Planning 
My sister lives in Thurso, and I’d yet to visit her, so when she told me she was likely moving away by the end of the year I thought I better make the effort! She enjoys hill walking and has witnessed my SOTA activities in the past, so we devised a plan for Ben Hope, GM/NS-020, and Ben Klibreck, GM/NS-014, involving calling in at my dad’s in Lairg.
As the weekend approached I watched the weather deteriorate, with the exception being the day I was due to travel north. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to make hay whilst the sun shines, I consulted Tim, @G5OLD, on recommended hills in the NS area - the summary of which is: all of them - and decided on the one SOTA/two munros of An Teallach (GM/NS-004). There should be enough time to do these and still arrive at a reasonable time in Lairg. 
Day 1 
Leaving Aberdeen in the cloud, and listening to the reports of storm Benjamin in the south, I passed Inverness under blue skies and enjoyed the drive towards Ullapool and the start point next to the Dundonnell Mountain Rescue centre. The weather was stunning.
It was cold at the top - the pools of water were frozen - and the breeze was chilly, however, I still enjoyed about 40 minutes on the radio. The 41ft random wire doing well across the bands.
After getting a few USA chasers on 10m, I decided it was time to pack up and head over to the next munro, Sgurr Fiona. With a prominence of 141.7 m, it certaintly felt like it could’ve been a SOTA summit. It’s top seemed smaller than Bidein a’Ghlas Thuill (the first one), and it really does feel like you’re on top of the world.
Eventually I managed to tear myself away from the views and head back. It would’ve been the perfect day to attempt the ridge, but I hadn’t planned it, and it would’ve taken much longer - plus I didn’t have my pipe for Lord Berkeley’s Seat. I had a lovely drive at sunset through Ullapool and past many lovely hills such as Cul Mor, GM/NS-029, Suilven, GM/NS-060, and more as I took the 18 miles of single track “A road” across to Lairg.
Day 2 
The forecast never looked great, but the radar predictions suggests the rain would just be patchy, and I needed to test out the Decathlon MH500 waterproof overtrousers I’d hastedly bought the day before leaving. Just a 25 minute drive up the road, and we found the car park with a couple of others already there. Having seen the bog rating of Ben Klibreck, GM/NS-014, my sister went for wellies - as a scientist in the peatland she knew what to expect! It isn’t bog for the entire 4 miles to the summit, but it’s not far off!
I didn’t take as many photos as the previous day 
We were in the cloud, it was windy and often wet. We met one walker on the way down who described the summit as “brutal”. After what can only be described as a trudge, we finally made it to the last part of the ascent. It was steep, the wind was fierce and the rain drops were needles in your face, but we got to the top and ducked down behind the small shelter.
There are two broken trigs at the top, and a stake in the ground which does make for a nice mast support. Given the miserable conditions, it was a very short activation on 40m, before we trudged all the way back. It was then a 2-hour drive to Thurso, through the wilds of the north, with the wind battering us as we drove the coast road across the top of the country.
Day 3 
The wind whilstled and rattled everything all through the night (although apparently that was normal), and the forecast for today’s trip to Ben Hope, GM/NS-020, was sun, cloud, snow and 80 mph winds. Although the visibility was meant to be excellent. The ferrys to Orkney were cancelled due to the sea state, and the waves were huge as we drove to The Store Bistro in Bettyhill for breakfast. Would it be a good idea? We were going that way anyway, and as the wind was from the north and you climb from the south, I was hopeful we’d be sheltered on the way up.
As the waitress wished us good luck with raised eyebrows, we continued on and eventually down the tiny road to the trail head. With some blue skies and mild breeze we set off ever hopeful.
Apart from some hail, and a light snow shower, our ascent was very pleasent, with great views all around, particularly to the west where a snow topped Foinaven was clear to see. At the summit, we were fortunate to still be out of the cloud and see all around. The gusts were strong but nothing worse than yesterday. The trig point doesn’t offer much shelter so I looked elsewhere to setup.
With it being reasonably nice on top, I thought I’d maybe be able to spend more than 4 minutes on the air, and things started off well on 40m. Half way through a QSO with Jack, @GM4COX, the mast blew down and whipped the antenna out of the banana socket. I looked up from the radio to find the view gone and replaced entirely by white cloud and snow with a gale to push it sideways. I scrambled over to reconnect and finish the QSO with Jack before taking the hint and packing up. Turns out 4 minutes was all I got this time as well! Once we were back down around 850m, the hill sheltered us again. The descent offered a nice view to the south as we retraced our steps, with only a few showers to keep our heads down. The cloud seemed to follow us down, and by the time we were back at the car it was around 500m, so we managed to get the best weather window.
The Return 
After a quick tea stop in Lairg, it was time to drive home, and see what the A96 offered. Someone must’ve turned off the speed limiter as other cars were able to drive at 60 mph.
Meanwhile, Denis’ @MW0CBC, partner had organised a little Mountain Goat celebration whilst in GM/ES and I’d promised to call in on my way home. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I pulled into the grounds of a listed house, and two ladies then usher me out of the car and lead me through the darkness to the kitchen, whilst asking me questions, describing the food, and listing all the people who were here, for us to then turn around and head back towards the art studio where the party is being held. I’m soon pointed towards the familiar faces of other amateurs, whilst others bring me food and drink under the instructions of the two ladies.
Alex GM5ALX, Fraser @MM0EFI, Chris @2M0RVZ, Simon @GM4JXP and Denis as MM0CBC.
It was also a joint 50th birthday party and a Peruvian band soon strikes up some salsa, giving Chris itchy feet for a conga line. My night ends with a slice of Denis’ cake and a cup of tea, before heading home, and leaving the others to dance the night away to the band. We will see if the others reveal what happened after 10pm…
