THE SCOTTISH MOUNTAINEERING CLUB JOURNAL THE SCOTTISH Mountaineering C lub J o u r n a l . E D IT E D IIV WILLIAM DOUGLAS. EDINBURGH : THE SCOTTISH MOUNTAINEERING CLUB. CONTENTS. r* c E The Climbers’ Camp at Coruisk. By IV. Douglas I Climbing Considered in its Physiological Aspects. II. By A . Ernest Maylard, B.S. ..... 17 A Wet Day in Glencoe. By Harold Raeburn 24 A Day on Cir Mhor. By IV. Inglis Clark 29 Sixteen Hours on Ben Nevis, January 1898. By IV. Inglis Clark ....... 45 The Cliffs of Ben A’an. By IV. IV. Naismith 53 Glenfinlas to Glen Falloch. By James Maclay 58 61 The Black Mount at New Year. By F. Conradi Squancc . The Loch Treig Hills and Ben na Lap. By Edred M. 66 Corner ....... 70 Two Climbs on the Tarmachans. By Harold Raeburn A Reverie. By Norman Collie . 93 103 South-West Ross. By the late Professor Heddle 116 A Summer Night on the Glenshee Hills. By H. T. Munro The Mountaineer as a Searcher after the Beautiful. By IV. 121 Inglis Clark ...... A Week’s Climbing in the Ben Nevis District. By IV. 126 Douglas ....... The “ Church-Door” Buttress on Bidean nam Bian. ByJ. H. B e l l ................................................................. 135 The Cobbler Climbs. By H. C. Boyd 153 164 August at Sligachan. By G. Bennett Gibbs . A November Evening on Lochnagar. By Harold Raeburn . 176 182 Bens Laoghal, Hope, and Clibrig. By H. T. Munro Ascent of Ben Starav from Glen Coe. By William Garden 188 Early Descriptions of Skye. Compiled by the Editor 205 The Buchailles of Etive (Shepherds of Etive). By J. H. B e l l ................................................................ 23' A Winter Climb on the Tarmachan Cliffs. By W. Inglis Clark ....... 242 Leum an Eirannaich and Rob Roy’s Putting Stone. ByJ. Gall Inglis . • 246 VI Contents. PAGE The Geology of the Scottish Mountains, from a Climbing Point of View. By Lionel IV. Hinxman 269 Four Days on Ben Nevis. By IV. Inglis Chirk 287 Spring Attempts. By Scott Moncrieff Penney 298 Scottish Mountaineering, Retrospective and Prospective. By A. Ernest Maylard 308 I llustrations Alasdair-Dubh Gap, Middle Pitch on the North Side of To face IO Allt na Mhuinidh Waterfall n 258 Aonach Dubh from Clachaig tt 128 Ben A ’an from the South . S3 Ben Nevis, Cam Dearg Buttress . To face 45 »t It 128 „ Tower Ridge from Carn Dearg n 288 „ The Tower from the Summit »t 290 „ The Tower Ridge n 290 Bhasteir Tooth, Naismith’s New Route on >> 168 Bhasteir Nick Gully, Front View 170 „ ' „ Section of Jammed Blocks » 172 Bidean nam Bian .... tl 136 Blaven in the Clouds It 93 Buchaille Etive Mor, N.E. Face . 235 „ „ From Kingshouse Inn 236 „ „ S.E. Face . 237 „ „ Chasm from Glen Etive Road 238 Cairngorms from the North To face 269 Cir Mhor ..... I) 30 Cobbler ..... II >53 „ North Peak 157 „ South Peak 160 „ „ from the West 162 „ Summit .... 159 Coire Mhic Fearchair Ben Eighe Cliffs . To face 100 „ Cairn It 102 „ Traverse and Cairn ti 102 Coolins, Revised Map A t end Coruisk from Behind the Camp . To face 1 „ Plans for the Rennie Hut (4 plates) » 2 „ The Camp tt 6 Dawn— Glen Coe from Sgurr Dhonuill . »t 120 Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour 92 Leum an Eirannaich To face 246 Middle-man Knot .... 265 Noon— Looking up Glen Coe To face 122 Rocks, Geological Formation of . 271 Contents. vii I’ACB Sgurr Alasdair, from the South . To face 8 „ Nan Gillean, from Coire a’ Bhasteir 166 Sunset, from Beinn a Bheithir 124 Tarmachan Cliffs, East Face 1> 242 Mountaineering Notes: — I'AOE Cobbler 4i. 141 AUt na Mhuinidh Water­ Coire Coille na Froise 261 fall .... 257 Coolins . ' 44, 145 Alps, & c., in 1897 39 Corrour Hills . 262 „ „ in 1898 195 Creag Meaghaidh . 261 Aonach Mor 87 Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour Ardlui Boulder 147 (Garven) 91 Beinn Bheithir 40 Gearr Aonach. 141 Beinn Chaoruinn 260 Glencoe . 40 Beinn Eighe 264 Glen Spean 261 Ben a Chaistel 315 Inveroran 264 Ben Achallader . 316 Leum an Eirannaich 260 Ben Chuim . 316 Liathach . 263 Ben Creachan 316 Narnain Caves 200 Ben Dubh Craige 3i 5 Norway . 197 Ben Ledi 260 Storr Rock 200 Ben Nevis . 4't 87, 198 Tarmachans . 8 8 Ben Vannoch 316 Wales . 90 Buchaille Etive Mor . 89 Wastdale 87 Cir Mhor '43 Western Highlands '45 Miscellaneous N otes :— Depth of Snow at Ben 1 Middle-man Knot . 265 Nevis, 1897-98 . 148 | Mountaineering in Japan 265 Reviews and Notices Ball’s Alpine Guide : The Western Alps . 149 „ „ „ Hints and Notes, Practical and Scientific, for Travellers in the Alps . 318 Ellice’s Place-Names in Glengarry and Glenquoich, and their Origin . 151 Jones’ Rock Climbing in the English District . 43 Mathew’s Annals of Mont Blanc .... sot ’ Oppenheim’s New Climbs in Norway . 267 Summary of Progress of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom for 1897 .... 202 Yorkshire Ramblers’ Club Journal . 318 Correspondence •. - Climbing in Skye . 82 viii Contents. PAGE Proceedings of the Club Ninth Annual General Meeting and Dinner, ioth Decem­ ber 1897 ...... 37 Special General Meeting, December 1897 . 37 New Year’s Meet at Fort William, 1898 . 77 Easter Meet at Ballachulish, 1898 . 80 Tenth Annual General Meeting and Dinner, 2nd Decem­ ber 1898 . .192 Special General Meeting, December 1898 . 192 New Year’s Meet at Tyndrum, 1899 . 253 Easter Meet at Kinlochewe .... 253 LOOKING DOWN LOCH CORUISK FROM BEHIND THE CAMP. THE SCOTTISH fiflotmtatntrang Club Journal. Vol. V. January 1898 No. 25. THE CLIMBERS’ CAMP AT CORUISK. By W. Douglas. So much depends in a camping holiday upon the site and surroundings of the camp, and so much of the pleasure and profit, if any, in reading of the campers’ adventures arises from an intelligent understanding of those conditions, that I had almost begun this article by a description of Coruisk and the Coolins. ’Twould have been an oft-told tale to the readers of the Journal. Collie and others have already described them far more eloquently than I could ever hope to do, yet no one, I venture to think, could realise even from their accounts what it means, to live for five weeks in the heart of Coruisk; to see Ghreadaidh slowly forming out of the gloom of the morning mists; to see, when some storm had passed, the wet slabs of the Coolins glistening in the sunlight; to see, when the sun had set, shafts of light darting through every cleft on the Banachdich ridge and thrusting golden streamers into the darkness of the corries, and to feel continually the near presence of the immense black peaks that crowded around our lonely camp— these, and many other sights that we daily witnessed, it is hardly in the power of words properly to express. This article, however, being entirely practical in its aim and object, let me, in the interests of those who may wish at some future time to camp at a spot as remote from the habitations of man as that at the head of Loch Coruisk, xxv. A 2 The Scottish Mountaineering Chib Journal. endeavour to give an outline of the plans and arrangements which we made beforehand, and which enabled us to carry out successfully our long sojourn in the wilds of Skye. After obtaining the sanction of Macleod of Macleod to camp on his ground at the head of Loch Coruisk, we arranged with John Macrae, a fisherman in the island of Soay, to hire us a boat for the time of our holiday. With­ out a boat it would have been impossible to transport our baggage to the head of the loch. Our next endeavour was to ascertain what would be the most suitable kind of house for our purpose, for we required one that would be easily carried, and strong enough to withstand the winds and floods that we were likely to encounter. The idea of a tent was at once discarded, for even the best of tents would never have weathered a Skye gale. Profiting by the experience of Mr Williams and other artists who are in the habit of living in portable wooden houses, Mr Rennie evolved a very good structure of wood and felt, which suited our purpose admirably ; and after living in it night and day for more than a month, I cannot see how in any respect it could have been improved. It was quite watertight, and kept our beds and bedding perfectly dry. The accompanying diagrams show the plan of the house. Its chief disadvantage is that it cannot easily be taken down without spoiling the wood and felt, and this precludes the idea of using it more than once. The three huts which formed our camp were all built after the same model, with the exception of “ The Cook-shop,” which, as will be seen from plans Nos. 2 and 4, had an extension at the back for the accommodation of the cooking-stoves. DIRECTIONS FOR SETTING UP THE RENNIE HUT. In setting up these huts, the first operation is to screw the end triangles together, and to set them up facing each other 8 feet apart. The ridge-pole is then slipped into its place, and the ends bound together with a few of the side spars, when the whole thing should be able to stand by itself. It is next squared with the ground, the side supports for the ridge-pole inserted, and the rest of the spars nailed on. All that has to be done now to the framework is to peg the corners down to the ground, put up the door-posts, and fill in the ends.