Another sunny and warm day for Kevin, Paul and me to get out on our mountain bikes. Kevin and Paul have enjoyed all sorts of great trails including the Ciaran Trail down to Kinlochlevel, Glen Kinglass, Glen Sligachan and even to the summit of Ben Nevis. So we chose a suitably technical and rocky trail, the circuit of Beinn Fhada from Morvich.

I have ridden this loop a couple of times before and both times in warm sunshine so it was great to keep this going today. The trail starts at Morvich and heads south east past Glenlicht House and to the wondeful waterfall on Allt Grannda. A big climb finds great single track undulating and descending to Camban Bothy where the trail eases off to the head of Glen Affric near the Youth Hostel.

A sharp left turn finds a long gentle climb up a good trail that eventually gives up being a trail 1.5km before Loch a'Bhealaich. The bealach this is named for is Bealach an Sgairne, the Gates of Affric. It is a narrow rocky col that is the high point of the loop and the start of the fantastic descent to Morvich - narrow, technical and with great views all the way down. Paul and Kevin did a great job riding this route and their solid technical skills helped them make the tricky bits flow. When you can this has to be one of the best trails in Scotland.

Buachaille Etive Mor was standing proud above Rannoch Moor and Glen Coe today as the second group of Lochaber and Lorn Ramblers Scramblers worked on their scrambling technique and confidence. We went for the south side of Stob Beinn a'Chrualaiste again where we were a couple of weeks ago. However this time we went up Split Buttress first.

We looked at all sorts of things to help upwards progress and build confidence. We also worked on some simple things to keep each other secure and stop a wee wobble turning into a tumble with a bit of spotting. The route is a bit loose with plenty of rocks on the ledges and some turf and heather in places. A bit more traffic would help clean up the route and it would be excellent if this happened.

From the modest Stob Beinn a'Chrualaiste and its fabulous views we went along the hillside to find the Pink Rib. I was nervous about finding the top of this route as it is not very distinct. However the change in colour of the rock is very obvious and easy to spot. We did a bit of rope work practice for emergencies before heading down the Pink Rib back to the West Highland Way. The weather was warm, calm and dry ... much more like what it should be at this time of year.

Billy Connolly said "There are two seasons in Scotland, June and Winter". Well let's hope that's the case because May certainly did not feel very summery at all. On Tuesday, with fresh snow down to 700m on Ben Nevis and about 30cm of it in most places I went for a look at some ice climbing. This was 2nd June! Unfortunately it had gone just a bit too warm and wet with rain at 1000m for us to be happy to give it a go. The fresh snow was wet and heavy and there was plenty of recent, large avalanche activity evident under Number Five Gully, Number Four Gully and Observatory Gully. Still, it was worth a go just for the craic. How often do get a chance to go ice climbing in Scotland in June?

Yesterday gave us a wee respite with a ridge of high pressure floating over Scotland. I met up with Sandy and Bryan in Glen Brittle to have a go at their remaining Cuillin Munro Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. This is a wonderful peak sitting at the head of Coire Laggan, surrounded by Alpine scale faces and ridges of clean rock. Walking in to Coire Laggan just to soak up the atmosphere is a great experience that is recommended to everyone, whether or not you go any further up towards the main ridge line.

Getting to the main ridge line involves the An Stac screes. This is a large area of particularly mobile scree which saps the energy of your legs in ascent. We found a quite reasonable line up to the left of the screes by traversing hard under the buttresses and avoiding just about all the loose scree.

Up on the ridge it was cold and there was a little recent snow still melting away. The rocks were mostly grippy but the mist came in and the snow melt made them quite wet so the last hundred metres or so to the summit were made all the more tricky. Along with some of the most exposed scrambling in the UK it was quite a test. Bryan and Sandy did a great job though and we made it to tick off the last of the Skye Cuillin for them both. Well done and good luck with the rest of the Munros, hopefully in warmer weather to come.