Back where the journey began - Schiehallion with the Germans

[Graeme D]

Schiehallion was my first Munro back on 11th April 2003, the day after my wife turned 30. I remember it clearly. We were living in Aberdeen at the time, where I was doing my teacher training. I had just been "posted" to Blairgowrie High School and as I was starting there in the August, we were house hunting in the Perth area. I had booked a few nights in the Moulin Inn in Pitlochry and the plan was to head down there on her birthday. However, she spent all morning sulking in her bed and refusing to get up, traumatised at turning 30 and wondering what she had done with her life to show for it. Eventually I cajoled her into action and cheered her up with a jaunt up Ben Vrackie before food and drink therapy in the bar of the Moulin.

The following day was another belter of a spring day and we decided to go up Schiehallion to blow away the fog! I barely knew what a Munro was at that time, let alone the concept of logging an attempt to conquer all of them on an electronic log such as this. I may have had a camera with me, and may well have taken photos, but I certainly did not retain any photographic evidence of the day that I was ever able to lay my hands on afterwards.

After doing Ben More on Mull later that same year, it would be another 5 years before I set foot on another Munro, at which point I got into the business seriously and started filing electronic pictorial reports of all my ascents. It then became a glaring omission that I didn't have one for my very first Munro but as opportunities to head out became more valuable with the onset of parenthood, I never did get round to doing a repeat on a reasonably local hill.

The ideal opportunity eventually presented itself through my Outdoor Education involvement in my job as a teacher at Perth High School. Perth is twinned with the German city of Aschaffenburg but the links between our school and schools there had become neglected and forgotten. However, our relatively new Headteacher has made a point of trying to re-establish these links and the first exchange was to involve a group of 15 year old German school kids and two of their teachers coming to stay with some of our kids for a week just after Easter. Our Outdoor Education guy put together a programme for them and their host students, involving walking, cycling and canoeing, based at Kinloch Rannoch. He obviously needed staff to assist him with the delivery of the programme and as he had no real idea of their levels of fitness, motivation, awareness e.t.c. with regard to taking them up a mountain, he approached me as a qualified leader and also a German speaker. He proceeded to twist my arm painfully up my back until I agreed to give up a day in the classroom and accompany the group up Schiehallion. Honestly - the things I have to tolerate for that school!

Anyway, little to report in the way of the walk, which was on another belter of a spring day very reminiscent of 2003, other than a wee selection of pics.

[basscadet]

Sounds brilliant, although I canny see your photos ( my works security policy ) Schehallion is a brilliant hill, despite its tourist status
12 years of hillwalking eh.. bet it seems like you just started yesterday..
If you start taking kids out it will never stop.. My dad retired from teaching a few years ago now, yet he is still in high demand..

[Collaciotach]

Must return to this one myself ,saw feck all on the previous visit and your pics show good views

12 years eh !

[Fife Flyer]

Great stuff Graeme, always good to see a few of the younger generation on the hills
Out of interest what did our European friends think of the walk and the views? Looks like you even sorted some decent weather for them

[Graeme D]

Great stuff Graeme, always good to see a few of the younger generation on the hills
Out of interest what did our European friends think of the walk and the views? Looks like you even sorted some decent weather for them

I told them not to get too accustomed to the weather if they were thinking about making it a regular fixture. As for the views, I overheard several of them saying how blown away they were. The following day they were doing mountain biking though around Kinloch Rannoch and apparently a few of them threw in the towel early doors!