Lucy: Here are some pics from a great gold expedition in the Cairngorms working for Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh. This is one of my favourite, regular bits of work as the school has a strong ethos of hillwalking and outdoor activities, and the girls are very motivated.
On Saturday, I was supervising remotely in the Lairg Ghru. It's a fabulous walk, and I never tire of it. We had perfect weather, cool, breezy and sunny, with no sign of the dreaded midge untill we got in to camp at Luibeg.
The following day, I shadowed a team as they headed up over Ben Macdui. This is a big challenge for a DofE exped, but one that the girls tackled with enthusiasm. It was very cold and windy on top, but fortunately the visibility was perfect and the navigation presented them with no problems.
On the third day, myself and another member of staff shadowed a team over Beinn a Bhuird. These girls were awesome navigators, which was just as well as the visibility was shocking. In these conditions, supervision is necessarily a lot less remote, but I was happy to observe and let them get on with it! Easy life!
Meawhile, Wally was out in the Arran hills with clients, leading over Stacach and Goatfell. He didn't take any pictures, (doh) but it sounds like they enjoyed themselves with a fine ridge walk and some amazing views.