Ramsay Round Attempt

A friend of mine attempted a Ramsay Round  this week.
The last time I wrote about the Ramsay was last year when Jez Bragg broke the record of the round which consists of 24 Munros  completing  it in 18 ours 12 minutes. Then a month later John Ascroft  beat that record by over an hour completing  in 16.59.That in itself was remarkable but this year a lady, Jasmin Paris smashed both the male and  female records completing  in  16 hours 13 minutes. I cannot comprehend  how anybody could run that fast over that sort of terrain. It is worth remembering that only 4 females have ever completed a Ramsay in under 24 hours.
My friend  was not attempting  anything so spectacular just wanting to get round even if it took more than 24 hours. My job was to pace her on the section from Loch Treig to Aonach Mor  I spent most of last weekend doing a recce and depositing  some water on the Grey Corries. The weather was showery and  it was quite grim on Aonach Mor. However as I descended the sun started to shine through gaps in the gloom illuminating  small wispy clouds floating in the valley- simply stunning.

Descending Aonach Mor

On Tuesday morning my friend started her attempt. She was wearing  a tracker so we could watch on the internet as she  traversed the mountains which was very exciting.
 Unfortunately it soon became clear that she was slower than planned .By mid afternoon she was several hours behind  schedule. It turned out that she had some problems with her eyes and  was struggling  to see - not good when negociating steep slopes and ridges. Eventually with the weather deteriorating and  night falling she was forced to pull out . However as she said the mountains will always be there for another go
. So I didn't get to run a step except to retrieve the water I had stashed.

The Summit of Sgurr Choinnich Mor with Aonach Beag in the background

Plein Air Painting

 I had a day off today so I began painting this view of Loch Linnhe from a photo. However for once it was nice outside - it wasn't raining and there was a glimpse of blue skies and warm sunshine.  I went up to the Commando Memorial and painted the stunning view across to the Grey Corries.As always it was a challenge painting the light effects because they were constantly changing.The weak sun glinting on the snow was exquisite.

 After completing that I went a little way down the Gairlochy road and painted the view to the west showing Stob a Ghrianain the far end of Druim Fada . It looked gorgeous with its fine cap of snow. It is a hill I have never climbed -another one for the to do list.

Then I had time for a run in the forest before dark (and the almost inevitable onset of rain).

Back to work tomorrow.

Recent Paintings

On the way back from Acharacle- Loch Sunart

Grey Corries -Stob Choire Claurigh

Looking back towards Stob Choire Gaibhre

I haven't done much  outdoor sketching recently . The days are shorter and the weather has been  wet and windy; not ideal for painting watercolours. However I have done some paintings from photos .

The bottom two pictures are from photos taken on a beautiful afternoon in the Grey Corries two weeks ago . It is a long slog up fom the Leanachan Forest to the ridge but once there the views are stupendous. Because the Spean Bridge is hidden in the valley all one can see in every direction is rank after rank of pristine mountains. There are no towns, no houses, no roads nor indeed any sign of man's mark on the landscape visible. It is a wonderful  playground of glens, hills and forests and I'm lucky enough to live in the middle of it.

The top picture is a view from the road  between Strontian and Acharacle on another fine day.The road is single track and twists and turns along the lochside and through  beautiful oak woodlands. It is always a treat to drive there although concentrating on the road rather than the scenery can be a challenge !

Ramsay Round continued

Quick sketch of the mountains as I waited for the Ramsay Round runners. I didn't want to get too involved with my picture as I knew runners might come round the corner at any moment. the hill shown is Sgurr Choinnich Beag with the Aonach Mor / Aonach Beag plateau behind.

Waiting for the runners to arrive back at Glen Nevis Youth Hostel this morning. We had text updates during the night and it became clear that Mark was slipping behind his schedule however we were still hoping he would 'pull it out of the bag' Unfortunately he was about half an hour outside the magic 24 hour time limit, but what a tremendous achievement ! It's a shame that he won't go on the list of official Ramsay Rounders but he was very close. It is a phenomenally difficult challenge and few people manage it on their first attempt.

View of Beinn Na Lap from the railway bridge near Corrour ,this was sketched last year when I was reccing another part of the Round.

Sketch from memory of stormy weather over the Grey Corries.There was hint  of sunny blue skies beyond the violent squally showers that swept over the mountains. I received a good soaking as per normal. It was not a good time for sketching out of doors so I painted this at home once I was warm and dry.