It’s cold and windy so Gayle throws on all her layers and goes snowshoeing with a man who devised a new list of mountains…
Gale-force winds threaten to whip me off my feet as I reach the rocky summit of Carn an Tuirc in the Cairngorms.
I’ve battled my way to the top of the 1,019m mountain with fellow outdoors fan, Dr Paul Fettes, but with almost zero visibility and plummeting temperatures, it’s not a place to hang around.
To add insult to injury, a shower of hailstones hits me square on the cheek as I hunker down against a dilapidated cairn.
Despite the discomfort, our hike has been made much less taxing thanks to the snowshoes we’re sporting, which allow us to “float” over snow-covered ground without sinking.
While they initially feel like wearing nappies and look rather clownish, we soon get used to them, although going sideways and backwards proves cumbersome.
Even with snowshoes, I’d never consider tackling a winter climb solo – only with an expert – and armed with map, compass, first aid kit, survival bags, spare food, down jacket, ice axes and years of experience, Paul is more than qualified to keep me safe.
His Pointer Maisy is having a whale of a time, bounding over crags and eyeing up mountain hares, and it’s always nice to have a canine companion.
I first met Paul, a consultant anaesthetist at Ninewells Hospital, in 2015 when he came up with a fantastic fundraising idea to raise money for sick children’s charity The ARCHIE Foundation.
He devised the concept of the “Archies” – Scottish mountains over 1,000m – and then planned an epic team relay challenge to conquer all 130 of them.
I scaled the very first “Archie” (1,046m Ben Wyvis) along with Paul and his team, mostly consisting of staff at Ninewells, and then left them to do the rest on foot, by bike and by kayak, carrying the Archie rabbit mascot every step of the way.
They covered more than 15,000km and completed 87,000m of ascent, roughly 10 times the height of Everest. And the challenge raised an impressive £33,000 for The ARCHIE Foundation.
Today’s windy hike gives Paul the chance to fill me in on his new book, fittingly titled The Archies.
It tells the story of the 2015 outdoor adventure, with pictures and maps galore, and details individual journeys of every team member.
The group of 57 fearless fundraisers shed blood, sweat and tears during the awe-inspiring mission, but took just 16 days to complete it.
“Starting off in Easter Ross in June three years ago, we battled blizzards, heat waves, gale-force winds and torrential rain,” recalls Paul with a grin.
“We scrambled along knife-edge ridges, navigated remote cloud-covered plateaus in the dark, and kayaked over storm-swept waters.
“It’s great to be able to reflect on that incredible journey – one which captured hearts and minds as well as raising money for a worthwhile cause. The book should appeal to anyone with a love of the outdoors, or a spirit of adventure.”
Paul is a firm believer that “bagging” all 130 Archies is a great personal goal, and one which is much more achievable than attempting to tackle all 282 Munros.
Book sales thus far have raised around £20,000, so on top of the £33,000 raised by the 2015 challenge, that’s more than £50,0000 for The ARCHIE Foundation.
And while Paul isn’t planning another challenge, he’s keen to encourage others to take up the torch.
“The Archies list takes Munro’s list and brings it into the modern age,” he says.
“You can walk them, climb them, run them, ski them, or cycle them. You can’t paddle up any, but you could paddle to the base of plenty.
“If you’re part of a hill-walking club, mountain running club or adventure racing club, could you emulate us? Perhaps you could beat our time! And we’d be delighted if you raised money for the ARCHIE Foundation in the process.”
Having ticked two Archies off the list, I plan on doing a good few more in 2018, but when the weather is kinder.
As we head back down the hill towards the relative shelter of the Glenshee basin, I trip over my snowshoes and take a wee tumble, but that doesn’t detract from buzz that’s running through me.
I’ve not only learned a new skill – how to use snowshoes – but I’ve got another mountain under my belt. And that fills me with a fantastic sense of achievement.
My advice is to 100% get your hands on the book for inspiration – it’s packed with stunning photos and great insight – and then get out there and take on the Archies!
info
The Archies, by Paul Fettes and Friends, is available online at archie.org or at Tiso, Waterstones, Nicholsons and Gillies in Dundee.
It features stunning images of Scotland’s scenery as well as maps of the route and social media posts from the challenge. It also includes an A3 map of all the Archies, so readers can “bag” them too.
Book sales thus far have raised around £20,000, so on top of the £33,000 raised by the 2015 challenge, that’s just over £50,0000 for The ARCHIE Foundation, the official charity of Tayside Children’s Hospital at Ninewells.
An Archie is a Scottish mountain higher that stretches more than a vertical km into the sky (1,000m) with at least a 100m drop between that and any other mountains.
Gayle and Paul hired snowshoes from Braemar Mountain Sports, www.braemarmountainsports.com/
