Strong teamwork on the mountain

Windy day sets a good challenge on Ben Stack

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day, with a good breeze running from the south west. We started with a short walk before breakfast to a high vantage point above the Adventure School so that the pupils could get a 360 degree view of the environment they will be operating in over the coming days.

After breakfast the Reds took to sea kayaks and set out in three little pods to explore Loch A Chadh-Fi, learn some new skills paddling their own boats, see some of the abundant wildlife and fling a bit of seaweed at each other on a journey around the little bays and coves that line the shore.

Meanwhile, the Blues headed out across the hillside and dropped down into the remote Ardbeg Bay to look at the fire and food element of the survival skills that they’ll need before heading to survival island at the end of the week.

The teams swapped around after lunch. Before dinner we readied ourselves for wild camping that evening and with roast chicken and apple crumble in bellies we headed out to the old stone stables at Lone to establish our mountain base camp.

The forecast was for a calm night but gusty winds, particularly around lunchtime on the Monday, so we set ourselves to head out and try Ben Stack, not knowing how far we would be able to get. The teams picked their way up the lower slopes with the wind on their backs and within a couple of hours we reached the col, about 200m lower than the summit itself. From here it became a real battle with the wind, the teams working hard together in challenging conditions.

The Blue Moons were at the head of the pack and we decided, just a couple of hundred feet from the summit, that we had climbed far enough, with the gusts strong enough to prevent any further progress. The remaining three teams reached the same point before descending into Strath Stack for some shelter.

A great challenge, the summit will be there for another day. It would be easy for the kids to feel disappointed but no-one was. They had all felt the full strength of the elements today. Valuable experience of sound decision making prior to survival island.