[graham.d]

Too easy. It's Coire Mhic Fearchair Ben Eighe.

[Geezer (OP)]

Ah! Torridon is a wonderful place.

[LeeE]

Absolutely correct.  I guess those triple buttresses are just too easily recognisable.  I had to camp up there one December night and the only bit of flat 'ground' that I could put the tent up on was the frozen run-off from the lake.

[Geezer (OP)]

I had to camp up there one December night

Good grief! I hope you had a good sleeping bag.

Dangerous place Scotland. The weather in the mountains can change from delightful to deadly in no time at all. It scares me to watch parents taking young children up mountains like Ben Lomond as if they were going for a walk in the park.

[Geezer (OP)]

No prizes for guessing where this is. It's in Irvine, Scotland. My grandparents had a dairy there, and the horse (called Snowball, naturally) pulled the milk float. The three gents are my uncles and my dad, who was the oldest, was the photographer.

The only reason I posted this one is because I find it fascinating that this shot was taken at least eighty years ago. Uncle Andrew, who is holding Snowball, looks as if he could have stepped off the street a couple of weeks ago. I suppose men's fashions have not really changed much.


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[graham.d]

The two lads on the horse don't look too happy. You are absolutely right about the style of your uncle. Timeless.

[LeeE]

I had to camp up there one December night

Good grief! I hope you had a good sleeping bag.

Oh yes, most definitely.  It was snowing only moderately when my pal and I put the tent up but it turned into a bit of a blizzard in the night i.e. from about 16:30/17:00 onwards.  It was also the site of the most challenging tom-tit I ever had too, as I had to put on my gortexes and crampons before venturing out into the dark, wind and snow, and then take careful aim whilst only exposing the bare minimum.  Lol - even just handling the loo-paper was a challenge.

That wasn't the coldest night we had on that trip through: on our way back home we camped beside Loch Ness and when we woke up to a bright and clear morning the insides of the tent were coated with ice, formed from the moisture in our breath as we slept, and similarly, the evaporated moisture from our bodies had frozen into lots of little ice balls on the outside of our sleeping bags.

The great thing about winter hill walking though, is that you don't have to worry about mud too much, as it's all frozen solid, and to clean your cooking pans, you just fill them with water and then chip it all out with your ice axe once it's frozen - much easier than trying to wash them in cold water and without detergent.  Oh yes, and no midges either: another great bonus []

[Geezer (OP)]

The two lads on the horse don't look too happy.

They do look a bit ticked off, don't they. They probably got fed up sitting there while my dad messed around with his camera. Perhaps it was because old Snowball had major "outgassing".

Come to think of it, my dad was into home movies (9.5 mm) and on one occasion he had us all parading up and down for ages in the gardens at Hampton Court while he recorded the remarkable event.

I think my mother finally told him to knock it off!