This area covers the northern side of Glen Coe and the mountains north of Rannoch Moor. Notable features include the Pap of Glencoe, the Aonach Eagach ridge (home to a few kilometres of horizontal scrambling) and the remote peak of Stob na Cruiache which is generally accessed from the train station to the east. Includes all major peaks above 600m.
If only I had an image that captured the essence of my experience at the Salomon Glencoe Skyline race this Sunday past! I started it with a cold and a lack of training miles but knowing full-well: "Nothing ventured ..." The ascent of Curved Ridge, a Grade 3 scramble, was fun but I felt clunky and slow on the descent. On the next climb my legs felt heavy and slow and I was into survival mode, conversing with the internal voice that says: "you should just quit". On the next descent I found some rhythm and ran deeper and higher into the mountains, committing to at least reaching CP 11, where there`d be food and the chance to drop out at the road. After a slow, steady period of being OK my gut started being uncomfortable during the Nam Bidean out and back. The descent to the road seemed impossibly long on wobbly legs but what else could I do? I focused on my feet and a safe, steady passage down the technical descent. And I looked forward to a cup of tea. After 6hrs:40 I was finally there. They guy sat next to me as I drank my tea was in the process of quitting. I overheard the marshal telling him there were cars available to take him back to the start. And then the marshal turned to me and asked asked in a voice of concern "Are you feeling OK? Are you OK to carry on?" I didn`t know the answer but I knew I wasn`t going to find it out by sitting there. On 7hrs:00 I left the Check Point and began the 900m vertical ascent to Aonach Eagach Ridge - another fine Grade 3 scramble. A few minutes later I was vomiting in the bracken (luckily Richard Ball caught up at this point and was able to hold my hair back for me ... and tell me that I was looking a bit pale. Was there anything he could do? Had there been, I would have told him ... but there was only one person who could get me up that hill: me) With one final look at the tantalisingly close Check Point I turned my back on it and put one foot in front of the other, again and again ... and again. What could be simpler? I found a rhythm and 90 minutes later I was on the summit and feeling happy. For the next 2hr:21mins I ran and climbed strongly, reaching the finish after 11hrs21. I don`t fully understand where that strength came from. Sometimes you have to go very, very deep to find it. But when it comes ....
