The Wilderness ARC
Into the Canyons in Glen Coe
Rob Howard / 22.08.2005
It was a long pull up to begin the crossing when they left Loch Leven, passing the distinctive peak of the Pap of Glen Coe on a route that was very wet at times as they sank into mossy pools up to their knees and deeper. Once they reached the marshal on the first summit however, and began the traverse of the ridge, the terrain changed to solid rock and their concern was if they had enough drinking water.
Beyond this checkpoint they were on a ‘time-out’ stage with 2 and a half hours to walk along the ridge. (If they were quicker the time remaining will be served out at TA4.) The rock on the ridge is polished by thousands of walkers and climbers and the slopes on either side fall away steeply, but none of teams reported having any difficulty, even on the few tricky ‘bad steps’. All said what a magnificent route it was and they were clearly enjoying seeing the Highland scenery at it’s best.
They may have been startled by RAF Tornados which flew in along the valley at very low altitudes, so low the teams could look down on them hundreds of metres below. (The race had asked the RAF if they could do this.) They came in so fast they’d already rocketed away along the valley by the time racers and teams heard the deafening noise of the engines.
Leaving the ridge teams came down to TA2 in a small car park on the side of the A82 to access their ‘wet boxes’ for the ropes stage which came next. The marshals were busy giving out rehydration drinks and water and some teams took a long break here. Unfortunately, the two taking the longest were due to illness. Mick Kenyon of High 5 on Orange was still suffering after being stung by a jellyfish on the swim. “I felt bad,� he said, “but the antihistamine gave me hives and made me sleepy while I was on the ridge, and now I’m not sure if I’m well enough for canyoning.�
SleepMonsters
