Scotland: Cold, Dark, Wet, and Amazing

Shortly after Zeynep departed for Patagonia, I popped on a flight to London, the first leg of what was supposed to be a relaxing and uneventful trip to Fort William in the Highlands of Scotland. Off the plane at Heathrow, taxi to the train station, and onto the Caledonian Sleeper, which is definitely the coolest name of a train, ever. The Caledonian Sleeper was supposed to take me from London all the way to Inverness, the administrative capital of the Highlands, while I slept. It did not do this. Because Scotland, as I am learning, is cold and wet and dark, and the train got stuck well before my destination on cold, wet (flooded), and dark tracks. So then onto a bus, which demonstrated several times the sphincter-tightening phenomenon of hydroplaning, and then a car from Inverness to Fort William, en route to which my rental car did the same. And hydroplaning while on the wrong side of a car which is on the wrong side of the road is a treat. But hey! I hydroplaned right on by Loch Ness, which was pretty cool if just a lake, and I did not see Nessie, which was a touch disappointing.

Fortunately, Fort William itself is a very charming place for it to be cold and dark and wet. The picture below was taken in a twenty minute window when it was just cold. Before and after and pretty much ever since Scotland has also been dark and wet.

Fortunately, cold and dark and wet is more or less why I’m in Scotland at all. After a series of summer mountaineering adventures, I foolishly got it in my head that I should try winter climbing. And Scotland is where one goes for “a good day out” as they call it here. We started this morning bright and early in an attempt to beat the forecasted 102mph/164kph winds, and for our efforts were rewarded with kindly 77mph/123kph winds. And rain and sleet and weird small bits that, when travelling horizontally at 77mph do a number on human flesh.

But the climbing was truly sweet. The approach hike up to Stop Coire nan Lochan (aka, The Hurt Lochan, not kidding) was a bit brutal, but once you’re up there it’s an amazing mix of rock and ice and frozen turf and waist-deep powder and adrenaline and sweat. A good day out, indeed.

A final thought: Scotland feels a long way from nearly everything and everybody, which, you know, it is. But I made the mistake of Googling where Zeynep is, and Google Maps kindly showed my little blue dot too, and, well… she’s a very long way away.