Over The Hill

"STOP PRESS" Team GB's brilliant new star in Women's Skeleton already in training for gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

It was great to be walking in dry, sunny conditions again, and the surrounding hills looked beautiful with a deep covering of snow above 400m. We soon left the grassy slopes of Auchengaich Hill behind and were trudging through increasingly deep snow accompanied by a strong, and chilly wind which was whipping up the fine snow in swirls as we reached the small stone cairn at the summit of Beinn Tharsuinn.

We had only the shortest of breaks on Tharsuinn before heading off along the fenceline down towards the bealach and then onwards up the final, broad slopes towards the cairn and Trig Point that marks the summit of Beinn Chaorach. The wind by now had gathered considerable force and it was a struggle to stand without bracing ourselves against the strong gusts.

With no shelter from the wind, we moved towards the steep eastern edge of the summit in an attempt to get out of the strongest of the winds for a break and a spot of lunch. Little did we know that the next few minutes were going to be quite exciting!

As we settled down on the open slope and Lindsay opened her rucksack to get her lunch, the small bag containing her waterproof trousers was whipped away with the strong wind, and, in a quite natural reaction she took a few running steps after the quickly disappearing bag. Suddenly she was flat on her face sliding head first at a terrific rate towards the edge and in an instant disappeared from sight.

Until this point, the snow had been soft and deep and the slopes gentle enough that we had not resorted to ice axes or crampons, which were still on our rucksacks. Quickly unhooking our ice axes we set off towards the edge, and soon realised why Lindsay had taken off so quickly. This side of the hill was hard packed snow, not icy, but hard and steep enough to explain why Lindsay shot off as if challenging Lizzy Yarnold for the gold at Sochi.

We edged our way slowly down the steepening slopes; with a few anxious moments as we could see just how steep and how far this slope ran, and yet there was no sign of Lindsay to be seen anywhere on the slope. Then, thankfully, down at the bottom we spotted this figure, waving both arm, hopefully we thought to signify that she was okay.

Once spotted, Ian continued down to Lindsay, kicking steps as he descended, which they we then able to use to climb back to where Mike and I waited. It was with some relief that we then continued upwards to rejoin the rest of the group who had been waiting anxiously on the summit. Lindsay assured us she was fine, which was quite amazing considering that she had remained face down, head first for the complete descent. If luck played a part, then it was that although steep, the slope was smooth, and the run-out clear of any obstructions.

In complete contrast, our descent down the western slope was once again in deep, soft snow as we made an easy descent back to the reservoir on Auchengaich Burn and then on towards the old road through Glen Fruin for our return to Ballevoulin.

Ignoring the wind, the bright clear weather was a welcome change to what we have had to endure lately. A great day - Thanks Mike.

PS - We have already submitted Lindsay's application for a place in Team GB for South Korea in 2018 as the contender to retain Lizzy Yarnold's Gold Medal winning place in the Women's Skeleton - Just think what she could do with a sled.

If you like statistics - How far did Lindsay slide? Well, at a conservative estimate, she covered 200m distance down a slope of 44%, dropping at least 100m in height.