by Ryohei56 » Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:39 am
I wish I'd seen this back in the mid 90s. Back then I was a member of the Braes o' Fife Mountaineering Club and my Dad (who had just joined) had come with me on a club meet at the Lagangarbh hut.
On a bright Saturday morning, the two of us set off along the path, looking for the Waterslab. We did indeed find a slab, which had water on it, and stopped to look up at the Curved Ridge. It didn't look much like the photos, and there was no clear path in sight, but these were mere details.
Off we went, up increasingly steep slopes. Most sections were ok, but there were some which required awkward scramble moves up over rock, grass & moss. Eventually, we reached a point where we could no longer go up ( near-vertical rock), we couldn't go left (ditto), and going back down would be at best dangerous (don't ask).
The only option appeared to be the gully on the right, so we began a difficult traverse in that direction. It was definitely not a pleasurable experience, but we did eventually gain the floor of the gully and - with not too much hard effort - the Buachaille's summit.
Returning to the hut, we were met with a lot of amusement. Our progress had been observed by other BFMC climates, and they had correctly determined that we had NOT been on the Curved Ridge; in fact, we had gone up Great Gully Buttress and then into Great Gully itself. We were never allowed to forget that....
Sadly, my dad passed away recently, but this incident even got a mention (and a few laughs) at his funeral. Rest in peace, dad.