Petestack Blog

Having spent the past two days wondering what kind of resurrection Alexander Mackonochie was hoping for, I just had to go back and check sometime. So, with the run up to his monument and back being rougher but no further than the round trip to Altnafeadh (which had been tempting me this afternoon), there seemed no time like the present to head up with pencil and paper. (more…)

So what’s the difference between a cairn and a pile of stones and how long does it take to find out? I’ve blogged about these before but, despite having passed below Meall a’ Bhainne with school DofE groups (when I’ve not been free to head off my own way) since, it’s taken me over a year to slot in the lengthy run necessary to go back and check… (more…)

If you’ve read Tuesday’s blog post, you’ll know exactly what! Meant to turn right at Meall Dearg today to head straight for Garbh Bheinn, but conveniently ‘forgot’ and fortunately found most of the ridge (apart from the steep descent from Am Bodach) in similar good dry condition to Monday. (more…)

Afraid the blogging’s been getting a bit sporadic recently, with some good stuff like May’s excellent Polldubh Club Skye Meet (on which I spent the first day climbing at Neist and the second traversing the ridge from Sgurr nan Eag to Sgurr Dearg) just not getting written up here. But yesterday’s run strikes me as interesting enough to merit a line or two, starting (as it did) as a routine late afternoon jaunt over to Altnafeadh and back, but spontaneously transmogrifying somewhere above the Allt a’ Choire Odhair-mhoir into a double traverse of the Aonach Eagach. (more…)

48 today (surely some mistake!), an overdue spell of lovely autumn weather and Stob Dubh (‘the other one’) was calling as the only local summit of stature (Munros, Tops, Corbetts etc.) I’d never visited. (more…)

Nothing auspicious about my preparation for today’s 2011 Ben Nevis Race, with a half-marathon PW on Coll two weeks ago, a niggly right knee that briefly exploded into something far worse above Glen Coe last Sunday and a raging cold that had me feeling like sh*t Monday/Tuesday and still coughing (albeit not painfully) today. But I managed to get running again Wednesday/Thursday with a knee support (not something that normally tempts me in training for fear of masking further problems), resolved to do likewise today and ultimately suffered more from other factors than the knee… (more…)

Think I got what I deserved here when I was barely on the rebound from three ultras this summer, can’t say I treat road running seriously at the best of times (preferring to run hills and trails with little formal speed work) and found myself inexplicably battering the ‘last-minute self-destruct eating button’ on Thursday and Friday, but Coll is Coll, the Half-Marathon’s a great excuse to go back and I was committed long before doing my best to sabotage my own already fairly unpromising prospects. (more…)

While my original, post-WHW Race plans for this ‘summer’ included a possible crack at the Rigby Round (think Cairngorms equivalent of the Ramsay), that’s been looking fairly improbable since early November, when No Fuss Events received my entry (the very first, to show support for a great new local event!) for ’10 in the Glen’ (yesterday, 16 July) instead… with this multiple circular tour of Glen Nevis being a running version of their popular mountain biking ’10’ events (soloists or relay pairs, trios or quads trying to complete the most laps of a loop course within the 10-hour time limit) and my interest inevitably piqued by tackling this inaugural event the hard way (ie alone)! (more…)