Christmas Meet to Braemar (Dec 2014)

12-14 December 2014

What a fantastic weekend and a record breaking turnout for a DMC meet! Saturday saw a full range of activities including Nordic skiing, snowboarding, hill walking (or more accurately snow swimming!) and mountain biking. We all returned back to the hostel for an amazing Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings – who knows how many turkeys were sacrificed in DMC’s name, but everyone was suitably stuffed. After the meal we retired to the lounge to collapse by the fire and enjoy some great home-brew ale kindly contributed by Pete. We also enjoyed some live entertainment on the guitar from Dan and Pete. A big thanks to Hazel, Jon and everyone who helped out in the kitchen in preparing the meal. Quite a task, especially when the gas failed part way through!! Also a big thanks to Andrew for his work organising the weekend (and bonus points for making it to Braemar directly from India!), Niall for the epic task of co-ordinating the transport and Stephan / Lisa for very kindly offering their day to provide group Nordic Skiing Instruction. Have a great Christmas everyone and look forward to seeing you all on the DMC adventures lined up for next year.

Allan McCulloch

Ski touring to Craig Derry by Daniela – Last Saturday was one of those days when the car door opens straight into the winter wonderland, tempting even the laziest ski tourers like myself. It was the first snow this season, and we had some strong wind the week before, so the safest bet was to make as many safe bets as possible. Plan A was Ben Macdui. Plan B was to go towards Ben Macdui and see how far I get. Plan C – turn around and escape on the piste at Lecht. Plan D – cross-country with the majority of the DMC crew. Plan E – go sledging. Plan F – build a snowman. I packed my skis, my bike, a plastic bag and a carrot and set off to the Linn of Dee. The path from Derry Lodge to Derry Bridge was one of the highlights: fresh, untouched snow all the way and the thrill of crossing streams on skis, using stepping stones and trees. One hour of uphill against the wind to the top of Craig Derry was a fair price to pay for 10 minutes of bliss downhill in powder. It was 6 pm by the time I arrived back at the car park. I could not make it to Ben Macdui this time, but oh well, Plan B was not that bad a replacement after all (and neither was Plan C the next day!). Thanks go to Hazel and Jon for the most delicious Xmas dinner ever, to Pete and Dan for the rock concert and to fate for saving a bed for me in Braemar that evening – after over 9 hours on skis I could hardly stay awake, let alone drive to Dundee as I had originally planned.

Daniela

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