CRY Update Magazine - Issue 15

PETER MCDOWALL CLIMBED 11 MUNROES FOR CRY AND RAISED £379.65 At the end of August I returned from Scotland having done some sponsored hiking in the highlands for a couple of weeks, or more specifically climbing Munroes, mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet.Previous expeditions to Scotland had given us good weather, but this year the weather was terrible, even for Scotland.

The weather started off quite well and on the first hike the weather was actually quite pleasant, but by the time we were halfway up our second climb, Schiehallion, the weather had turned foul, and we found ourselves caught in high winds (we guessed about 40m.p.h.) and driving rain. Visibility was also poor, but we soon became accustomed to this over the course of our hikes. Out of our two weeks climbing we only had one day where the weather was actually hot, so much so that we even felt the need for sunscreen. However the rest of the climbs were more of an ordeal, presenting us with incredibly high winds, enough to tear you off the rocks, and we even got caught right in the middle of a thunderstorm, which was slightly worrying as one of our number was carrying the graphite leki poles, which are perfect conductors of electricity.

At the end of our two week trip we returned with a slightly depressing set of photos.

Only a few of which actually provided views, as most of the time we were stuck in the huge banks of cloud which seemed to roam the Scottish peaks permanently. We also returned with a large number of summit photos which all looked identical; a few soaking hikers huddled around a windswept OS trig-point with a backdrop of dense cloud. And because of this we’ve been accused of taking multiple photos on a single summit from different angles (which isn’t true I hasten to add.) However, at the end of it all I would definitely say it was worth it. Each climb is a brilliant experience, completely individual and unforgettable.