Cannich
Cannich is a great location in the Northern Highlands, just west of Inverness. There are three main valleys (Glen Affric, Glen Cannich and Glen Strathfarrar) that reach far into the mountains west of Cannich and provide access to these remote hills. The usual range of walks will be on offer, from easy hillwalks to multi-munro epics, so there will be something to suit everybody's needs. With at least 15 munros in the area there will be more than enough options to keep everybody busy! And if you're planning a faff, Loch Ness is not far away either. We will be staying in a 5-star Hostel, the BCC Loch Ness Hostel which is an SYHA affiliated hostel in Glen Urquhart, the valley between Cannich and Loch Ness. Check out their website at http://www.bcclochnesshostel.co.uk/.
Price: £55. This includes 3 nights accommodation, transport to and from Cannich, and two evening meals (on Saturday and Sunday). Payment by cheque (payable to EUHWC) is much preferred but cash will also be accepted.
Signup: Tuesday 11th May at 8.30pm in Doctors. Make sure you arrive on time to avoid disappointment but please can we also ask you not to get there absurdly early. If you cannot make the signup and have a valid excuse why you can't, then please Email Erik (erikmackie@hotmail.com) before 4pm on Tuesday to request permission for a friend to sign you up. Only if you ask for permission will a friend be able to sign you up.
Gear: Even though it's May and it's starting to feel like summer, the Scottish weather is very unpredictable and winter conditions on the hills are still very much a realistic possibility. You will therefore still need stiff-soled winter boots for this trip. People without the appropriate footwear will not be allowed on walks, so make sure you have the right boots! If you are in any doubt about the suitability of your boots, just bring them along to the signup on Tuesday and ask one of us to check them for you, we're more than happy to give advice! Please also check http://euhwc.fasach.com/about/essential-gear for a list of other essential gear. If you need a waterproof jacket or trousers it is possible to borrow these items from the club but make sure you tell us you need them at the signup.
Drivers: if you are available to drive on the trip (either a CSE minibus or your own car) then please Email Alex (alex.tuck@ed.ac.uk) as soon as possible. Drivers will get a presign for the trip, the usual £10 discount and of course all your fuel costs will be refunded.
That's all for now. Any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch!
Cheers,
Sarah FH, Alex and Erik TRIP EMAIL: Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
Hello hillwalkers,
You have a place on the trip to Cannich this weekend (http://www.bcclochnesshostel.co.uk/). Unless told different, you’ll be meeting at the CSE Pleasance sports centre (http://www.bucs.org.uk/fl/vendtl.asp?venueid=1189) by 5.15 pm on Friday for a PROMPT 5.30 pm departure (Tara/Marta/Olivier – you are being picked up from KB house @ 5 pm).
Transport
We’ll be travelling in two buses and two cars. David Ferguson will be returning early (on Sunday) with himself and John Mann. Everyone else is coming back on Monday.
What to bring
Food – the club will provide tea/coffee/milk, and dinner on Saturday/Sunday. We’ll stop at Pitlochry/Aviemore on Friday for dinner (e.g. takeaway/supermarket) and probably on Monday evening. You’ll need to bring breakfast/packed lunches/plenty of snacks/beverages for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Walking gear – check out http://euhwc.fasach.com/about/essential-gear and http://euhwc.fasach.com/about/winter-equipment for a comprehensive list. It is currently cold in the Highlands with snow showers, so we may experience wintry conditions. It is therefore advisable to bring stiff-soled boots – there is a small chance they may be essential for some walks. Also bring sun cream/sunglasses/sun hat (there’s nothing wrong with being optimistic!). Please see http://euhwc.fasach.com/about/what-not-to-wear for what not to wear!
Money – for dinners on Friday/Monday or pub visits. There may also be the possibility of a couple of walks involving a boat trip which would cost £10 each.
Bed linen is provided.
Walks and weather
We’ll be doing sign up for Saturday’s walks when we arrive on Friday evening, so it would speed things up if walk organisers could please express their ambitions before then on the forum - http://euhwc.fasach.com/event/weekend/2010/cannich. Weather forecasts are at http://www.mwis.org.uk/mountain/NW.PDF and http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/loutdoor/mountainsafety/westhighland/westhighland_latest_pressure.html.
We’d like to encourage EVERYONE to take an interest in navigation, route finding etc while on walks. The walk organiser is there to help others by sharing their experience – they are NOT a leader, and everyone in the group is expected to take some responsibility for themselves – telling the walk organiser if there are any problems, or if they feel unwell, or if they are not sure about their kit, etc. Don’t just blindly follow – you’ll get much more out of the trip if you try to get involved! The club’s safety policy is available at http://euhwc.fasach.com/about/safety-policy.
Some useful numbers
Club mobile number: 07818 295571 (save in your phone - and call if there are any issues on Friday!)
Alex’s mobile number: 07912 357646
Youth hostel phone numbers – only for emergency use – 01456 476296 and 07780 603045
Payment
Still to pay are Alex/Sarah/Eva/Jim/David/Emma/John/James J. If you have actually paid and my records are wrong, please let me know! Else please pay on the trip, or if you’re buying fuel we can settle up at the pub next Tuesday.
See you on Friday – please don’t hesitate to get in touch (alex.tuck@ed.ac.uk) if there are any problems/questions,
Alex, Erik and Sarah