Mount Everest (not a club meet!)

In 2004, one of our members (Richard Taylor) went to climb Mt. Everest from the north side. At 8,848 m (29,029 feet) Everest is the world's highest mountain, and the ascent from the north side is the more demanding route. Base camp is at over 5000m altitude where there is already only 50% of the amount of oxygen in the air that there is at sea level. Unfortunately Rick's team suffered extremely bad weather and were stormbound at 7800m so the team did not summit. Rick and another team member, however, did make it to a high point of 8000m before descending. This altitude is the start of the "death zone" where there is insufficient oxygen to sustain human life (only 33% of the amount at sea level). In the extreme conditions Rick encountered this was a significant achievement and had the conditions been more favourable he would potentially have been the youngest Briton to summit Everest. Rick was raising money for the Jonathon Conville Memorial Trust. The expedition was also followed by a BBC film crew for the 'Challenge' programme.

Club Bothy

In memory of a club member who died in a mountaineering accident in 1988 (Graham Leaver) the club renovated an outhouse at the back of Prince Charles' lodge at Glas-allt-Shiel in 1989 and turned it into an open bothy. One of the most luxurious you will find, having double glazing on the upstairs windows! The club still maintains this bothy today. See our club bothy page for more details.

Beach Cleaning

Instead of the usual climbing trip at Easter a couple of years ago we decided it was time we did something a little more useful. Having been to Camasunary before (and parked our tents in front of a visiting film crew!) we had noticed the enormous amount of flotsam and jetsam lying on the shore of the bay (well, you can't miss it really!).

In glorious weather we resisted the urge to climb Blaven, instead trudging several miles over the hills carrying sacks of rubbish. A few hundred sackfulls later we had filled a skip and decided enough was enough.

Bridge Building

Stuart McKeggie, one of our members studying civil engineering, designed a bridge over a river in Torridon for his project. During the vacation, the club actually built the bridge.