Category Archives: People

Covid Dreams 16: Vertical pleasures

Posted on May 11, 2020 by cairngormwanderer

Another dip into the past, going back to 1996, when Colin McGregor and I climbed Squareface, the classic V Diff route in the Garbh Choire of Beinn a Bhuird. The angle is deceptive here – it’s always hard to capture … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Rock Climbing | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Covid Dreams 12: The A Team

Posted on May 3, 2020 by cairngormwanderer

After a few landscape photos, a nice cheery one of my mates. These guys are the A Team – some of it anyway – the core of the Eastern area of the MBA and the Friends of Bob Scott’s, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, People | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Covid Dreams 2: The chairs

Posted on April 22, 2020 by cairngormwanderer

It’s never been just about the hills. It’s also about the people: the sharing, the craic, the daft ploys and laughs. We were heading in to Corrour Bothy to do some work and taking in a couple of replacement chairs, … Continue reading →

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Adam Watson: an appreciation

Posted on January 26, 2019 by cairngormwanderer

                                      I doubt if there has ever been such an expert on and advocate for the Cairngorms. Certainly there have been plenty … Continue reading →

Posted in People | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Bridging the Dee at Corrour

Posted on July 8, 2018 by cairngormwanderer

Some time ago I wrote of the bridge-building activity in 1959, when several footbridges were constructed to replace existing structures past their best. Malcolm Douglas, the first Nature Conservancy Council warden on the Mar side of the Cairngorms, told how … Continue reading →

Posted in History, People | 5 Comments

Historic Corrour Bothy images

Posted on June 30, 2018 by cairngormwanderer

Some images from the original Corrour Bothy work party appeared recently on Facebook, courtesy of Alasdair Ewan, grandson of Bill Ewen, who took them in 1950, when the Cairngorm Club rescued the building from collapse. I wrote about Bill Ewen … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, History, People | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

What we did on our weekends

Posted on April 26, 2018 by cairngormwanderer

Between work, the MBA and Bob Scott’s there are altogether too many meetings in my life and they tend not to feature on this blog – for good reason. But a recent meeting of the Bob Scott’s Bothy Association highlighted … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Ashie Brebner: Secret Howff builder, 1935-2018

Posted on April 13, 2018 by cairngormwanderer

Sad news came this week that Allister ‘Ashie’ Brebner, the last surviving member of the group who built the legendary ‘Secret Howff’ in the Cairngorms, has died. Ashie had only recently written an excellent memoir of his exploits in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, History, People | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Book review: Beyond the Secret Howff, by Ashie Brebner

Posted on December 9, 2017 by cairngormwanderer

The Secret Howff is such a part of Cairngorm lore that it’s difficult to remember that until relatively recently so few people knew anything about it other than it existed… somewhere. Now Ashie Brebner, the last remaining member of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, History, People, skiing | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Going beyond the Secret Howff

Posted on November 2, 2017 by cairngormwanderer

Anyone who has been to the Secret Howff, and many who have just heard of it, will know the name Ashie Brebner. The last remaining builder of the legendary howff, Ashie has finally decided to tell his story. Published by … Continue reading →

Posted in History, News, People | Tagged , , | 7 Comments