When I woke, my first thought was that the rain hadn't stopped all night. My second, was that I remembered we were meant to be doing a river crossing today - brilliant.
We put on our old clothes, old boots and old waterproofs and waited nervously whilst sipping a brew. We could still hear the rain hammering down against the flat, as we flicked through the pages of Classic Rock. Richard soon arrived with Darren and Mike and they all came in and sat down. Richard said that we would go through the home papers first and hopefully the weather would clear up a bit, so I got up and put on another brew. We sat around and went through the home papers and discussed the answers together. It was clear that we all had good knowledge of the outdoors, the laws, regulations and best practice. The rain hadn't eased at all but Richard was still keen to cross a river so we jumped into his car and headed along the minor road towards Blarmachfoldach once again.
We parked at the roadside just above the river to our right. Down at the riverbank, Richard gave us a quick briefing. We were standing at a corner of the river and to our right the river looked deep and fast-flowing. To our left the river was wider, slower, more shallow and a lot more inviting. We were asked to get ourselves across safely using whatever method we liked. We all grabbed our walking poles and set off to the other side. The water was rather chilly to say the least and was fast flowing but only shin-deep and none of us had any problems getting across to the other side. Richard then asked us to move down the bank a little where the river was a little deeper and faster. We then each took it in turns to be in charge and get us all safely to the other side; this involved either the wedge or the single file technique. Then Richard got the rope out and it was time to get serious... and very wet. Richard took us around the corner of the river where it looked deep and fast. We were asked to try out the 'V' technique with the rope and try to get us all across. James sat down behind a large rock on the bank that looked like a good belay spot. Darren went in first, holding onto the rope and doing his best to fight the strong current. He was making steady progress until he got closer to the other bank; where the river seemed to get deeper. As I looked on, Darren was really struggling and I could see that the water was rushing over his thighs and around his waist. I turned around and saw Richard had moved downstream and was on standby with a throw line. Darren made a lunge for the other side and rolled onto the high grassy bank. I was up next.
The rope came back over and in I went. Up to halfway the going was good, but then the water got deeper, stronger and faster. Wobbling a little I pressed on; using the tension of the rope for balance. To make things worse: the rocks underfoot became large boulders and they were smooth, slippery and hard to avoid. The water was now at the height of my waist and the water was gushing up into my chest. I couldn't keep my balance or fight the force of the current for much longer so I made a sideways lunge for the bank. I grabbed a handful of grass, swung my leg up and rolled onto the grass - I had made it... just! James came over next and he struggled to the other side the same as I did. Maybe I was just being a bit soft, but as James rolled up onto the bank he looked at me and I could tell he was thinking the same thing; that was a close call and I knew he had been right on the edge too. Mike then came over last with Darren belaying him. At around halfway, Mike became quite unsteady and as he went deeper, even more so. We all looked on but could do nothing; he lost his footing in the deep water. He tried to hold onto the rope and right himself but he couldn't as the current was too strong and was keeping his feet from under him. He was fighting a loosing battle and soon he had let go of the rope and was heading downstream. Richard had been watching and had thrown his line in for Mike to grab. Richard hauled Mike towards him and out of the deeper water until he could stand again and he stumbled to the other side. Richard shouted across to us and said that we were going to head back.
Mike was obviously soaked but he probably wasn't much wetter than then rest of us; the rain was still hammering down and hadn't stopped. I couldn't feel my hands as we crossed back to the other side, further up the river this time. As we headed back to Calluna to have hot showers and get warm again, I reflected on what just happened. Speaking to a few folk about their SML assessment, all of them told me that they never even did a river crossing on their assessment; their assessors talked it over with them and suggested that you would never attempt crossing a big river with a group. Clearly this assessment was of a much higher standard and that river crossing was certainly an experience!
After we were warm and dry again back in the flat, we sat around with a brew and laughed about what had just happened. After lunch, Steve Spalding arrived from Pitlochry. Steve was going to take over from Richard as our assessor for our expedition over the next 3 days. As usual, he was in fine spirits and we chatted about what each of us wanted to do for the expedition. James and I said that we weren't too bothered, while Darren and Mike fancied heading into the Mamores. Steve said that he had been looking at the weather closely over the last few days and he was concerned about the snow line and said that we had to try and stay below it. For this reason, he wanted to head to the West and fancied heading into the Glengarry Forest. Everyone seemed happy with that idea so it was settled.
After the others left, James and I couldn't wait to talk about the epic river crossing earlier and how we hadn't expected that at all. Apart from the experience being a little 'out there', we were both pleased with how the day had gone and felt we had coped well with all that was asked of us. We were well organised with our gear and supplies so it didn't take us long to pack our larger expedition rucksacks. Then we both fell into bed totally wiped from the last few days of activity and relentless concentration.
I was very much looking forward to the expedition.
After we were warm and dry again back in the flat, we sat around with a brew and laughed about what had just happened. After lunch, Steve Spalding arrived from Pitlochry. Steve was going to take over from Richard as our assessor for our expedition over the next 3 days. As usual, he was in fine spirits and we chatted about what each of us wanted to do for the expedition. James and I said that we weren't too bothered, while Darren and Mike fancied heading into the Mamores. Steve said that he had been looking at the weather closely over the last few days and he was concerned about the snow line and said that we had to try and stay below it. For this reason, he wanted to head to the West and fancied heading into the Glengarry Forest. Everyone seemed happy with that idea so it was settled.
After the others left, James and I couldn't wait to talk about the epic river crossing earlier and how we hadn't expected that at all. Apart from the experience being a little 'out there', we were both pleased with how the day had gone and felt we had coped well with all that was asked of us. We were well organised with our gear and supplies so it didn't take us long to pack our larger expedition rucksacks. Then we both fell into bed totally wiped from the last few days of activity and relentless concentration.
I was very much looking forward to the expedition.
