Showing posts with label ceum na caillich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ceum na caillich. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
MEET THE ARRAN MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL WALK LEADERS
ANDY WALKER
What do you do when you don’t lead walks for the Arran Mountain Festival?
Work for The Forestry Commission on Arran, keep bees, play the pipes in Arran Pipe Band, learn Gaelic, sit on committees.
Why do you volunteer as an Arran Mountain Festival walk leader?
I like walking the hills & watching the wildlife so it’s an opportunity to pass on some of what I know. Tell us about a favourite mountain moment. Up on Sgurr Alasdair & Inaccessible Pinnacle on a blistering hot day about 6 years ago, the sea was a millpond & every island & hill for miles around was in sight – hard to beat! What is your favourite Arran walk? Walking down onto the ridge leading to Cioch na h-Oighe from Mullach Buidhe looking up Loch Fyne & Kyles of Bute to the Cowal & Argyll hills. The ridge looks so narrow & dramatic. Then onto the ridge itself which rises in narrow twisting steps to the summit where the drop all around plunges down into Glen Sannox & to the sea.
Which piece of kit would you not head into the hills without? Map – I love looking at the features & their names; there is so much history, culture & terrain information in them. And useful for navigation too. What is your favourite breakfast before a long day out in the mountains? I don’t have anything special, just my usual cereal & toast.
What do you do when you don’t lead walks for the Arran Mountain Festival?
I run NNAS outdoor navigation courses, write about mountain and outdoor photography, teach photography and lead outdoor photography workshops in Iceland.
Why do you volunteer as an Arran Mountain Festival walk leader?
To share my passion for wild places with other people, to enthuse and encourage them to go out there. It is also an opportunity for me to get to know Arran better.
Tell us about a favourite mountain moment. Last year up in the Carneddau of Snowdonia. Glorious winter day. Good, consolidated snow underfoot. Beautiful, crisp winter light. Ideal conditions for photography. I was so busy looking out, down and ahead of me, photographing the landscape, that I forgot to look up. My partner did. Just as well because otherwise we would have missed an incredible solar halo right above us - see attached pic. Memorable.
What is your favourite Arran walk?
I look forward to doing the Three Beinns Horseshoe. Awesome terrain with far-reaching panoramic views over the mountains of Arran.
Which piece of kit would you not head into the hills without?
A spare copy of my map. Have you ever seen your (only) map fly away in the wind?
What is your favourite breakfast before a long day out in the mountains?
Can't beat traditional Scottish porridge... with custard.
What do you do when you don’t lead walks for the Arran Mountain Festival?
