It's Summer???

www.microlodge.net

It's been a while since we posted, mainly due to the fact that age is creeping in...and thereby my ability to remember passwords has diminished accordingly.  Thus after hours of mental torture, I have regained access to the blog.

Well, we did manage to get 2 units built rather swiftly for Tyndrum at the By The Way Hostel.
http://www.tyndrumbytheway.com/HobbitHouse.php

They are certainly in a prime location, and were being booked into within minutes of arrival. You can't ask for better than that.

We then got cracking on units 5 & 6 for Glencoe Mountain resort, who opened to the public last Friday...at long last.

http://www.glencoemountain.com/

6 at Glencoe.

It's certainly not been all work though as Gary had some hols & nipped off to Turkey for a while, and myself & Blaze took the chance to get some adventures in. We managed at last to do the Bidean climbs which was lots of fun, and also 2 Munros at Bridge of Orchy...with lots of snow still in evidence.

Me & Blaze on summit of Ben Dorian

We then managed a trip to the site at Kinlochleven and had a wee catch-up with Callum which was fun.

Blackwater Hostel Kinlochleven.

Blaze even managed to sneak his bear into the rucksacks.

We even had a 1st (and last) attempt at waterskiing. I think the water levels in Lochearn have been reduced by a few inches after I swallowed copious gallons of it.

Blaze was non too happy with being left on the shore during my pathetic attempts at this sport, but came round a bit when we were able to take him & his labrador buddy, Digger, in for a swim afterwards.

Blaze, Digger & Cathy in Lochearnhead

We have also been informed...sound trumpets.... that High Seas Hobbit  http://www.facebook.com/pages/High-Seas-Hobbit-House/217284054988565

have been visited and filmed by the BBC with the programme due to air in September, so best of luck to them as they have worked really hard at getting their business recognition.

In the midst of all this flurry of activity, there was one very special day, when my youngest girl was sent packing, at long last...

The proud father & beautiful daughter

Of course, I had to explain that 'someone' wasn't invited...

Anyhow...enough for one blog, and now that the password has been noted down...yet again, it will hopefully not be too long until the next.

Still got snow

www.microlodge.net

Well now, what a busy week it's been.  After the trauma of getting lost in Wales, it was back to the workshop and a rush getting a microlodge ready to head to Tyndrum, and for a change, we finished it with a full day to spare.

We loaded that up on Saturday morning, then myself & Blaze headed to Lochearnhead, where we had plenty of time for a stroll around Loch Tay. I tried to get Blaze to swim for the first time...but he was having none of it.. Digger on the other hand had to be dragged from the water.

Then on the Sunday, it was time to pick out a few Munros to climb. The first had to be rather special as it was to be Kathys 100th, so we headed North to look at what was on offer weather-wise.

The forecast was to be lashing rain by noon, but as we reached Bridge of Orchy, it seemed clear enough, so the decision was made to go for Beinn Dorain then Beinn Dothaigh.  What a wonderful choice.

The weather was glorious & the views were infinite, and as an added bonus, there was snow...lots & lots of pristine snow.  The dogs had a wonderful time, as did we, although it was a tad more wearying than the distance deserved.  Still, we wouldn't have swapped the day for anything...

Ben Dorain summit

Summit of Beinn Dothaidh

Blaze & I then spent the night in Kinlochleven at Blackwater Hostel, one of my favourite places & had a few beers at the Bothan Bar before having an early night.

Then on the Monday, we headed to Tyndrum to 'By the Way Hostel, to offload the microlodge from the truck, and with only a few wee problems, had it sited and operational ready for the bookings that have already started coming in.

It's now a new week, and we have started on the next 2 units for delivery to Glencoe, and these are coming along nicely, again, ahead of schedule, so with luck, we should be headed North again in 12 days or so. ...any excuse to get away to the hills....

Microlodge, A new Year blog..eventually

www.microlodge.co.uk

So, it's been one of the quietest Xmas periods I've had in a long time, albeit not boring.

Christmas was peaceful, new years night, I was bedded before the bells, and next day, I did the karoke at the local pub, which was a resounding success.

Also, at last, the chance to break my skiing cherry arose, so arising uber-early, I set of for Glencoe for a day on the mountain.  The weather could never have been better, blue skies, and fresh powder from the previous night.

I headed up to Lochearnhead to meet up with Cathy at her post office, then we set off for the short drive to the slopes.  What could possibly go wrong??

Well, if you are one of those rare breeds that actually read my blog, you will be well aware that the potential for 'wrong-going' and 'me' seems to be intertwined rather tightly.

Sure enough, 7 miles from the slopes, the road was closed due to a head-on collision.  We joined the line of traffic at the side of the road, and I went off to see what the damage was. Not good as it happens.

The fire services had arrived by this time, and it was going to be a time consuming and very careful 'cut-out' of the casualty required.  Luckily, an air ambulance was on its way from Glasgow, at which point I offered my services, as ex aircrew to bring it in.  So far, so good, until we realised that the ambulance service radios cannot communicate with the air radios..... What the f...

Therefore, with about 30ft of road cleared, I attempted to hand marshall the chopper in, and all was going splendidly... until 20 ft above the ground, the snow was whipped up into zero vis, and a swift cancellation of that idea was deemed sensible.

Then came an amazing piece of flying (or daft).     The pilot hovered 40 ft above the road, then dropped the chopper like a stone, bang on target.  Considering that the rotor blades were missing the roadside snowpole indicators by just a few feet, this was commendable bravery.

After 3 hours, the casualty was on her way to Glasgow, and we were heading back south, to collect Digger the dog, and went for a walk in the Lawers Range instead of the planned skiing.  T'was still a good afternoon though.

The latest news, is I now have myself a new puppy, Blaze, to accompany me on my hill jaunts, and with luck, to start training in SAR when he's about 6 months old.

Just been blow-dried.

Let's hope I manage to train myself well enough to allow him to fullfill his potential.

Buachaille Etive Beag

www.microlodge.net

So...T'was Saturday afternoon, and the weather forecast said "Go West" young man. The outlook is sunny.

Now, followers of my blog know of my undying, yet sadly misplaced trust in the met forecast.  The next day was to be no exception.

Therefore, the rucksack was duly packed and I headed off to Lochearnhead, with only a slight detour on the way, stopping at ASDA to purchase a flask that was smaller than the welders gas cylinder that normally accompanies me up the hill.    I also had a new bit of gear to try out.  I had been to LIDLs and bought a 2 piece trouser and top creation for wearing below ones ski suit.  I can now testify that this bit of kit works really well and keeps you nice and toasty.  The only downside is that it comes in black with blue deco on it.   Had it been black and red, it would pass admirably for a 'Spiderman' costume and saved me a good deal of cash come fancy dress parties.

Then, Saturday evening, it seems the highlight of the week was to be a disco in the village hall.  Now, having watched "Little Britain" on tv, I had a fair idea of the sort of evening this would turn out to be, so feigning extreme exhaustion, I decided to pass on the winter social event of 2011.

Sunday morning, with Digger the dog in tow, I set off for Glencoe, so sure of the weather that I never took heavy waterproofs, despite the early mornings lashing rain and knowing that the nice girl on BBC would not cheat on me yet again. (would she)...

So, after a quick coffee stop at Glencoe Mountain Ski Resort for coffee, and checking on the progress being made in digging out the banking to site their Microlodges, we arrived at the parking area.  OH JOY...

The 1st view of Stob Coire Raineach

It's funny how the dog seemed delighted just to be out on the hills again, regardless of the lack of visibility, so off we set in the clag, map in hand as it seemed as if it was going to be another of those typical Scottish days.

Then at around the 1,500 feet region...bliss.

Like the parting of the seas...

We quickly made the bealach, and decided to go for the summit of Stob Dubh, the higher of the 2 tops.  Luckily as the weather had cleared, we never made the mistake of assuming the 1st cairn we arrived at was the intended Munro, as the real summit is in fact another 20 minutes haul further along. (and a good climb higher).  

Looking behind us, a braw sight. The Aonach ridge (also known as the 'brown trouser ridge' was in fine sight.

The Ridge

After a quick snack at the top, we descended back to the bealach and set off to the summit of Stob Coire Raineach.  There, I suffered a doubly whammy of unhappiness.  The first was that the top itself was rather uninspiring...and even worse, I opened my tupperware box and my eggy rolls lived up to their name, and promptly rolled off down the hillside, rapidly followed by a big black lump of Labrador.  Him having 4 wheel drive, reached the lunch well before I did...

Is it just me, or is that bu**er grinning??

So, hungry and deflated, it was time to head back down, stopping only for a wee while to watch the SAR chopper across on the 'brown trouser' ridge, either carrying out a rescue or dropping off a family-size pack of Andrex.

We then stopped of at Tyndrum to have a chat with a site owner there before heading back to Lochearnhead and a cuppa with fresh scones. Digger got neither of these.

As it was now dark, I decided to head back down to Fife, and the pub, leaving Cathy to weed her garden.  Yep, you read this right.  She was going to pull weeds whilst wearing her head torch. (and I thought I was stupid).

It's now Monday night and all the varnishing has been completed on the 2 Microlodges in the shop, so just the doors and roof shingles to do, then they will be heading out to the mountains.

Creag Mac Raineach

www.microlodge.net

What a glorious Sunday it was.  The start of the day was a tad hectic as I was running late to catch the coach due to the car being iced up, but eventually made it just in time.

On the basis of the icy weather, I was so well prepared with my kit consisting of battery heated gloves, hand warming gel pads, extra thick socks, 2 woolly hats, a double thick fleeced jacket and copious helpings of piping hot tomato soup.

The reality was, that by 10.30, it was t-shirt weather so a great deal of energy was expended humping severe weather gear and a flask the weight of a welders gas bottle up the mountain.

I managed to arrange for my part-time companion, Digger the dog, to be picked up at Lochearnhead to accompany me for the day. Kathy herself couldn't manage as she's wangled a job that consists of her driving around in Ferraris, Lambos, Porches etc....and gets paid for it.  Luxury.   Still, she missed out on a wonderful day.

We had a group of 30 set off together, but 6 of us picked up the pace a tad and gained a considerable lead and got to the foot of the hill in record time. Then the decision was made that rather than head onto the bealach, we would go a more vertical route to the summit.

Very blue sky and stripping off the extra layers of clothing.

On hindsight, we should possibly have stuck to the intended route as the rocks that had not been exposed to sunlight were a slippery as eels, but we managed just fine as it happens with only a few 'oops moments', and gained the summit so early, we had an extended lunch at the cairn.

Looking behind us to Ben Vorlich and Stuc a'Croin

Digger awaiting more sandwiches from the others. (he'd finished mine by this time).

The views were stunning with the best visibilty I've encountered so far this year, and it felt as if you could reach out and touch the Lawers range and the Tarmachan ridge.  Then it was downhill on the shaded side to head for the coach pick-up point at Glenogle cottages, and this was a bit scary with the ice, although Digger delighted himself by breaking through sheets of it to dive into bracken filled puddles.

Then off for High Tea in Comrie and home.  A damn good day.

Meanwhile, it's now Monday and the next pair of Microlodges are coming on well and we had another press photographer in today, so with luck, some proper pics for the site later this week.