The venue for this year’s CB Burns Supper extravaganza was the Blackwater Hostel at Kinlochleven. The weekend started early for some, with a visit to the ice wall at the Ice Factor on Friday afternoon. Over the course of the evening the troops assembled, wine was drunk and plans were made for the following day, all ‘weather dependent’ of course.

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Saturday dawned, true to the weather forecast: low cloud, rain showers and a light wind – nothing unusual, just a typical Scottish winter day. The forecast was for low winds, and possibly even clearing clouds as the day continued. One group set off for Sgurr Eilde Mor, a second for Stob Coire Easain and Stob a'Choire Mheadhoin, another for the Aonachs and the Ben. Others were less ambitious and opted for Meall Mor and Sgorr a’Choise, a couple of Grahams off the main Glencoe road, or a gentle stroll up the Devil’s Staircase.

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Contrary to the forecast though, the weather deteriorated as the day wore on, and one by one the various groups returned with tales to tell. The Aonachs party turned back after just one summit in deep snow and white-out conditions; one of the Sgurr Eilde Mor group succumbed to hypothermia and had to be helped back to base, and even the Grahams party were well battered by the strengthening wind. But what of the Stob Coire Easain group? There was some concern that they hadn’t returned, especially since the weather had worsened, as experienced by all of the assembled members. The afternoon turned into evening, still no word and concern started to turn into anxiety…

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Finally, at 7 o’clock, a phone call: ‘We’ve just returned to the car, safe and well. We’ll be back at base in an hour’! The relief was palpable – no-one lost or hurt! They came back with a tale of a deteriorating day with blizzard white-out conditions, dangerously close to precipitous cliffs, the path down through the crags obscured by snow, and the last two hours of the return trek by moonlight. The irony was not lost: a clear moonlit evening after low cloud throughout the whole of the daylight hours!

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Now the party could really begin. The dress code was ‘Gangsters and Molls’ – for a Burns Night??!!?! Most opted for the traditional Al Capone theme, but John McB went for a more modern interpretation, of a bandana- and sweatshirt-wearing AK47-toting terrorist. The food was Italian-style (for a Burns Night??!!?!), liberally washed down with more wine, beer, cider, a few drams and anything else that anyone cared to contribute. The carefully-crafted participation games, organised by the committee for the evening’s entertainment, deteriorated into anarchic chaos. John McG announced his engagement and celebrated by dancing on the tables (well, he called it dancing!!!). Most other people stayed more firmly rooted to the floor, and the dancing went on until the early hours.

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Sunday morning, and twenty-odd pairs of hands made light work of clearing up after the night before. Some folk wended their weary way back to Glasgow, a couple went to stretch their legs to the Lost Valley, while half of the assembled fellowship finished the weekend as it began: at the Ice Factor, for a breakfast of bacon rolls and coffee. Some even tackled the climbing walls to ease up those muscles after the previous day’s exertions.

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And so ended another CB weekend. A great party, but also some stark lessons learned.

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The rumour is of a Star Wars theme for next year’s Burns Supper. Watch this space!