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A
Venue and The Steam Train
Last October, a chance conversation re-introduced
me to Ardverikie Estate. As some of you
will know, I had long harboured a desire
to deliver a large number of competitors
by train to the wild and beautiful setting
at Corrour Station. For a number of years
I've had to 'put up' with friends asking
me when I was going to take everyone by
train to Corrour. Originally I had always
envisaged the use of a train from the south
- possibly Tyndrum. The enthusiasm of Ardverikie
Estate to host the event provided possibilities
for an A -> B event, which might involve
a train journey. I love steam trains and
there is something very special about this
great invention of man. There are now so
few spare trains and rolling stock in the
UK that the only way to transport large
numbers of competitors is to charter a private
train. I am very grateful to James Shuttleworth
and the West Coast Railway Company for agreeing
to provide a train and then embracing the
idea that if at all possible it should be
a steam train. The Jacobite is a train that
runs daily from Fort William to Mallaig
during the summer months. It comes up each
year from Carnforth and we were lucky that
it was available as it was to start the
season the day after it was needed for the
LAMM. James asked me to provide 3,000 gallons
of clean water at Tulloch, which had be
pumped into the engine within a 30-minute
window. Easy I thought - not so easy and
I'm grateful to Fred Kelly of Tomatin who
worked with us to deliver a tanker to Tulloch
and quench the thirst of the train.
When the I stood on the platform at Tulloch
on the Saturday morning I obviously knew
what to expect. I noticed quizzical looks
on a few competitor's faces as they saw
a plume of smoke and steam in the distance.
As Jacobite pulled up the gentle incline
to the station these looks turned to broad
smiles and spontaneous applause rippled
along the platform. Magical moments like
this make all the effort worthwhile. My
apologies to those of you on the D and Novice
courses who due to the distance from Corrour
to the midcamp at Culra had to start at
Kinloch Laggan and were unable to enjoy
the train journey.
The Estates, Foot & Mouth & The Event
Ardverikie, Corrour and Ben Alder are three
huge estates. I am very grateful to the
factors Duncan Leslie & Peter Bruce at Ardverikie,
Ted Piggott at Corrour and Patrick Thompson
at Ben Alder for agreeing to host the event,
also for their support and advice throughout
the last few months. Foot and Mouth Disease
struck in late February and all plans were
put on hold until early April. I made a
few nervous phone calls to the estates in
mid-April and was heartened to learn that
there was a glimmer of hope for LAMM 2001.
Since then the support offered to us has
been magnificent and we are so lucky to
have been able to hold the first major mountain
event of 2001. We suggested a disinfection
regime for the Event Centre and Corrour
Station. The estates were very happy with
this and although it may have seemed a bit
over the top to those living north of the
border, it was a very minor inconvenience
if it allowed us to hold the event as planned.
I would like to thank the keepers George
Macdonald of Camusericht Estate and Craig
Wilson of Dunan Estate for allowing the
event to cross their land to the southeast
of Corrour on the Saturday morning. Dave
Smith who owned one of the cottages near
the Event Centre and who installed the water
supply to the field also helped us tremendously.
Gordon Duncan, the head keeper for Ardverikie
also provided much help and advice. At the
midcamp we are indebted to the keeper Ian
Crichton who helped us with trips into Culra,
arranged for the loo trench to be dug and
provided materials for it. Ian and his family
also allowed Rob Howard and Ian of the 9feet
webcast team to work at his kitchen table
late into the Saturday night. We are also
grateful to Rick and Angela Brown who manage
the restaurant & bunkhouse at Corrour for
their enthusiasm.
The location for LAMM 2001 included a number
of Munros and all courses visited at least
one summit. The midcamp at Culra nestled
below the slopes of Ben Alder. The weather
for the weekend did not look promising and
Friday night at the Event Centre was cold,
windy and wet. However, David Braine, chief
weatherman at the BBC Weather Centre promised
that the weather would improve throughout
the weekend. By the time competitors were
eating their post race meal kindly provided
by Wilfs on Sunday lunchtime, the usual
post LAMM sunbathing was able to commence.
Many thanks to Cameron McNeish and Sir Ranulph
Fiennes who both competed in the event and
who helped to present the prizes. Many competitors
mentioned how much they enjoyed being woken
early in the morning by the dulcet tones
of Niall Watson, one of our hardworking
helpers and bagpiper. We've asked Niall
to bring the pipes with him each year from
now on. For information, the tunes on Saturday
morning were - Come to the Hills,
My Lodgings on Cold Ground and Wings.
On Sunday morning he played Dream
Angus, Going Home and Bonnie Dundee.
Event Accommodation
I realise that a few people find my obsession
with secrecy regarding the event location
a bit childish and sometimes inconvenient..
However, this year almost 500 teams took
part in the LAMM and the feedback is overwhelmingly
that people like surprises and a bit of
uncertainty & excitement in their lives.
This year it seemed more difficult than
ever to keep plans under wraps as the event
drew closer. Apologies to those who on obtaining
the directions to the event, booked accommodation
to the east of Laggan and therefore more
than 24KM from the Event Centre. We won't
allow this to happen again. The accommodation
is the one aspect of the event organisation
that didn't work out too well. I had made
a lot of effort to book most of the Loch
Ossian Youth Hostel and the entire Corrour
Station Signal Box bunkhouse for the Friday
night. Also we had booked the Tulloch Station
bunkhouse which our organising team used
during the preceding week as the event HQ.
On the Friday evening we intended to move
a number of people by van to Tulloch Station
and then transport them on the 18.00 train
up to Corrour for the night. They would
leave their cars at the Event Centre and
return to them at the end of the event on
Sunday. Maybe the plan was just too clever.
It appears that as the accommodation was
first come first served, most people didn't
take the risk and made bookings miles away
in the Newtonmore area. It was a great shame
as we had a great night planned at Corrour
for those who took up the option. In retrospect
I realise that I could have thought it through
a bit better.
Transport
from Glasgow/Inverness
This year we offered the possibility for
those arriving at Glasgow on early flights
to share a hire car with another team in
a similar situation. In future we will issue
a list of people arriving in Glasgow on
the website and update it on a regular basis.
Competitors can then contact each other
to make private arrangements before it is
necessary to book transport on our early
evening coach.
Planes, Trains ……. And Now Helicopters
We hope you didn't mind the spoof at registration
about "fear of flying" - our course planner's
sense of humour. I was gob smacked to see
that half a dozen or so signed the list.
A couple of chaps were looking at the notice
at about 6pm and deriding it as an obvious
wind up until they heard the sound of a
helicopter landing outside the marquee.
You should have seen the look on their faces.
Eddie Speak and Adrian Moir usually hire
light aircraft for the weekend and fly to
the nearest grass/tarmac strip. This year
by complete coincidence they had both gained
their licences to fly helicopters and I
guess this means that in future every event
centre will need a helipad. It was fun having
them at the event and Eddie proved invaluable
on the Saturday morning as he flew to Corrour
to pick up the Grampian Television cameraman
so that some footage could be filmed of
the second steam train climbing up from
Loch Treig and the competitors heading off
from the start.
Thanks to Helpers and Organisations
Our planner Mark Hawker and controller Chris
Hall have done a great deal over the past
few years to develop the way courses are
planned and checked. Their attention to
detail and the way they meet the challenge
of designing safe courses in potentially
hazardous terrain has been an inspiration
to me. This year they swapped jobs so that
Mark could do the planning. I can tell you
that they tackle these tasks with a passion
and we're all very grateful to them for
their hard work and fabulous courses.
Debbie Thompson deserves the first vote
of thanks for handling all the entries and
much of the administration, also to Mark
Stodgell who produced the 2001 map from
digital data supplied by the Ordnance Survey.
Thorlene Egerton and Jon Sutcliffe did a
sterling job in Glasgow, rounding up competitors
at the coach station and airport on the
Friday evening and returning them at the
end of the event. Thanks especially to David
& Val Johnstone for all the assistance they
give with bits and pieces in the months
leading up to the event and then looking
after the Event Centre during the event.
Many thanks also to helpers Charles Thompson,
John Dixon, John and Sue Denmark, Andrew
Leaney, Niall Watson, Ian Brownell, Angela
Mudge, Clive Cafall, Craig Harwood, Phil
Merrin, Denise Lawry, Tim Lord, Brian Jackson,
Graham Eccles, Kathleen Conway and 2 friends,
the Lowe Alpine ladies Jill Brownell, Sue
Mercer and Laura Cooper and to anyone else
I may have forgotten I offer my grateful
thanks. Also to Paul McClintock for providing
a comprehensive accident and emergency medical
kit which (thank goodness) was hardly touched.
Thank
you to Duncan Maclachlan and the Arrochar
Rescue Team for their support on the hill
and at the camps. Thanks to Richard Shaw
& Travis Perkins the Builders Merchants
for their annual supply of toilet barrier
material, Inverhall Marquees and Wilf's
for their support and excellent fayre, served
throughout the weekend. Alan and Belinda
who own the bunkhouse at Tulloch were marvellous
and allowed us to take over the place during
the week leading up to the event. Roddy
Archibald of Highland Country Buses as usual
did us proud by providing 6 buses and working
with us to make Saturday morning possible.
Thanks also to David Braine of the BBC Weather
Centre for providing such accurate forecasts
and what turned out to be near perfect LAMM
weather. Also thanks to Stuart Brown of
Lowe Alpine who created the design for the
tees/sweats from some of my photographs.
Thanks to Sponsors
Last but by no means least, thanks to our
sponsor Lowe Alpine and to Jill Brownell
with whom I liaise, who provided a great
deal of help and support in the lead-up
to the event. Thanks to Rob Howard and Ian
of 9feet.com for all the work they
put into making the webcast a success. Thanks
also to Conformable for supplying
a pair of foot-shaped bags to each competitor
and some spot prizes.
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