Navigation Course, Mon 22nd Sept 08

Climbed by year and month

Climbed by year and month

I'd arrived the evening before, just like it says to in the bumph. And it's true they have a bed reserved for you. I expected to have to share a room with someone else, but as it happens I had the room to myself for the week. And it was pretty good. I expected a Youth Hostel kind of thing, but this was much more hotel like.

Monday was grab some breakfast and head over to the lecture theater for a 'welcome talk'. We were to meet our instructor at 'the tree by the wall' at 9am. Okay, a nav exercise already huh?! Actually there is a tree beside the climbing wall, in the activity wing, which I'd walked past to get to the talk.

Anyway. First morning. We met Nathan our course instructor. The first part of the morning was spent going through some theory stuff and playing a few navigation games on the grass outside whilst orientating the map. Also discovering what happens if we didn't orientate the map. We got lost pretty quickly.

We then headed out into the woods surrounding the Lodge for some more basic exercises. Someone has to fall in a boggy bit, and apparently this was going to be my time. Up to the knee and with a boot full of water. Still it could have been both boots I suppose.

I also found I was wheezing. I thought I'd cracked Exercise Induced Asthma, but not so.

After lunch we went out from the lodge on the track towards Ryvoan Bothy, which we had a look in. Then took the path behind the bothy up Meall a' Bhuachaille. I really suffered. My mistake was to try and follow the others up at their speed. My lungs really don't like that and so shut down. I was reduced to plodding up after them like an old granny. As it turned out I was at least 15 years their senior so I think I am allowed some slack! From the top we carried on down to the bealach and took the south-west path down to the woods and the Reindeer House.