, and we each focussed on battling the elements in our own way. We eventually all reached the summit plateau, and then the summit itself. As we huddled in the lee of the big cairn to eat some lunch, the wind strengthened even more, so that when we left shelter of the cairn, it was bent double to make any headway against the wind, which was now blowing in our faces.